Welcome to Women’s History Month. This month, we are highlighting yet another phenomenal woman and mental health equity champion, Dr. Mary Hasbah Roessel. Dr. Roessel is a Navajo psychiatrist and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). She shares her experience on how to infuse cultural considerations of Indigenous peoples into psychiatric treatment. Dr. Roessel notes that to “elevate and create diversity within psychiatry we must have a very well-rounded understanding of the history of our country.” Read more about Dr. Roessel in our Mental Health Equity Spotlight.

This April we will also hold our final online seminar under the “Voices for Change” series, titled “Navigating the Virtual Crisis: Enhancing Awareness of Technology Addiction and Its Impact on Suicidality in Youth of Color.” The seminar will address the question “To what extent do technology engagement and overuse impact the mental health of this generation?” Learn more about the goals of this session in our newsletter and join us on April 3rd.

We also want to highlight the launch of a new podcast series featuring Dr. Anjali Gupta, president of the Women’s Caucus, as host. She interviews pioneering women in psychiatry. The series launches March 8 on APA’s Medical Mind Podcast. Finally, we provide a preview of the APA Annual Meeting sessions sponsored by the Division of Diversity and Health Equity.

In honor of Women’s History Month, I’d like to share a quote from Marian Wright Edelman: “If you don’t like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do it one step at a time.”

By Regina James, M.D.
Chief, Division of Diversity and Health Equity
Deputy Medical Director
American Psychiatric Association