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Discussion Groups Explore Controversial Topics

Wesley E. Sowers, M.D., is a member of the Scientific Program Committee of the 2006 Institute on Psychiatric Services.

If you learn best through give-and-take conversation with experts or if you simply enjoy such interaction, then the discussion groups at APA's 2006 institute should be at the top of your list of sessions you want to attend.

APA's 2006 Institute on Psychiatric Services will be held in New York City from October 5 to 8. While much of the program will focus on the meeting's theme, "Trauma and Violence in Our Communities," many other sessions will cover a broad range of topics of importance to psychiatrists, making it difficult to decide what session to attend in a particular time slot.

One format in particular—the discussion groups—will cover a range of material in a setting that allows close interaction with session leaders. If this is your learning preference, deciding which sessions to attend will be easy.

In the discussion group format, of which there are 15 this year, an expert leads a discussion of a topic that usually has some elements of controversy. The expert's task is to define the unresolved issues related to the topic and then engage participants in a discussion that will consider those issues from a variety of perspectives.

Several discussion groups will have a diagnostic focus. Michael Hwang, M.D., will lead a session on the challenges of treating persons with schizophrenia, including the use of environmental interventions. Kenneth Silk, M.D., will lead a discussion on borderline personality disorder, while Tony Ng, M.D., will take a look at acute traumatic stress disorders. Other topics include adolescent substance use and abuse, led by Charles Huffine Jr., M.D., and opiate addictions and applications for buprenorphine, led by John Renner Jr., M.D.

Other sessions will be issue oriented, such as the discussion to be led by Patricia Recupero, M.D., on the breadth and impact of information that patients can obtain from the Internet. Eric Plakun, M.D., will lead a discussion of how clinicians are affected by and cope with patient suicides. Fred Osher, M.D., will take a look at correctional-system psychiatry from a quality perspective. Joel Feiner, M.D., will pose the question "Is Recovery Available Only to the Poor?" while Richard Balon, M.D., will explore whether the area of human sexuality has been abandoned by psychiatrists. Other topics include family therapy, led by Donald Brown, M.D.; legal issues, led by Paul Appelbaum, M.D.; and interpersonal violence, led by Alison Heru, M.D.

More information about the institute's scientific program is posted at <www.psych.org/edu/ann_mtgs/ips/06/index.cfm>.

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