Recovery, Community Care Focus of 2005 Institute

While APA's 2005 annual meeting in Atlanta is probably not far from your mind, it is time to look ahead and include the 57th Institute on Psychiatric Services (IPS) in another great city—San Diego—in your fall CME plans.

The IPS will offer another excellent educational experience, so make arrangements now for the IPS, which will be held at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina October 5 to 9. The theme for this year's meeting is“ Recovery and the Community.”

The IPS is a small, intimate meeting that offers an opportunity to expand your clinical knowledge while you network with colleagues and make new friends. Moreover, you can reach your educational goals while enjoying sightseeing, cultural institutions, and the culinary delights of the great city of San Diego.

The IPS offers you the opportunity to accumulate up to 48 hours of CME credit and more than 175 timely, information-packed presentations led by experts on topics such as psychopharmacology, recovery issues, social and community psychiatry, substance abuse, schizophrenia, AIDS, cross-cultural and minority issues, and resident concerns.

Three exciting plenary sessions have been scheduled throughout the conference. Charles A. Curie, M.A., administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), will speak on“ Resilience, Recovery, and a Life in the Community for Everyone”; H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., director of SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, will discuss current issues in the area of substance abuse; and Fred Frese, Ph.D., a psychologist who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, will speak on “Blending Consumer, Family, and Professional Perspectives on Recovery From Serious Mental Illness.”

In addition, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver have been invited to participate in the Curie plenary and to take part in Celebration Recovery. This event, supported by the Irwin Foundation, a nonprofit organization promoting the “recovery vision” through education, community, and research initiatives, will be a festive gala honoring individuals who are in recovery from mental illness, as well as those who have provided support, time, and encouragement to help make recovery possible.

The IPS is proud to host this event for the first time during the conference. Further details about Celebration Recovery are posted online at<www.psych.org/2005IPS>.

In addition to the valuable learning experiences for psychiatrists and mental health professionals who care for the severely mentally ill, this meeting is attractive and of special benefit to residents and medical students. These two groups will be able to interact with APA leaders and other mental health care experts in various stages of their careers at several sessions in which they will be able to discuss clinical issues and the challenges they face. They can also participate in special programs and social events designed for residents and medical students.

I hope that you take the time to review the preliminary program and will share my enthusiasm for the excellent program the IPS Scientific Program Committee prepared for you. Please join us and continue the tradition of supporting community work and education at this wonderful fall meeting.▪