Power, money, and the welfare of millions of Americans are today entrusted to a handful of psychiatric administrators, many of whom are inadequately trained for their jobs and often become entangled in political controversies that limit their effectiveness, if not their term in office. In many respects the philosophy and ideology of the psychiatric professional and the politician are opposites; yet it is the task of the psychiatric executive to reconcile these trends if the masses of patients dependent on governmental care are to benefit. Today, state systems of care are extraordinarily vulnerable to political and news media attacks, and the citizens are aroused as never before. Drawing on his many years of experience in executive roles, the author describes what it is like to live in the center of the "psychopolitical" arena, working to advance the goals of a mental health system within a complex political framework.Abstract Teaser