mission statement

The Committee is a voice for psychiatrists to:

  • Protect access to evidence-based mental-health and substance-use treatment

  • Stand up against politicized attempts to censor free speech, scientific inquiry, and medical practice

  • Champion public health and the social determinants of health in order to sustain strong and healthy communities

  • Sound the alarm on policies and practices harming the health and mental wellbeing of the American people

Close-up of a healthcare professional wearing a white lab coat, with arms crossed and holding a red stethoscope.

Who we are

The Committee to Protect Public Mental Health is an independent group of psychiatrists, including eight Past Presidents of the American Psychiatric Association, current and former leaders of public mental health agencies, researchers, and medical professionals providing care across the United States. The Committee is separate from the APA and the positions or views of the Committee do not necessarily represent the views of the APA.

Established in early 2025, the Committee was formed to protect our patients and our profession in the face of the current federal administration’s cuts to vital programs, attacks on diversity and inclusion, censorship of scientific integrity and free speech, and extensive efforts to restrict the public’s access to evidence-based, lifesaving care.