Washington, D.C. — American Psychiatric Association (APA) members have elected psychiatrist Theresa Miskimen, M.D., DLFAPA, as the medical organization’s next president-elect. Miskimen is currently chair and medical director of the Department of Psychiatry at Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, New Jersey.

Miskimen has worked for over 30 years in public sector clinical practices that have centered on improving access and delivery of psychiatric care to bilingual and bicultural communities and developing and implementing intercultural clinical programs. Miskimen has served in community-facing initiatives and held appointed positions under the three past governors of the State of New Jersey to address mental health issues spanning the intersection of technology and the delivery of psychiatric care, mental health in university settings, and youth suicide prevention.

She serves as a delegate of the APA to the American Medical Association Section Council on Psychiatry and is a member of the American College of Psychiatrists and clinical professor of psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Miskimen has been active in regional and national leadership roles within the APA, including president of the New Jersey Psychiatric Association, Speaker of the APA Assembly, member of the APA Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, and vice-chair of the Joint Reference Committee. She chaired the APA Board of Trustees Ad Hoc Workgroup on Insurance and has contributed to many others. She is a past secretary general of the American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry and was an advisor and presenter to the internationally recognized “Changing Minds, Advancing Mental Health for Hispanics” project.

“Our profession faces multiple challenges,” Miskimen said. “We need a cohesive, actionable, multi-year strategy to enact effective and permanent change. As president, I will focus on the workforce challenges facing psychiatry, with the ultimate goal being to reverse these challenges, enabling greater fulfillment in our practices and achieving better patient outcomes.”

“Congratulations to everyone who has been elected to APA’s Board of Trustees!” said APA President Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A. “I look forward to working with all of you to lead APA’s critical efforts as we continue to innovate, advocate, and research on behalf of the doctors who serve millions of patients and families with substance use and other psychiatric disorders.”

Among Miskimen’s priorities as APA president, when she assumes office in 2025, are:

• Champion psychiatrist-led multidisciplinary team-based care.
• Leverage academic centers to explore and improve innovative ways to expand access, including integrated health care models.
• Advocate to retain tele-psychiatric services.
• Promote diversity-enhancing interdisciplinary programs such as the American Academy of Pediatrics Women’s Wellness Through Equity and Leadership (WEL) program.

“I’m so pleased for Dr. Miskimen, a longtime colleague and friend of the APA, to become our president,” said APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A. “With her long track record of leadership throughout the organization and in her home state, she is a proven leader and will bring much experience to her year as president.”

Miskimen’s term as president-elect of the APA will begin this May at the conclusion of the APA Annual Meeting, when current President-Elect Ramaswamy Viswanathan, M.D., begins his one-year term as president.

Other successful APA leadership candidates who will take office after the APA Annual Meeting in May 2024 include:

• Treasurer: Steve Koh, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A.
• Early Career Psychiatrist (ECP) Trustee: Sudhakar K. Shenoy, M.D.
• Trustee-At-Large: Patricia Westmoreland, M.D.
• Area 1 Trustee: John C. Bradley, M.D.
• Area 4 Trustee: Dionne Hart, M.D.
• Area 7 Trustee: Mary Hasbah Roessel, M.D.
• Resident-Fellow Member Trustee-Elect (RFMTE): Nicolas K. Fletcher, M.D., M.H.S.A.

The results of the election are not official until the APA Board of Trustees confirms them at its March meeting.

American Psychiatric Association

The American Psychiatric Association, founded in 1844, is the oldest medical association in the country. The APA is also the largest psychiatric association in the world with more than 38,000 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses. APA’s vision is to ensure access to quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. For more information, please visit www.psychiatry.org.