Leading Psychiatrists to Lecture on Issues From Youth to End of Life

Each year five outstanding APA members are asked to present a lecture at APA’s annual meeting as part of the Distinguished Psychiatrist Lecture Series.

This year brings a group with diverse interests and backgrounds, prompting a recommendation from me to “get there early” if you wish to get a seat in the lecture halls.

This year’s distinguished psychiatrists are George Alexopoulos, M.D., Edwin (Ned) Cassem, M.D., Mary Jane Massie, M.D., John Oldham, M.D., and Elizabeth Weller, M.D.

As the number of elderly people continues to escalate with the aging of baby boomers and longer life expectancies, more psychiatrists will be needed to care for them and deal with issues that pertain to this population. George Alexopoulos will present the lecture “What Can Late Life Teach Us About Depression?” on Tuesday, May 21, at 2 p.m.

A topic of major concern—the young woman with breast cancer—is an issue that the technology of the 21st century forces us to address. Perhaps no one in the United States has more experience with the psychiatric aspects of breast cancer than Mary Jane Massie. She will present her lecture, “You Are 24 and You Have What?,” on Monday, May 20.

Ned Cassem will present the lecture “Can the Third Millennium Psychiatrist Help Persons at the End of Life?” on Wednesday, May 22, at 11 a.m. During the 20th century we experienced the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. That is not the solution to what psychiatrists can offer patients who are at the end of their lives. We can expect Dr. Cassem to challenge us to consider our role in this crucial life stage.

APA meetings are often criticized for too much on the brain and not enough on the mind. I believe you will find a reasonable balance at the Philadelphia annual meeting in presentations such as the lecture by John Oldham titled, “Personality Disorders: New Findings and Current Controversies.” He will speak on Monday, May 20, at 9 a.m. Clinicians who treat patients with personality disorders will enjoy the chance to hear from a prominent psychiatrist/psychoanalyst about exciting research in this area.

Elizabeth Weller’s lecture is titled “Mania in Youth: A Transition From Ignorance to Enlightenment to Confusion.” This is a “must-attend” for anyone who treats adolescents and children or who is a parent. She will speak on Wednesday, May 23, at 2 p.m.

Please check the program book for the location of each lecture. The program book will be distributed on site to all registrants.

More information about APA’s annual meeting can be accessed on the Web at www.psych.org by clicking on the annual meeting logo. The meeting’s preliminary program is posted on the Psychiatric News Web site at http://pn.psychiatryonline.org under the February 15 issue. ▪