Exploring Anticipated Highlights & Updates from Psych Congress 2022

Psych Congress 2022 is set to begin this upcoming weekend. With that in mind, what are some anticipated highlights and clinical pearls we can expect to see at this year's Congress?

Steering Committee Co-Chairs Andrew Penn, MS, PMHNP, Associate Clinical Professor, University of California, San Francisco, and Arwen Podesta, MD, Podesta Wellness; clinical faculty, Tulane Psychiatry; CMO NOLA Detox, New Orleans, Louisiana, share what they're looking forward to during the 35th Annual Psych Congress meeting.

Psychopharmacology & Clinical Pearls

According to Dr. Podesta, while the food, music, and culture of New Orleans have already drawn in a large number of healthcare professionals from around the world, there are many other areas of psychopharmacology that will be focused on.

Dr. Podesta himself will be leading the following sessions: “Psychopharmacology Essentials; Primer for the 21st Century Clinician Pre-Conference Part 2,” and “State of Substance Abuse.” But beyond that, there are several clinical pearls he’s looking forward to getting:

“There are so many other conference pieces, some sessions on ADHD, some sessions on autism, Parkinson's, schizophrenia, really, you name it, the leaders in the psychiatric community are going to be here giving you loads of information,” Dr. Podesta said. “But also, what I love about Psych Congress is we get clinical pearls, we get take home messages, we get so many tangible things that we can use in our practice.”

Mr. Penn shared that he was looking forward to having an in-person event, which has been tricky given the COVID-19 pandemic, and getting the opportunity to learn with and from a variety of professions. His focus during this upcoming congress will be on psychedelics, including the following sessions: “Psychedelics as Medicine: A History of Where We’ve Been and a Map of Where We’re Going,” and “Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy: How is it Different from What We Already Do?”

The Pandemic’s Impact on Healthcare

On top of the focus on psychedelics, this upcoming conference will take a look at the impacts of COVID-19 on the healthcare field, specifically in the field of psychopharmacology. In a joint session with Dr. Saundra Jain from the University of Texas, Mr. Penn will explore the practice of gratitude as one way to cope with burnout while acknowledging the systemic issues that lead to it. This session is titled “We’re All Really Tired: Looking at Gratitude as an Antidote to Pandemic Burnout.”

The COVID-19 pandemic will also be the focus of another session, titled “Good Grief!: Prolonged Grief Disorder in the Context of COVID and Beyond,” led by Dr. Alana Iglewicz from the University of California.

Anticipated Session Highlights

Dr. Podesta and Mr. Penn also highlighted a few sessions they’re looking forward to seeing, including the keynote address from Dr. Tom Insel, former director of the National Institutes of Mental Health. Dr. Insel will lead a session titled “Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health,”

Mr. Penn also expressed interest in a session led by Dr. Rakesh Jain titled “Humor -It is a Laughing Matter: Examining the Neurobiology and Clinical Applications of Humor in Clinical Practice,” where Dr. Jain will explore humor as a tool to reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety, and share practical tips on how clinicians can apply it to their practice.

To close, Dr. Podesta reiterated the value of having multiple treatment professionals in a room to learn from each other and share information.

I want to reiterate what you said about having multiple treatment professionals, not just MDs, not just MPs, not just psychotherapists all in the same room because we treat together so we should learn together and take home these clinical pearls and also take home lots of friendships,” Dr. Podesta explained. “I look forward to it.”

Resources:

https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/pcn/videos/clinical-pearls-crescent-city-psych-congress-2022-preview-andrew-penn-ms-pmhnp-and