Innovation & Collaboration Will Define 2023 Annual Meeting in San Francisco

After four years, APA is returning to San Francisco for our 2023 Annual Meeting with a world-class program featuring 600 peer-reviewed sessions and courses and more than 1,000 posters. The theme, “Innovate, Collaborate, Motivate: Charting the Future of Mental Health,” is perfect for the timing and location, capping off the cutting-edge work of my Presidential Workgroup on a Roadmap for the Future of Psychiatry in the nation’s innovation capital. Under the extraordinary leadership of Eric R. Williams, M.D., as chair, our colleagues on the Scientific Program Committee have put together an incredible program that represents the best and most groundbreaking work in the world of psychiatry and mental health care.

As the integration of innovation and technology into our practice and profession continues at a rapid pace, there is no better place to explore the opportunities for the future than in San Francisco. The proximity of our meeting to Silicon Valley, the global center of technology and innovation, is the perfect backdrop for the Annual Meeting programming focused on helping participants stay on top of the ways that technology influences diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. Examples of highlighted sessions in the Technology Track include “Technologies to Advance Access to Mental Health: Social Media, Texting, and 988” and “Leveraging Technology to Enhance Mental Health Interventions.”

Back again at this year’s meeting is the Clinical Updates Track; it debuted in New Orleans and proved to be very popular. Attendees will leave prepared with new tools that can be immediately implemented to provide state-of-the-art treatment and improve patient outcomes (Clinical Updates Track to Offer Practical, Usable Insights for Common Clinical Challenges). The sessions will cover current standards for the treatment of anxiety, depression, psychosis, and other mental disorders encountered in everyday practice.

As a top travel destination in the world, San Francisco will play host to member physicians from all over the globe who are primed to share their unique insights and experiences with their U.S.-based colleagues. The International Medical Graduate (IMG) Track is designed to support international members at all levels of their careers integrate with and thrive in the U.S. health care system. Whether you are an IMG just out of residency, just about to begin your career as a psychiatry resident, or have been in the field for decades, there is truly something for everyone in this specialized track (IMG Track Offers Advice, Counsel, and Guidance for International Graduates). Even members who are domestic medical graduates will encounter educational opportunities in the IMG track, in sessions such as “International Medical Graduates in American Psychiatry: Past, Present, and Future,” a session dedicated to the history of IMGs, their contributions to psychiatry and APA over the years, and how they will be a crucial component of psychiatry’s future.

In keeping with the spirit of San Francisco’s vibrant arts scene, a newly developed Humanities Track will examine how art and culture affect the way we think and feel in our day-to-day lives. The humanities have power not only to entertain, but also to heal. “Catharsis Welcomes Creativity: A Poet’s Tale of Exploring Mental Health Through the Arts” and “The Role of the Photographic Arts in Psychiatry” are two offerings that will explore the important roles of art in our lives and well-being.

Last, but certainly not least, our host city is known for looking toward the future, and for us, that future lives in our residents, fellows, and medical students. Much of the scientific program was curated with these attendees in mind. APA has collaborated with PsychSIGN (Psychiatry Student Interest Group Network) to offer content exclusively tailored to medical students, and the Residents, Fellows, and Medical Students Track will provide practical, real-world information in sessions such as “How to Negotiate Contracts: What to Look for in a Job.” I encourage our more experienced members to take a moment to stop by and give your support to our RFM attendees.

I hope you will also pay special attention to invited presidential sessions, which include contributions from leaders in other psychiatry organizations; the final report of my Workgroup on a Roadmap for the Future of Psychiatry; late-breaking clinical research; current challenges in medical ethics, mental health policy, advancing diversity, and achieving equity in psychiatry; trends in treatment and policy to address opioid use disorder; psychiatry in the media; and more.

I’ve shared just a small sample here of the sessions and special symposia that will be featured at the Annual Meeting this year. I look forward to seeing you in San Francisco for the premier psychiatric event of the year, and as always, you can follow me in real time on Twitter @Pres_APA. ■