Draft Minutes, May 5, 2014

APA Caucus on Religion and Spirituality
May 5, 2014
John Peteet, MD, Chair

1. Introduction of Alan Fung, MD, PhD, as new Caucus Chief Communications Officer

2. Minutes from October 2013 meeting in Philadelphia distributed and approved

3. Discussion of Section Status – there are enough signatures to apply this Caucus to APA for Section Status, which includes vote on Council. Dr. Peteet will continue to pursue through appropriate APA channels.

4. Dr. Peteet reviewed Caucus-sponsored scientific sessions at the 2013 Institute for Psychiatric Services meeting, the 2014 APA Annual Meeting, and the upcoming 2014 Institute for Psychiatric Services meeting.

5. Discussion of possible submissions for the 2015 APA annual meeting in Toronto. Dr. Fung coordinates a regular conference of clergy and physicians involved with mental health care in the Toronto area and is exploring the possibility of a joint conference or meeting with our caucus around that time, possibly as a pre-conference meeting. Other ideas for the 2015 Toronto meeting discussed were submissions regarding religion, spirituality, and development across the lifespan; practical workshops with a “how to” focus, with attendees leaving the presentation with new skills; disabilities and religion/spirituality.

6. Greetings and an update about the work of the Association of Professional Chaplains given by Dr. Clark Aist, APC liaison with our Caucus and past Oskar Pfister Award recipient.

7. Oskar Pfister Award –
a. update from Francis Lu, MD, representing the APA Council. Dr. Lu reviewed the nomination and selection process and invited individuals to contact him if interested in serving on the selection committee. A discussion of Pfister Award funding ensued. Current fund balance is $9,589, with the yearly award expenditure averaging $1200 -$2200, and an overhead of 55%. Fundraising ideas were discussed, Dr. Lu to pursue with American Psychiatric Foundation.
b. 2014 recipient, Robert Cloninger, MD, addressed the APA at this meeting. Dr. Clark Aist and others summarized his address and shared highlights of Dr. Cloninger’s career and contributions.

8. Caucus officers Dell, Peteet, and Fung are pursuing the idea of a casebook on religion and ethics in psychiatric practice. Ideas for topics for inclusion were discussed and those interested in participating encouraged to let Drs. Peteet and Dell know. More information will be forthcoming as the project develops.

9. APA president Dr. Summergrad has organized a meeting on Interfaith and Disability for July 11 in Washington, DC. Dr. Peteet will be attending as Caucus representative.

10. Caucus members were informed and encouraged to attend international meetings on Religion, Spirituality, and Psychiatry, including:
World Psychiatric Association – held every three years
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Dutch Foundation for Psychiatry and Religion – Dr. Gerrit Glas active with this group, will be meeting in 2015 or 2016