Transition to private practice.

f you are a regular reader of this section of the journal, you know that I am a cognitive therapist. You are aware, as well, that I have applied I this present-oriented model to aid the adjustment of patients diagnosed with cancer. My initial work in this area was accomplished at the Hollings Cancer Center of the Medical University of South Carolina, working alongside an enlightened oncologist. In late 2007, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., published the results of a 2-year study that established guidelines mandating the provision of appropriate psychosocial services to all cancer patients and their families. For me, the next phase in pursuing this application of cognitive therapy (and satisfying the mandate) came in the form of an opportunity to work as a psychiatrist in an oncology private practice. M. Daud Nawabi, M.D., the head of this outpatient group practice in Charleston, S.C., was instrumental in providing this opportunity.