Advances in Psychosomatic Medicine

Advances in Psychosomatic Medicine is one in a series of “Advances In” sessions at the 2010 APA Annual meeting that will in-depth information on specific areas of psychiatry. James L. Levenson, M.D., will lead the symposium, which will provide up-to-date information by experts on psychiatric issues in obstetrics and gynecology; pain management; psychosis, mania, and catatonia in the medically ill; legal issues at the interface of psychiatry and medicine; and psychopharmacology in the medically ill.

Psychosomatic Medicine is the newest psychiatric subspecialty and its practitioners are those who have particular expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders and psychological difficulties in complex medically ill patients. Clinically, Psychosomatic Medicine focuses on three groups of patients: 1) those with comorbid psychiatric and general medical illnesses complicating management, 2) those with somatoform and functional disorders, and 3) those with psychiatric disorders that are the direct consequence of a primary medical condition or its treatment.

Advances In sessions are three-hour didactic lecture series featuring well-known experts presenting clinical and research findings and allowing time for questions and answers. Advances in Psychosomatic Medicine will be Monday, May 24, 2010 from 9 a.m. to noon.

NIDA Track Coming to APA 2010 Meeting

The nuerobiology of obestity and the pathways of addiction in the developing brain are among topics the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is planning for its track at the APA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, May 22-26, 2010.

NIDA staff and researchers are planning symposia and workshops on these topics:

• The Challenge of Cognitive Enhancers in Medicine
• How Dysfunction of Learning and Memory Circuits Contribute to Substance Abuse and Other Psychiatric Disorders
• Maintenance Treatment for Opiate Dependence: Terminable or Interminable?
• Innovations in Integrated Treatment of Substance Use and Psychiatric Disorders
• Neurobiology of Obesity: Why We Can Get Too Motivated to Eat
• Sex/Gender Differences and Women-Specific Issues in Drug Abuse: Predicting and Improving Treatment Outcomes
• Update on Medications Development: Promising New Treatments for Drug Addiction
• Adolescent Potential: Exploring the Developing Brain and Understanding Pathways of Addiction
• Smoking and Psychiatric Disorders: Clues About Causal Pathways and Innovative Treatment Approaches
• Novel Tools for Preventing and Treating Substance Use and Comorbidities in the Military and Returning Veterans
• Treating Chronic Pain and Co-Occuring Addiction in Substance Abuse Patients
• Reward neurocircuitry in substance dependence and other psychiatric disorders: What does brain research tell us? Executive Function as a Brain System for Self-control: The Neurocircuitry of Psychiatric Disorders and Addiction

APA Headed for New Orleans

Two APA members and New Orleans Natives -- Drs. Dan Winstead and Ed Foulks -- created this video to show the sights to see while attending the APA’s 163rd Annual Meeting.

Member Registration Opens for APA Meeting

Early Bird registration has opened for members of the American Psychiatric Association for the 2010 APA Annual Meeting in New Orleans May 22-26, 2010. Registration for non-members opens on December 17. Press registration will open in mid-January.

Non-member psychiatrists can apply now for APA Membership to take advantage of member pricing if your membership application is received by April 2. Learn more on the American Psychiatric Association meeting Web pages.