Working Groups
Over the past several years, the AACP board has organized its work into 3 primary areas:
Policy and Advocacy
Connection and Collaboration
Products and Services
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Somehow, we began referring to these as “planks” rather than “workgroup”, committees, etc.
(Think of the definition of “plank” as used in politics, i.e., “the opinions and viewpoints about an individual topic, as held by a party, person or organization, as a metaphorical reference to a basic stage made of “boards” or planks of wood.)
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Description text goes herePlank Leadership: Each of the 3 planks have identified leads (or co-leads). The lead must be a current board member That person (or persons) is responsible for organizing the work of the plank, and reporting that work to the Exec comm and AACP administrative staff. Specifically, and at a minimum, that entails:
Organizing how the plank gets its work done; e.g., when and how the plank meets and communicates
Tracking and reporting brief descriptions of current projects, project leads, and timelines to AACP administrative staff.
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All AACP board members are expected identify one of the 3 planks as their “primary” affiliation. As the three plank topic areas are inherently overlapping, this certainly doesn’t mean that board members cannot or should not be involved in multiple planks as appropriate, rather that there is a clearly identified primary affiliation. Board members are free to change their primary affiliation within terms, and can do so simply by notifying plank leadership and AACP exec comm and admin staff.
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Additional expectations and hopes include assuring that the following happen within the planks on a regular basis:
There is a process and effort towards engaging membership in plank work – both with ongoing projects as well as encouraging members to initiate and suggest projects (i.e, all 3 planks interface with plank 2 goals). This might include activities such as assuring that a summary of the plank’s current work is prepared for each issue of the newsletter; regular posts to the AACP listserve and/or website and/or social media, etc.
Plank 1: Policy and Advocacy
The work of Plank 1 involves identifying, prioritizing and developing appropriate responses to current issues that impact the health, mental health, recovery, and resilience of the people, families and communities we serve, and the systems in which we work and live.
Examples include:
Developing position papers and policy statements
Providing opportunities for members to discuss policy and advocacy issues that are important to them (e.g, Policy and Advocacy forums)
Developing and endorsing legislative or other policy initiatives
Writing and disseminating articles and editorials for scholarly, news and other outlets on priority topics
Identifying and working with appropriate partners to broaden the impact of shared policy and advocacy efforts through formal liaison processes (e.g, APA) or otherwise.
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Plank 2: Connection and Collaboration
The work of Plank 2 involves engaging and supporting our colleagues working in community psychiatry. Its goal is to develop and sustain a strong and thriving “community of community psychiatry.” Examples of the work of plank 2 include:
Maintaining and promoting opportunities for members to interact easily and efficiently with one another, e.g., through a listserve or other means (e.g., social media)
Developing opportunities for members to develop and strengthen relationships with one another through hosting meetings (in person and/or virtual).
Developing mentorship methods and opportunities
Promoting AACP in an effort to engage those working in community psychiatry who may benefit from being involved in the organization
Partnering with other organizations and stakeholder groups to broaden the reach of our engagement and community building efforts
Interested in joining? Become an AACP member and login to your account to get more information about meeting details!
Plank 3: Products and Services
The work of Plank 3 involves developing and disseminating resources that may be helpful in optimizing the work of and outcomes achieved through community psychiatry. This begins with identifying existing needs and gaps in priority areas and determining products or services that AACP may feasibly be able to develop to address those.
Examples include:
The development and dissemination of tools such as the LOCUS, (Level of Care for Utilization of Services), a clinical decision support tool intended to help standardize and objectify level of care decisions; and the SMART (Self-Assessment for Modification of Anti-Racism Tool), designed to help organizations have a process by which they can progress and track anti-racism efforts.
Development and updating of educational and curricular materials that promote high quality community psychiatry, e.g., the AACP model curriculum, designed for training community psychiatry within general psychiatry residency programs, and the AACP Board exam and certification process
Supporting the development and oversight of scholarly materials that promote high quality community psychiatry, e.g., the Textbook of Community Psychiatry, and the Community Mental Health Journal.
Developing and disseminating other resources such as webinars and “clinical tips”
Partnering with other organizations and stakeholder groups in developing ways to broadening the reach of our products and services, e.g., joint development of white paper with National Council for LOCUS, or CBL for SMART.