In this holiday-season conversation, host Erin Connors sits down with APA CEO and Medical Director Dr. Marketa Wills to reflect on the year and look ahead to what is next for psychiatry and the Association. Dr. Wills shares why APA’s new strategic plan is the right roadmap for a fast-changing landscape, with a sharper focus on measurable progress for members and patients. They discuss what she heard from psychiatrists across the U.S. and globally, the strongest advocacy priorities from parity to reimbursement, and how APA is strengthening partnerships and infrastructure to support the field. Dr. Wills also talks candidly about mental fitness and self-care during a demanding season.

Transcript

Erin Connors (00:08) Hello and welcome to this edition of Mental Health Pathfinders. I'm your host, Erin Connors. We're in the holiday season and another year is ending, so it's a great time to reflect back a bit and also look to the year ahead with some really exciting plans for the American Psychiatric Association. I'm joined today by our CEO and medical director, Dr. Marquita Wills. Thank you for being here today and wow, this year has really flown by.

Marketa Wills (00:33) Yes, indeed. It has been quite a year. I'm so delighted to have this opportunity to spend time with you to recap the year. So really fun and exciting moment for us.

Erin Connors (00:45) So we have to start out by talking about the new strategic plan for APA. Why was this the right moment for APA to launch it? And how do you see it responding to the needs and pressures facing psychiatry today?

Marketa Wills (00:58) Thank you for that important question. The strategic plan was so critically important for our organization because the landscape for psychiatry is changing faster than ever. And what we needed was a roadmap that everyone within the share in the APA family could share ⁓ so that we could all be walking to the beat of the same drum. ⁓ Members expect the APA to respond. with focus and respond with clarity to the challenges they face. Challenges like rising demand for services, workforce shortages, burnout, administrative burden, so many things. And this plan helps us prioritize and make deep progress in areas that we specify for targeting. Instead of doing just a little bit everywhere, we're gonna focus on the things that we know are important. important. It gives us a way to measure progress for our members, for our patients, and not just be working with activity. And one of the important things is our strategic plan is keeping science, health, and equity right at the center of the decisions that align with our refreshed mission, vision, and guiding principles.

Erin Connors (02:24) Such an important plan. And you spent a lot of time on the road this year representing the APA. What did you learn from your travels, both in the US and overseas, about what psychiatrists need from us right now?

Marketa Wills (02:37) Yes, I spent a lot of time traveling and listening deeply to psychiatrists all over the country and really all over the globe, as you said. Psychiatrists are hungry for practical tools that they can use on Monday morning, not just big picture ideas. They also want to feel connected to their professional home. They want APA to be a strong and visible advocate with policymakers, payers in the media. And they are wanting... ⁓ international partners see APA as a convener and a source of technical expertise. So people appreciate when we go out and do these visits that we're listening, not just talking, and that we're really fashioning our organization to support them in the ways that they need to be supported.

Erin Connors (03:43) And advocacy obviously is a big part of that. And that's been a big, big part of your leadership. Looking back on this year, how do you describe APA's advocacy story? And where do you think we made the strongest impact for our patients and for our profession?

Marketa Wills (03:59) Thank you for that question, Erin. We elevated the voice of psychiatrists on issues such as parity, access to care, and reimbursement. And we have done so by being persistent about becoming a patient-centered and data-driven organization. And so that is what we have focused on. We highlighted the mental health needs of youth, communities of color. folks who live with serious mental illnesses, ⁓ and we continue to deepen our relationships with key federal and state partners. We're looking towards the future. ⁓ We are looking to invest in mental health infrastructure. And we believe that mental health is an essential component for healthy communities and healthy economies. And we align our advocacy efforts in this way.

Erin Connors (05:00) And you've spoken often about mindfulness and mental fitness for physicians as well. What practices or perspectives have helped you stay grounded? It's been such a demanding year. And what do you hope APA members take from that?

Marketa Wills (05:17) Well, in order to lead an organization such as this, and there's many opportunities, many challenges, many demands, as you said, I definitely need to start with making sure that I take care of myself. So self-care is so important and I work very hard to be intentional about that. I try to start the day with a few moments of quiet. before emails, before meetings. I also do brief breathing practices between meetings and it helps me reset and show up fully to each and every conversation. Work in progress here, but I do try to set boundaries around work. ⁓ And I'm always learning how to do that over time better by getting mentorship and having peer conversations with others. But I do also believe in body movement. So ⁓ that is non-negotiable for me, is making sure that I am working out as consistently as possible. I went through a period where I wasn't working out as much as I could. had... hadn't been feeling well. And I could tell that the moment that I started back working out, when I could work back out again, how it just energized me and how I was able to put more energy into my work. So I hope that all of our members give themselves permission to invest in their own wellbeing, not just in the ⁓ improvement of their patients.

Erin Connors (06:59) It's that work-life balance, especially this time of year. mean, we all, and we've talked about this with our APA polling, people are a little more stressed out this time of year. So it's really important to take a moment for yourself.

Marketa Wills (07:11) Absolutely, absolutely. The demands of holiday parties and gatherings ⁓ can always add more on getting Christmas cards out, holiday greeting cards out, New Year's cards out. It can always add so much to the plate, but it's important that we really, really prioritize our own wellbeing, especially during the holiday season.

Erin Connors (07:34) Absolutely. You know, a recurring theme in your talks is that budgets are moral documents that reflect our values. How has that perspective influenced the way you approached resource allocation and investment decisions at APA this year?

Marketa Wills (07:51) Well, that's an excellent question. ⁓ Every budget decision starts with one question. At the end of the day, will this help psychiatrists and their patients? And so we work hard to steer our resources towards work that helps members deliver quality care and that makes them feel supported in their practice. So also, Investments in equity and inclusion are treated as core to our mission, not nice to haves. But when something no longer serves members well, we make room for what does. More energy is going into building our infrastructure with data and tools to support member for years to come. And whenever possible, we try to be very clear about the decision-making process to highlight the trade-offs between options so people understand how and why choices are made.

Erin Connors (08:55) In our internal messages, we've talked about building a stronger one APA culture. Where have you seen that spirit of collaboration and shared purpose show up most clearly among staff and our members this year?

Marketa Wills (09:10) Well, one key example was really the process around pulling together the strategic plan. That journey ⁓ was really a collaborative one where ⁓ both members and staff ⁓ really shaped that vision together. We are ⁓ working more and more from a staff perspective in cross-functional teams. breaking down silos, and we are working to refresh and update our staff core values so that we can really understand how we want to show up for one another and show up for serving members. And that's been important ⁓ because ⁓ we know that breaking down those silos is what's going to allow us to thrive in our purpose. ⁓ Also, we've been working towards fostering collaborations between all of the components, so the councils, the committees, et cetera. And we're also working really hard to deepen the bridges and bonds between APA Central and the district branches with whom we share members. So across all of this, there's a growing sense that we're rowing in the same direction, that we're all aligned around the same mission. And I think as the strategic plan gets launched, it's going to help us do so to an even greater degree.

Erin Connors (10:52) That's wonderful. And as you look to this coming year, what are the key milestones or shifts you're most focused on to keep that strategic plan moving forward with our members, patients, and partners?

Marketa Wills (11:05) With regards to the strategic plan, the thing that is the most important to me is that people don't view the strategic plan as just a piece of paper or a document, but really that they can see and feel and track the action, concrete actions that emanate from this plan. And so each of the objectives that we outlined will have tangible next steps. We're working on developing those right now so that members and staff alike can see what's coming and can see what our priority areas are targeted towards. ⁓ So we will do this by being very clear about metrics to help us celebrate our wins, but we be transparent when we don't have wins. I think that when we don't hit our metrics, that gives us an opportunity to refine what we're doing and to adjust what we're doing. So that's very important. I also want trainees and early career psychiatrists to be a part of all of this, to really shape our organization for the future. And we are very, very excited about partnering with other organizations to help carry APA's voice even farther than we can alone. So I'm excited about bringing the strategic plan to life ⁓ and making sure that people can feel that difference, that it's a palpable difference.

Erin Connors (12:47) So as we close out 2025, what message of appreciation or encouragement would you like to share directly with APA members and staff as we look toward the future of psychiatry together?

Marketa Wills (13:01) Well, to our members, I am immensely and deeply grateful for the care that you provide, often under very difficult circumstances. And I'm inspired by the resilience and compassion of the psychiatrists who are members and even those who aren't, and truly value each and every one of them as colleagues. To our staff, ⁓ I am so grateful for the ways in which you show up daily with excellence towards creativity, problem solving. You are the heartbeat of every APA achievement. And I'm very, very honored to be able to serve as your CEO. The strategic plan at its core is about making all of our work more sustainable and more meaningful. And although it's normal to feel uncertainty during times of change, we are in this together. I feel an immense amount of optimism and pride about the future of psychiatry and also about the future of the American Psychiatric Association. So I am very, very appreciative and excited as we move forward together as one APA. ⁓

Erin Connors (14:34) Dr. Marquita Wills, we so appreciate your leadership and happy holidays to you and here's to a wonderful new year ahead.

Marketa Wills (14:43) Thank you so much, Erin. This has been a delightful conversation.

Erin Connors (14:47) And to our listeners, join us every month for a new edition of Mental Health Pathfinders. You can find us on your favorite podcast platform.