From Science and Technology to Evidence-Based Practice: Enhancing Mental Health Access Through Integration

SILVER SPRING, MD, UNITED STATES, March 1, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- It is unacceptable that millions of people today cannot access evidence-based mental health care when they need it most. It is alarming, that (per the National Institute of Mental Health), that nearly half of the 60 million adults and youth suffering from a mental health condition in the US do not receive treatment and those who do seek help often navigate a complex, costly and inequitable system. And it is shameful that many adolescents, LGBTQ+ populations, and people from historically marginalized ethnic and racial groups, as well as youth in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems, who are most at risk, do not have access to good mental health care.

While the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) recognizes that receiving treatment for many people remains a major challenge, we are excited that our 2023 annual conference will focus on ways to enhance access to mental health care through the alliance of science, technology, evidence-based practices, economics and socio-political considerations.

This year, ADAA is holding its annual conference, entitled From Science and Technology to Evidence-Based Practice: Enhancing Access through Integration, in the nation’s capital. From April 13 to 16, amidst the cherry blossoms, leading clinicians and researchers in the mental health field will meet for what promises to be a vibrant and pivotal event. It is particularly meaningful that ADAA’s 2023 conference is being held just steps away from where change is made in the United States.

“At a time when anxiety, depression and related conditions are a public health challenge, yet too few individuals from most communities have access to treatment, we must be relentless in our pursuit of evidence-informed therapies that are effective, scalable and reach everyone, including those in traditionally marginalized communities and all clinical and non-traditional settings like schools and places of worship,” said Conference Co-Chair Simon Rego, PsyD, ABPP.

What the Conference Offers

From digital and other technologies to groundbreaking new psychotherapies to psychedelics, neurostimulation, and more rapidly acting treatments, the mental health profession has seen encouraging advancements with enormous promise ahead. But huge unknowns and obstacles still exist. ADAA’s conference will highlight what is being done in the field to continue these breathtaking innovations while developing and improving on ways to break down barriers to access, treatment and stigma for all communities.

“At the same time, we’ll offer practical sessions oriented to our diverse attendees,” said Jonathan Alpert, MD, PhD. The Conference Co-Chair stressed that the event will have offerings on work-life balance, setting up a clinical practice, refining professional goals and the need for collaboration and leadership.

“We are excited to present leading speakers, interactive workshops, high-yield roundtables, Timely Topics and State of the Art Clinician sessions,” Dr. Alpert continued, “and we will also have far-ranging symposia, lively poster presentations, and offerings for early career professionals and trainees.”

Who is Speaking at the Conference

Of note this year, and a bit of a homecoming for her, is businesswoman and philanthropist Luci Baines Johnson who will give the Keynote Address. The daughter of President Lyndon Baines Johnson has said that equity in mental health care should be a top priority in this country, and that no one should be left behind on the road to better mental health.

“We cannot be a great society if we do not take on mental health as a societal issue. We cannot address America’s health successfully if we do not address mental health successfully,” she said.

Along with Ms. Johnson, ADAA is thrilled to welcome this year’s Ross Lecturer, David M. Clark, DPhil, Emeritus Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, whose talk Improving Access to Psychological Therapies: Science, Practice, Economics and Politics aligns perfectly with the conference’s theme.

ADAA is looking forward to having the renowned behavioral neurologist Dr. Helen S. Mayberg as the Presidential Guest Lecturer. Dr. Mayberg’s study of brain circuits in depression and her pioneering research of deep brain stimulation paved the way for numerous advancements in mental health care and in treatment-resistant depression. An internationally recognized researcher, Dr. Mayberg is Professor, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and founding director of the school’s Center of Advanced Circuit Therapeutics.

Why the Media Should Attend the Conference

With esteemed speakers, researchers, and clinicians presenting topics from implementing interventions in Black churches to leveraging technology for care of childhood anxiety disorders to treating nightmares in mental health conditions to affirmative mental health care for transgender and gender diverse youth, the options for coverage are numerous.

Before the pandemic, during and in this time of transition, mental health has been a major public health challenge and continues to be in a state of crisis. Everyday there is a story or two or more in the news or in a blog or podcast about some aspect of mental health. ADAA’s conference is an opportunity for the media to have direct access to over 1000 highly regarded mental health professionals, experts and advocates who work tirelessly and relentlessly every day to ensure that access, care and treatment reach everyone who suffers.

ADDA’s multidisciplinary conference is where the discussions, presentations, critical thinking, next steps, collaboration and leadership in mental health, and in particular depression, anxiety and related disorders, come together. The knowledge, information and actions that come out of the ADAA conference need to be addressed in the media.

Lise Bram
Anxiety and Depression Association of America
+1 240-485-1016
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