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How the AAAP Welcomes International Members

by Ben J.M. van de Wetering, MD, PhD, Rotterdam, 
The Netherlands

I became a member of the AAAP in 2000 shortly after
being appointed as medical director of the Bouman Addiction Care facility in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This meant a new field of interest after a 14-year period of academic psychiatry at the Erasmus University also in Rotterdam. At the university, hospital addictions formed more or less an exclusion criterium for treatment. As the number of psychiatrists working primarily in the field of addictions is limited in the Netherlands, I had been looking for a broader platform to obtain knowledge in the field. I thought at least membership in the AAAP offered the opportunity of a subscription to The American Journal on Addictions that was cheaper than a direct subscription via the publisher. However, membership had more to offer than just the AJA. I attended the 11th Annual Meeting of the AAAP in Phoenix in 2000. The welcoming atmosphere for new members was even more impressive than the wonderful hotel. A special meeting for new members and the appointment with a mentor for new members was a completely new experience for me. It certainly helped to establish a lot of interesting professional contacts.

The dark shadows of the tragic events of September 11 hung over the 2001 meeting at Amelia Island. My journey was complicated by an emergency in Washington and a small plane crash in Jacksonville that caused our plane to land at an alternative airport. With a six-hour delay, I finally made it to The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island. The welcome there by the AAAP was even more heart-warming than the previous year. The staff and members seemed even more appreciative that people from Europe were attending the meeting. Again, the presentations and discussions with colleagues were very instructive and stimulating for me.

Last December, I attended the 13th Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. Dr. David Crockford whom I also met in the Netherlands in September at the Addictions 2002 meeting (as well as Dr. Roger Weiss), had invited me to be a presenter on addiction care in the Netherlands. Surprised by the invitation to a newcomer in the field and in the AAAP, it showed me again how open and stimulating the organization is. Moreover, there is a strong and real interest in the AAAP in foreign experiences and practice in the field, which was sort of a revelation for a European used to the McDonaldization of the Western Hemisphere. At the meeting of the editorial board of the AJA, I was invited to become an international advisor to the board in order to expand the impact of the AJA in Europe by increasing the contribution of European authors. Of course, I gladly accepted the invitation. And, though the Netherlands is often considered as one of the most enlightened countries with respect to drug policy (more by colleagues than by politicians by the way) there are reasons for concern, as I mentioned in my presentation at the meeting. One reason is that addiction is primarily considered a behavioral problem that is mainly treated on the behavioral level. That has caused an enormous underdiagnosis of underlying (psycho)pathology and in many cases inappropriate treatment. Our institute now strongly advocates covering addiction care as mainstream mental health under our health insurance plans, intensifying a medical approach. A second reason for concern is the repressive atmosphere in national politics towards addiction and addicted patients. Seen as a public nuisance, repressive measures are often used as a response instead of increased care for patients. We feel that it is the responsibility of addiction care to protect the most vulnerable patients in our society, opposing these tendencies by intensifying our efforts to provide optimal and effective health care.