Insight Matters
Summer, 2003

EDITORIAL: Let Us Practice What We Preach
by Henry A. Nasrallah, M.D., Editor

It is a distinct privilege to be selected to succeed Herman Tolbert, M.D. as the next Editor of Insight Matters, the award-winning quarterly publication of the OPA. It also feels great to be back in Ohio after my extended sabbatical in Mississippi, where (in addition to conducting several large research projects) I got involved in the Mississippi Psychiatric Association and served as the Editor of its previously dormant MPA Newsletter.

Prior to my return to Ohio, I contacted a couple friends in Columbus about how the OPA was doing. Their response worried me: "insufficient member involvement", "declining membership", "lack of a sense of unity", and other discouraging remarks.

No doubt, I thought to myself, Ohio psychiatrists are feeling the pressures of multiple challenges to their profession, their clinical practices, their relationship with their patients and their income streams. After all, those are ubiquitous challenges nationally. But what is surprising is that we psychiatrists, with our extensive knowledge and insight on stress management and successful adjustment are not dealing with our own stress as we would advise our patients to do. We should practice what we preach! We urge others to cope effectively with unforeseen circumstances, to be assertive and pro-active in seeking solutions rather than be passive and withdrawn, to manage change rather than be overwhelmed by it, and to sublimate frustrations rather than be incapacitated by them.

Are we, OPA members and skilled experts on human behavior, coping successfully with the wave of challenges facing us? Are we closing ranks, pooling our resources (physical and intellectual), strategizing together, anticipating and neutralizing threats, building bridges and partnering with sister organizations, finding solutions and achieving a sense of mastery about dealing with the rapidly evolving local and national scenes?

One thing is indisputable : Ohio psychiatrists cannot solve national problems individually, but we can be very effective as a cohesive organization. We should all be involved, often exchanging disparate views but always sharing an ultimate vision of who we are, what goals we should be striving for.

As your Editor, one of my major tasks is to elicit your participation, to stimulate, inspire and yes, provoke you, OPA members, to share your views and to communicate with each other in many forms and channels. Insight Matters invites each of you, fellow OPA psychiatrists, to send in your opinions, suggestions, complaints, ideas, humor (a time-honored sublimation), anecdotes, etc. about the OPA and any of the issues that the OPA is, or should be, addressing. A new section called "The OPA Members Speak!" will include your comments and views. Please be involved at least verbally, and let your OPA colleagues and leadership know what is important to you. Please send your messages to me through the OPA address or email or to my personal e-mail (henry.nasrallah@uc.edu).

Again, it is an honor to serve the OPA membership. Please express yourself, be involved in your OPA and share what's on your mind through Insight Matters.

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