Virtual-only attendees are invited for an exclusive first chance to register for four additional virtual course offerings taking place after the Annual Meeting, from June to July.
The 2024 APA Virtual Summer Courses are four-hour, clinically-focused content allowing participants to learn from and amongst their peers with instruction from leading experts on important topics in mental health care. Each virtual course is uniquely designed to guide participants through their learning journey. Participants meet with the faculty experts for virtual skill building instruction that includes live case presentations, breakout groups, and more.
Registration and Access to Courses
The courses will be facilitated in May – July 2024 via the APA Learning Center. Review the course details to determine when course materials will be available and when live trainings will be conducted. Each course has a unique structure that has been designed by the course presenters to foster an engaging online learning experience. Virtual Summer Course registrants will receive an email notification to confirm enrollment and provide guidance on accessing the course via the APA Learning Center using an invitation code.
Questions?
For technical assistance or questions about any of these courses, email [email protected].
Course Schedule
Evaluation and Treatment of Sexual Dysfunctions
- Accessible via APA Learning Center: April 22
- Live Course Date: May 7, 8:00 a.m. – Noon ET
- aguih William IsHak, M.D.
- Course Structure: 4 hours of live (real time) training.
The course is designed to meet the needs of psychiatrists who are interested in acquiring current knowledge about the evaluation and treatment of sexual disorders in everyday psychiatric practice. The participants will acquire knowledge and skills in taking an adequate sexual history and diagnostic formulation. The epidemiology, diagnostic criteria, and treatment of different sexual disorders will be presented including the impact of current psychiatric and non-psychiatric medications on sexual functioning. Treatment of medication induced sexual dysfunction (especially the management of SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction) as well as sexual disorders secondary to medical conditions will be presented. Treatment interventions for sexual disorders will be discussed including psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatments. Clinical application of presented material will be provided using real world case examples brought by the presenter and participants. Methods of teaching will include lectures, clinical vignettes, and group discussions.
Learning Objectives
- Acquire practical knowledge and skills in evaluation of Sexual Dysfunctions
- Acquire practical knowledge and skills in treatment of Sexual Dysfunctions
- Apply gained knowledge/ skills to real-world examples of Sexual Dysfunctions
What Does the General Practitioner Need to Know about Forensic Psychiatry?
- Accessible via APA Learning Center: May 20
- Live Course Date: June 5, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. ET
- G. David Annas, M.D., M.P.H.; Tobias Wasser, M.D.; Jennifer Piel, M.D., J.D.
- Course Structure: 3 hours of asynchronous learning and 1 hour of live
- Topics: Forensic Psychiatry
Regardless of specialty, psychiatrists often engage with the legal system. For example, it is common for inpatient practitioners to petition the courts for treatment over objection and testify, in support of the petition. Psychiatrists are also often concerned about assessing risk properly, ethically, and in ways that reduce liability risk. Many in such positions do not have specialized training in forensic psychiatry, and will not enter into formal training, yet need more assistance to improve their skills. This course is designed to address what psychiatrists in general practice need to know about engaging with the legal system effectively. Through case presentations, interactive sessions, and didactics, the participants will learn the basic practical skill and knowledge needed to better interact with the courts in these matters. Some of the topics addressed will include Treatment Over Objection, hospital retention, Risk Assessment, report writing and how to testify effectively in court. At the end of this course the participants will acquire the skills required for effective forensic report writing, become more confident in providing testimony, and achieve a better knowledge and understanding of how to navigate legal matters related to treatment. The instructors include three board-certified forensic psychiatrists, one of whom is also an attorney with extensive legal experience. The instructors have a combined 25+ years of experience in providing teaching and training for forensic psychiatry fellows and residents, have testified in court over 140 times and have written well over 630 forensic reports. Please note, this course is intended to teach general practice psychiatrists who are not forensically trained. This course is not designed for those who have formal training in forensics. Additionally, it is not designed to teach non-forensically trained practitioners how to perform advanced forensic private practice work (such as giving expert witness testimony regarding criminal responsibility, malpractice, etc.). However, this course may benefit those who are interested in considering specialized forensic fellowship training in the future (especially residents) and will include a short presentation on what to expect should you choose to pursue this field, further.
Learning Objectives
- Provide effective testimony in court as a treating psychiatrist and understand subpoenas, depositions, and witness qualifications.
- Perform accurate forensic-related assessments that arise in general practice (Treatment Over Objection, hospital retention, AOT/IOC).
- Write effective reports for court submission and improve clinical documentation.
- Achieve improved skill in dealing with forensic-related issues that occur in general practice, including “dangerousness” assessments, duty to warn/protect, and ethical issues that arise in practice.
Applying Quality Improvement Methods
- Accessible via APA Learning Center: May 20
- Live Course Dates: June 11, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. ET and July 1, 2024, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. ET
- Jennifer Erickson, D.O.; Anna Ratzliff, M.D., Ph.D.; Amy Bauer, M.D. M.S.; Denise Chang. M.D.; Jessica Whitfield, M.D., M.P.H.
- Course Structure: 1 hour of asynchronous learning and 3 hours of live (1.5 hours per live course)
- Topics: Healthcare Quality and Equity
Recent years have increasingly emphasized systems-based factors for healthcare quality and equity. Relative to general medicine, Psychiatry has been slower to adopt quality improvement (QI) methods. Nevertheless, there is increasing awareness of the potential for data-driven practice improvement to benefit mental health outcomes. Although QI is now an ACGME requirement for psychiatrists during residency training, practicing psychiatrists have few opportunities to develop skills in QI. These skills are critical as psychiatrists transition to practice and must implement continuous quality improvement. QI is a central element in the success of the Collaborative Care model, which has been shown in over 90 randomized trials to double the effectiveness of care for common mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, as well as more complex conditions, including bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Moreover, QI methods can be utilized successfully to implement principles of Collaborative Care across psychiatric practice settings regardless of whether or not the Collaborative Care model has been implemented. This course will introduce QI for psychiatrists across the spectrum of career development and provide them experience in writing Aim statements, writing and testing operational definitions of measurements, practicing Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles in a simulation activity, and creating a plan for their practice improvement. Participants will learn the essentials of the Model for Improvement. Dr. Bauer will introduce the session and provide an overview of QI. Dr. Erickson and Dr. Chang will lead interactive activities designed to aid participants in developing skills in writing SMART Aim statements and operationalizing measures with precision. Participants will then engage in a series of PDSA cycles in a simulation activity designed to provide an interactive real-time experience with generating and testing an operationalized measure in a mock clinical setting. The activities will emphasize applying these methods to implement a principle of Collaborative Care and clinical settings, such as measurement-based treatment-to-target. Dr. Whitfield will describe how these principles can be applied and provide examples of successful QI projects from community-based psychiatrists to begin to craft a plan for practice improvement in their clinical setting using PDSA cycles to test small changes iteratively. Finally, Dr. Ratzliff will lead a discussion of how these new skills can support the implementation of new evidence-based approaches into current practice.
Learning Objectives
- Identify 3 key elements of the Model for Improvement
- Write a SMART Aim statement
- Understand the importance of a clear operational definition for a measure
- Establish a plan for practice improvement using PDSA cycles to test small, rapid changes in the participant’s own practice setting
- Recognize how to apply the Model for Improvement to implement principles of Collaborative Care
Religion and Spirituality as a Determinant of Mental Health: Assessment and Integration into Clinical Practice
- Accessible via APA Learning Center: June 3
- Live Course Date: June 25, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. ET
- Alexander Moreira-Almeida, M.D., Ph.D.; Francis Lu, M.D.; Dilip Jeste, M.D.; Wai Lun Alan Fung, M.D., SC.D.; John Peteet, M.D.
- Course structure: 4 hours of live (real time) training
- Topics: Clinical Practice; Religion; Mental Health
A robust research body has shown that religion/spirituality (R/S) is a powerful determinant of mental health, but many clinicians are unfamiliar with the contributions of R/S to the health of people with mental illnesses and lack the skills to needed integrate R/S into clinical practice. The course will start by presenting the evidence and mechanisms for the impact of R/S on mental health that is evidence-based, which can contribute to ethically sound bio-psycho-socio-spiritual patient-centered care. Patients’ religious/spiritual convictions, practices and communities can be important resources in their recovery. But religiously reinforced stigma, and spiritual concerns such as being punished or abandoned by God can put them at greater risk. Using case examples, participants will explore practical and ethical aspects of the psychiatrist’s role in addressing these positive and negative influences of R/S during the process of psychiatric assessment, formulation, and treatment. The DSM-5 TR Outline for Cultural Formulation and Cultural Formulation Interview including the Supplementary Module on Religious, Spiritual, and Moral Traditions will be reviewed to provide psychiatrists with clinical tools to assess identity, cultural concepts of distress, stressors, and supports, and cultural features of the relationship between the psychiatrist and the patient. Prospective studies indicate that the cultivation of eudaimonic well-being involves a dynamic interplay of three processes: conscious efforts to enhance plasticity (i.e., being able and willing to change), virtue (i.e., having a purpose in life that is good for a person’s self and for others), and creative functioning (i.e., being innovative. and responsible, so as to realize life’s full potentials). The cultivation of eudaimonic well-being by these three processes describes the essential features of the path to a life that is healthy, happy, and good for others. We describe evidence-based practices that are effective in motivating people to create opportunities for their own well-being and that of others by cultivating self-transcendence. Collaborations between psychiatrists and leaders/members of faith communities have been recommended by various national and international psychiatric organizations – to help attain high quality and equitable mental health care. Nonetheless, some clinicians are concerned about potential harms of such collaborations. It is imperative that such collaborations be ethical and person-centered. This presentation will discuss some principles and implementation strategies of these collaborations, illustrated by the APA Mental Health & Faith Community Partnership, and other examples across diverse contexts.
Learning Objectives
- Identify positive and negative impacts of religion/spirituality on patients’ mental health and treatment
- Utilize the DSM-5-TR Outline for Cultural Formulation and Cultural Formulation Interview to assess religious and spiritual issues
- Describe opportunities and ethical guidelines for enlisting religious/spiritual resources to enhance the goals of treatment
- Identify ways to promote eudaimonic well-being and support a patient's efforts to bring their habits into accord with their goals and values
- Implement strategies for a collaboration between psychiatrists and leaders/members of faith communities to enhance mental health and care
Unacceptable and Taboo Thoughts in OCD: Comprehensive Evaluation, Pharmacotherapy, and Evidence-Based Psychotherapy
- Accessible via APA Learning Center: June 27
- Live Course Date: July 18, Noon - 2:30 p.m. ET
- Sharon Batista, M.D.; Monnica Williams, Ph.D.; Chad Wetterneck, Ph.D.
- Course structure: 1.5 hours of asynchronous learning and 2.5 hours of live
- Topics: Obsessive-compulsive Disorder; Pharmacotherapy; Psychotherapy
This 4-hour course aims to provide a comprehensive exploration of diagnosing and treating persons suffering from OCD who experience unacceptable or taboo thoughts. Persons with these types of thoughts often experience stigma and are fearful of disclosing their thoughts for fear of rejection or judgement by others. Some common examples of taboo obsessional content include fears of having molested a child, fears related to sexual identity, fears associated with sexual orientation or being attracted to the ‘wrong’ gender, fears of engaging in inappropriate sexual activity, fears of being a pedophile, fears of committing a violent act, perinatal concerns, intrusive sexual images, fears of committing a religiously forbidden act, and fears of impregnation. Due to the nature of these thoughts and that their disclosure can result in unintended negative consequences for OCD sufferers, such as involvement of law enforcement, child protective services, or exclusion from their community, these symptoms are often not disclosed and commonly go unaddressed. This symptom cluster is commonly misdiagnosed as well because clinicians might conflate the thoughts with risk for perpetrating illegal or dangerous actions. Clinicians are also often uncomfortable with discussing the taboo thought content and this may be either due to inexperience, discomfort, and fear this could be detrimental to their patient.This course will be focused on equipping participants to help this underserved and stigmatized population of OCD sufferers. This course will include comprehensive evaluation, assessment, and treatment of persons suffering from OCD but with specific emphasis on this subtype. The course will be divided into two main sections, with the first section focusing on the psychiatric perspective, including diagnosis and pharmacotherapy, and the second section concentrating on evidence-based psychotherapy, particularly Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). This course will review elements of making a diagnosis and highlight how to differentiate important rule-outs, address prognosis of sufferers, the role of psychoeducation, and how to set a patient up for success in treatment. This course will review the evidence base for medications and pharmacotherapy protocols for treatment of OCD. Through interactive cases and ample time for questions and answers, participants will develop skills in diagnosing and initiating ERP treatment for this subtype. Common treatment pitfalls and barriers to recovery, including therapist-related barriers, will be covered.
Learning Objectives
- Review evidence-based pharmacologic approaches to treatment for persons suffering from OCD including augmentation strategies when an initial treatment is only partially effective.
- Differentiate unacceptable and taboo obsessions in OCD from other stigmatized concerns and conditions, including forming a differential diagnosis and rule-outs to consider.
- Explain ways to improve efficacy of psychotherapy for taboo themes in persons who suffer from OCD and address treatment resistance.
- Highlight ways to craft individualized treatment plans to address distress associated with unacceptable thoughts in OCD.