Some of the most pressing issues facing mental health professionals are treatment resistant anxiety and depression. Experts will discuss these and other relevant topics when they convene at the Anxiety and Depression 2018 Conference at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC.

 

This annual professional conference draws more than 1,300 clinicians and researchers from around the world who specialize in anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD and other co-occurring disorders. Distinguished national and international therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and researchers will focus on the challenges facing those who treat anxiety and mood disorders, including how to improve treatment and find cures.

 

"Patients often have questions about whether they are receiving the most appropriate care for mood and anxiety disorders," says Beth Salcedo, MD, ADAA President and Medical Director, The Ross Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders, "even though a wide range of evidence-based mental health interventions are available." Dr. Salcedo explains, "Scientific research leads to new and novel treatment approaches, so clinicians are faced with more and more information all the time. Those who attend the conference will take away a much greater sense of the variety of mental health treatments for their patients who need help now - and in the future."

The director of the National Institute of Mental Health Joshua Gordon, MD, PhD will be delivering the keynote address - An Update from NIMH - on Thursday evening. Dr. Gordon's research focuses primarily on the analyses of neural activity in mice carrying mutations of relevance to psychiatric disease. Dr. Gordon has recently been featured in news articles sharing the significance of research milestones such as discovering anxiety cells in the brain. The Jerilyn Ross lecture - Pharmacological Strategies in the Treatment of Resistant Depression (TRD): The Past, The Present, and The Future - will take place on Friday afternoon, and will be presented by Maurizio Fava, MD, who directs the division of clinical research at the Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute. The Conference's  Saturday Plenary Session will cover the U.S. opioid epidemic, and will feature presenters Carlos Blanco, MD, PhD, along with Robert Schwartz, MD. This year's Conference will feature more than 170 workshops, symposia, and roundtables, a clinical practice as well as a research symposium. More than 40 exhibitors and sponsors will also be in attendance.

 

Many of the world's most experienced and knowledgeable clinicians and researchers will address issues related to anxiety and depression, among them mindfulness, trauma, substance abuse, ketamine therapy, suicide, the opioid epidemic, the use of mental health apps, alternative therapies, telemental health, veteran-focused therapy, new and novel pharmacotherapies and selective mutism. Sessions focused on anxious children, women's issues, and culturally sensitive therapy for minority and LGBTQ communities will also be offered.

ADAA's unique interlinked consumer and professional mission is focused on improving quality of life and reducing stigma for those struggling with anxiety, depression and co-occurring disorders. ADAA, an international nonprofit organization, strives to improve patient care by promoting the implementation of evidence-based treatments, best practices and research across disciplines through continuing education and trainings and accelerating dissemination of research into practice. Visit www.adaa.org  to learn more.