APA President Sets Stage for APA’s Future
APA President Paul Summergrad, M.D., discussed the numerous initiatives that APA undertook during his past year as president. A major initiative was the development of a strategic plan that will set the course for APA’s future. In this video, Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., editor in chief of Psychiatric News, interviews Summergrad about the strategic plan, as well as APA’s greatly improved ability to rapidly respond to misinformation about psychiatry. >>watch video



Psychiatry Under National Socialism: Actors, Not Victims
Decades passed before the German psychiatric community openly acknowledged the role of its predecessors during the Nazi era, said Frank Schneider, M.D., Ph.D., today at APA’s 2015 annual meeting in Toronto. “Psychiatrists and psychiatry were not victims; they were actors,” said Schneider, a professor of psychiatry, psychotherapy, and psychosomatics at Aachen University in Germany. >>read more



Research Helps Explain Why Long-Term AA Members Are Less Likely to Relapse
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is the modality most often used in America to help people with substance use disorder achieve recovery. There is little evidence, however, of the brain mechanisms that are associated with AA-based abstinence. >>read more


Duration of Untreated Psychosis Critical in RAISE Success
Results from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) study show that a coordinated specialty care model can be implemented in a diverse range of community clinics and that the quality of life for first-episode patients can be improved. >>read more


Challenges in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Overcoming Barriers to Effective Treatment
Authors of the two most widely used texts on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) hosted an interactive session on methods for difficult-to-treat patients today. Jesse Wright, M.D., and Judith Beck, Ph.D., described how to address common problems that can undermine the therapy process and derail progress. >>read more


New Psychotherapies Developed for Use in End-of-Life Care
Novel psychotherapeutic approaches have been developed in recent years to address the needs of patients with advanced and end-stage illness, said speakers at today’s “Meaning and Dignity in End of Life Care: Psychotherapeutic Interventions” symposium. >>read more


Psychiatrists Can Help Patients Make Autonomous Decisions on Abortion
Abortion is an excellent, if unfortunate, example of the contrast between decisions and policies based on empirical findings and decisions and policies in the real world, according to Nada Stotland, M.D., an expert in women’s reproductive health and a former APA president, who spoke at APA’s 2015 annual meeting today. >>read more


Coming Up!


Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy to Sign Books at APP Bookstore
Psychiatrists have needed an authoritative, DSM-5-compliant book on mental illness to which they can refer patients, families, and the public. Such a book has just been published by American Psychiatric Publishing—understanding mental disorders: your guide to dsm-5. Stop by the APP Bookstore to purchase your copy, and if you come tomorrow (Sunday, May 17), between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., you can have it signed by former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, one of the country’s leading advocates on mental health issues and the author of the book’s foreword.


Women: Join Colleagues for a Brown Bag Lunch
All women psychiatrists who attend APA’s 2015 annual meeting are invited to the APA Women’s Brown Bag Lunch tomorrow (Sunday, May 17) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Room 810, in the Toronto Convention Centre’s South Building. Small-group discussions will be led by APA leaders, who will share their professional as well as personal experiences and offer opportunities for mentoring, networking, brainstorming, and support.



While on site...


Help APA Develop Smoking Cessation Tools for Patients
APA members attending the 2015 annual meeting are asked to come to the Research Booth in the Member Center (Exhibit Hall) and complete a brief computerized survey to assess their current use of screening and treatment tools for tobacco use disorder. The survey will be available during Exhibit Hall hours through Tuesday. >>read more