Human Rights Award

Purpose: The Human Rights Award was established to recognize an individual and an organization whose efforts exemplify the capacity of human beings to act courageously and effectively to prevent human rights violations, to protect others from human rights violations and their psychiatric consequences, and to help
victims recover from human rights abuses.

Nomination Procedures: APA members are asked to submit nominations by July 1, 2011 to:

Council on Psychiatry and Law
American Psychiatric Association
c/o Lori Klinedinst, Staff Liaison
1000 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1825
Arlington, VA 22209
E-mail: advocacy@psych.org

The nomination letter should succinctly describe the contributions that are the basis for the nomination and be
accompanied by a curriculum vitae of the nominee. The Council on Psychiatry and Law will serve as the award review panel in determining the recipients of this award.

The recipients will receive a plaque which will be awarded during the Convocation at the APA’s Annual Meeting in May.

APA Annual Meeting Sessions to Highlight DSM-5 Development

DSM-5 Track Schedule Includes Symposium on

Using Patient-Reported Outcomes

An update on field trials of proposed revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will be among seven sessions at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in Honolulu in May that highlight the development of the fifth edition of the manual.

The DSM-5 track at the meeting will also include a symposium supported by the National Institutes of Health on the use of patient-reported outcomes and another session that will examine proposals to incorporate dimensional assessments of psychopathology and disability in DSM-5. A session on the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in military populations will address recent and ongoing research on evidence-based treatment and improving patient care among service members and veterans with the disorder.

In another session, members of the Mood Disorders Work Group will address the diagnosis of major depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders across the lifespan, including diagnosis in children and adolescents and in older adults.

In addition, an interactive workshop will solicit audience feedback on proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria; and a research forum will address ongoing collaborative efforts between the APA and the World Health Organization in activities to revise the International Classification of Diseases.

The proposed revisions to DSM are available online at http://www.dsm5.org/.
Online advance registration for journalists is open. Review the guidelines for press participation in the meeting.

Military Mental Health Sessions Coming to APA Annual Meeting

APA Works with Military to Reduce Stigma of Mental Illness 

Sessions to address the mental health needs of service members and their families will be part of the APA Annual Meeting in May in Honolulu. The sessions include workshops on topics like substance use for returning Iraq and Afganistan veterans and a variety of reports, including sleep disruption among returning combat veterans and PTSD among American Indian veterans.

The opening symposium on Saturday, May 14, will address new approaches in managing PTSD, and a small interative session is scheduled for Tuesday, May 17, on the psychological effects on military service members and their families. Additional sessions will focus on advances in suicide prevention and how military leaders may optimize mental health of service members.

Credentialed news media are invited to register online by May 6, 2011. Registered press will have interview access to leading APA decision makers, leaders in research and other key members of other mental health agencies and organizations.  An opening press briefing highlighting the APA's 164th Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, May 15, at 8 a.m. More information will be provided on site.

Online Pressroom and Registration Open for World's Largest Psychiatric Meeting

APA’s 164th Annual Meeting Saturday, May 14 to Wednesday, May 18, 2011 in Honolulu at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Register for APA 2011 today!  APA President Carol Bernstein, M.D., worked with the Scientific Program Committee to recruit prominent speakers, including:

·         Thomas Insel, M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health and David Lewis, M.D., director of the Translational Neuroscience Program at the University of Pittsburgh headlining the NIMH-sponsored track;

·         John Walkup, M.D., New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, discussing new research on anxiety disorders in children and adolescents;

·         Dilip V. Jeste M.D., University of California, San Diego, presenting the latest research on successful cognitive aging and wisdom;

·         Wayne Katon M.D., University of Washington Medical School, addressing the link between depression and diabetes and its implications.

The theme of the meeting is “Transforming Mental Health through Leadership, Discovery and Collaboration,” and the program will feature lectures, continuing medical education courses, as well as hundreds of educational sessions and new research posters.