If we are willing to change the paradigm, shifting our focus from treating illness at the individual level to focusing on improving the psychological health of all people in our neighborhoods and communities, we can create a system of interventions across the continuum of the population that is all aimed at everyone’s health no matter where they’re at. In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Dr. Arthur Evans. Arthur is a clinical and community psychologist, healthcare innovator, policymaker, and the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President of the American Psychological Association, the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. Before joining APA in March 2017, Arthur spent 12 years as commissioner of Philadelphia's Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services transforming that agency’s approach to serving a wide range of individuals with complex needs. Arthur has received national and international recognition for his work, including being recognized as an “Advocate for Action” by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, receiving the American Medical Association’s top government service award in healthcare, receiving the National Council of Behavioral Health’s Visionary Leadership Award, and more. Together Graham and Arthur discuss fostering equitable health, challenges of our current system of treatment, and strategies to addressing population health. We can look at the world differently. If we can see the value we bring as mental health professionals, and we’re partnering with people to really address the broader mental needs of the community, we can get out of the current system and bring our expertise in fulfilling ways.

Resources

For more information about the American Psychological Association, please visit:

For more information about population health please read the article Psychology’s Role in Advancing Population Health:

To contact Dr. Arthur Evans, please email: aevans@apa.org