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As psychiatrists, we are privileged to work with invisible wounds and sufferings. And as such, we can offer solu-
tions in the form of support, prevention, hope, resilience and most importantly a path to healing.

When I was introduced to and connected with recent recipients of APA/APAF awardees from our DB, I was excit-
ed to see recipients from different programs, including child & adolescent psychiatry fellowships. Over the last few
years during my work with RFMs, I am touched by their thoughtful, compassionate and innovative projects fo-
cused on youth mental health. Through the NCPS platform, we plan to highlight and invite these fellows to learn
from their projects via newsletter articles, conference talks, and educational webinars. This reminds me of the
NCPS fall conference, scheduled for October 22, 2022, which will be led by our RFMs and ECPs with a focus on Cli-
mate Change and Mental Health. So don’t miss this opportunity to learn about this important topic from our future lead-
ers.

While there are many resources out there, the one I would like to share here is the Surgeon General of CA-Dr. Na-
dine Burke Harris’s Roadmap for Resilience. An excellent resource (osg.ca.gov) offering pathways for the preven-
tion of childhood trauma and proposed public health approaches.

In addition, through the NCPS platform, our members have opportunities to expand psychiatry’s reach by engag-
ing in advocacy, proposing and supporting measures for the prevention of trauma, ACEs and shaping local and
national policies for the health, well-being and safety of our youth and communities. Concurrently, it is of para-
mount importance that we also take care of our own well-being. As a reminder, NCPS has several committees
(ethics, DEI, member resource group) and monthly pop-in power hour for support, sharing trials and tribulations
as well as achievements and joys with each other.

I conclude by expressing my deep gratitude for all the amazing work you do, within and outside of NCPS!
Till next time.

Warmly,

Farah Zaidi, MD

In this Issue

Peter Forster, MD ~ Editor

It is a pleasure to write this introduction to the end of summer edition of our newsletter. This edition includes sev-
eral articles highlighting the crisis in child and adolescent mental health. Guest editor Richa Bhatia not only helped
recruit some first time contributors to the newsletter, but also wrote an article on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
that is an excellent summary of the challenges but also some directions to move in order to address these challeng-
es. Syd Wright writes about the impact of tobacco addiction, which often begins in adolescence, on the health of
our community, and summarizes New Zealand's dramatic new initiative which will forbid sale of tobacco to any-

one born after 2008 throughout their lifetime. We also summarize a number of articles that have appeared recently
in the APA News. Ranvinder Rai writes about the importance of community for a healthy childhood in her article
It Takes a Village. Omar Sahak's article The Light is a more personal contribution from someone who has had to
wrestle with trauma growing up in Afghanistan and is now a child and adolescent fellow here in Northern Califor-
nia. Our legislative update from Paul Yoder highlights the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative in Cali-
fornia that will provide 4.4 billion dollars as an investment in services to support children's mental health. Other
articles in this edition include an article on becoming a fiction writer in our Musings series. There is an article that
highlights proposed changes in our bylaws that is worth a careful read before you vote on these changes. Michael
McGee contributes an article in our Adventures in Adversity series. J. Connor Barnhart and Cynthia He write about

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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PSYCHIATRIC SOCIETY Page 3 July/August 2022