My personal background in adult and child psychiatry, psychiatric education as a Clinical Professor at the University of California Irvine, clinical research, Published textbook and article author and extensive APA organizational experience, including special projects, leadership activities, and over three decades of private practice.

My Focus On:
Science
Competent/Compassionate Treatment
Access to Care for the Community

Priorities

• Encourage Access to Care at all levels of practice. As Affordable Care Act and Accountable Care Organizations evolve, assure that quality treatment is delivered and practitioners’ and patients’ interests are protected.
• Continue to fight against encroachment of non-physicians upon our practice of psychiatry. I have fought for patient safety in California for two decades resisting encroachment on several levels including prescribing. As President I will defend our specific competencies and emphasize all that we have to offer to patients. We also need to evaluate models of care and effective integrated practice models that will demonstrate our social responsibility while assuring patient safety.
• Continue work toward full parity, elimination of formulary restrictions, and creative models of integration with primary care.
• I understand our members’ frustration, burdens upon them, and irritation with the current MOC process. I am opposed to the current MOC process as it exists now and to the burden it places on members. As APA President, I will assure a fair, rational, practitioner acceptable process for indicating currency in knowledge and competence. I support either an acceptable dialogue with ABPN or seeking an alternative process that is empirically validated and free from conflict of interest both from the specialty organization and the outside examining agency. We need an evolving project to achieve this ambitious goal and hope our patients will be the beneficiaries.
• Encourage increase in research and treatment of women’s mental health issues.
• The education and clinical training for Residents and Fellows in the next decade must emphasize the critical role of the psychiatrist in expanded medical and community settings. Understanding of integrated and community coordinated treatment in partnership with related health professionals will be essential. In all areas promoting access to care, quality diagnosis and treatment, and patient safety will be paramount.
• Encourage DSM-5 use and modification to reflect the symptoms of psychiatric disorders and diagnostic concerns of clinicians. Collaborate with NIMH to transition from categorical to research based diagnoses.
• Work toward a productive relationship with Pharma that promotes research for new products, understanding our principal of patient safety over marketing interests. Discourage direct marketing of medications to the public.

Valerie Blinder | Michelle Blinder | David Blinder