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What to look forward to at Psych Congress
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The 30th annual Psych Congress will take place in New Orleans from Saturday, Sept. 16 through Tuesday, Sept. 19.
As Psych Congress approaches, Healio.com/Psychiatry spoke with one of the conference co-chairs, Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH, of Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, Midland, Texas, to discuss some highlights for attendees.
What is the theme of this year’s Psych Congress?
As a co-chair, my working theme has always been to make sure that we serve the needs of our busy practitioners and offer them the widest possible practical information on how to best serve their patients with mental illness.
What are some scientific highlights attendees can look forward to?
Oh gosh, there are so many! 2017 has been a watershed year for psychiatry. There are so many new positive developments in the field. So, I’ll discuss several that are probably the most germane to this year’s Psych Congress.
The first thing I’ll talk about is genetics. There’s a revolution in genetics and genetic testing in psychiatry; yet, there are no guidelines. We have made sure this year’s Psych Congress addresses that issue in some detail.
We’re also going to be talking about cutting edge treatments emerging in the world of depression; specifically, injectable medications such as ketamine and other novel medications that are administered through novel routes.
We are also not going to shortchange the issue of psychotherapy one bit. We’ve asked each of our presenters to offer information on pharmacotherapy as well as non-pharmacotherapy.
Another thing we’ve never done before, but are this year, is offering three separate master classes from true masters in psychiatry. These include topics such as major depression from Michael Thase, MD, bipolar disorder from Terry Ketter, MD, and substance abuse from Tom Kosten, MD. These are the three most recognizable people in the world when it comes to their individual specialties. Each one will conduct a master class where they will address questions directly submitted by the audience members.
We also have keynote speakers that range from Dr. Nassir Ghaemi, who is going to address the issue of controversies in bipolar disorder, to Dr. Temple Grandin, who has autism and will discuss how she has lived and thrived despite her condition. I think that is going to be the most moving moment at this year’s Psych Congress; where we have someone who not only faces an adversity but actually thrives despite it.
What are some non-scientific (fun!) highlights for attendees?
We have Vijay Gupta, a violinist who I believe is the principal violinist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He — the giving, caring person he is — has started a musical nonprofit called Street Symphony, where he and his colleagues play classical music for individuals in homeless shelters and in prisons throughout Los Angeles. He will offer his perspectives on what music has done in terms of healing and helping these individuals battling mental illness. Then, he and a quartet will perform for us.
We will also have a gala party celebrating our 30th year anniversary at Mardi Gras World.
Our theme at Psych Congress has always been work hard, play hard, connect hard. We really are a big family and like any big family, we work together and play together.
Anything to add?
I’m so excited to catch up with many friends from years ago, to make new friends and to really share with them the excitement I feel about what is happening in psychiatry.
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To stay up-to-date with meeting highlights from Psych Congress, follow along on Healio.com/Psychiatry.