Media Encouraged to Attend APA Annual Meeting Online May 1 - 3, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 22, 2021 – The American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting will be held online May 1 - 3, 2021. The theme for the meeting is "Finding Equity Through Advances in Mind and Brain in Unsettled Times," and the program will examine the concept of equity in many forms. Among the major topics to be discussed are racism, climate change, health equity, technology, COVID-19, trauma, and social determinants in community functioning.

The meeting will feature 135 sessions with live Q&A, three plenary sessions and a virtual poster hall. Some highlights include:

• The William C. Menninger Memorial Lecture delivered by Anthony Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• “Psychology of Racism and Nonviolence,” featuring the Rev. James Lawson Jr., a close friend and teacher of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rep. John Lewis
• “Equity, Ethics, and Future Directions in Telepsychiatry,” with Avrim Fishkind, M.D. and Gonzalo J. Perez-Garcia, M.D.
• “Asian American Mental Health and Racism During and Post COVID-19,” led by Edmond Hsin T. Pi, M.D.
• “The Role of Psychedelics in Psychiatry,” panel discussion led by William McDonald, M.D.
• “The Climate Crisis and Mental Health: What Will You Do?” with David Pollack, M.D.
• “Presidential Town Hall on Structural Racism #5: Annual Update,” led by Cheryl D. Wills, M.D., and APA Board of Trustees Area 4 Representative

The National Institute of Mental Health is once again sponsoring a research track and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism will also offer sessions. The Opening Session will be on May 1 at 10 a.m. (all times EST), the Convocation and William C. Menninger Memorial Lecture will be on May 2 at 10 a.m., and the Closing Session will be on May 3 at 10 a.m.

To register: Credentialed media can register through online advanced registration for journalists.

Press room: The Virtual Meeting Press Room will be open Saturday through Monday, May 1 - 3, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Daily press briefings will be held in the Virtual Press Room Saturday through Monday at 9 a.m.

Virtual press briefing: APA leadership will provide a preview for press at a virtual press briefing in April. Details to come.

More Information:
See the APA Annual Meeting site. Contact APA at press@psych.org or 202-459-9732. Join the conversation at #APAAM21.

American Psychiatric Association

The American Psychiatric Association, founded in 1844, is the oldest medical association in the country. The APA is also the largest psychiatric association in the world with more than 38,800 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses. APA’s vision is to ensure access to quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. For more information please visit www.psychiatry.org.