What’s the difference between a psychologist and a magician?

A magician pulls rabbits out of hats, whereas a psychologist pulls habits out of rats.

Okay, that was awesome. I got that one from Psychology Today. I bet you could find a lot better ones, perhaps at a psychiatry conference.

Conferences are great for more than just learning industry jokes. They’re great for networking, building your skills, and keeping up to date with trends. But which ones are worth the time and money? Here are seven worth checking out:

May 20-24, 2017

San Diego Convention Center

San Diego, California 92101

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is *the* trade association for psychiatrists. So of course their annual meeting is a can’t-miss event. Now in its 170th year, the Annual Meeting is the place to be for all mental health professionals. That includes practicing, administrative, and consultative psychiatrists, researchers, educators, residents, and students.of psychiatry.

October 6-9, 2016

Washington Hilton Hotel

1919 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20009

IPS is the other annual conference of the American Psychiatric Association. Speakers cover topics including psychopharmacology and the issues preventing proper care for at-risk populations. Addiction specialists will find plenty to learn here, along with those interested in quality and performance measurements as well as payments and technology.

There are in-depth training sessions to gain new skills, such as administrative psychiatry or community psychiatry.

One cool feature is that the conference offers a Technology (EHR, Telepsychiatry, Apps) track. Learn the best practices to most effectively implement the tech that can improve patient outcomes and reduce the burden on caregivers.

Courses such as “Buprenorphine and Office-Based Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder” and “Preventive Medicine in Psychiatry: Cardiovascular Disease” help you stay on top of your profession.

April 3-5, 2017

Washington State Convention Center

705 Pike St.

Seattle, WA 98101

The National Council for Behavioral Health Conference brings together community-based, behavioral health providers, county groups, administrators, commissioners, FQHCs, substance abuse providers and others for short, TED-style talks and one-hour workshops.

You can earn CME, APA, ANCC, ASWB, NBCC, NAADAC, NASBA, and Compliance Certificate Board (CCB) continuing education credits there, included in the price of admission. You can also earn many state-specific CEs.

Check out the blog to learn more.

There are also Preconference Universities, which are full or half-day sessions of intensive learning opportunities for an additional fee.

September 29, 2016 – October 2, 2016

Hyatt Regency

Reston, VA 20190

Integrative medicine is a holistic approach to health, focusing on treating the whole person, not just the disease. Attendees learn how to holistically treat people with depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, OCD, eating disorders, and autism spectrum disorders. These are conditions which don’t always respond well to the trial-and-error, poly-pharmacy approach. Research indicates that outcomes are better when you combine specialized testing and nutritional therapies with traditional approaches. The Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference covers how to apply best practices from integrative medicine to mental health.

October 1, 2016

The William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education

Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Pain, Addiction, and the Law 2016 teaches mental health pros the hallmarks of addiction, how to identify at-risk patients, and how to help them, including details on Naloxone therapy. You’ll also learn how to spot and prevent prescription drug diversion.

Sessions cover CDC Opioid Guidelines, the potential legal ramifications of prescribing opioid medications inappropriately, and non-opioid alternative medications for pain management. Pain, Addiction, and the Law 2016 is taught in collaboration with the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

September 15-17, 2016

Biltmore Hotel Miami

Coral Gables, Florida 33134, United States

What do you get when you combine 15 world-renowned chairs of neurology and psychiatry departments, 20 CME credit hours, and 50 sessions? The 9th Annual Chair Summit: Master Class in Neuroscience Professional Development!

Learn about emerging treatments, hear personal stories about mental illness, and cover cutting-edge topics in both plenary and small-group breakout sessions. Small-chart review sessions cover topics from Alzheimer’s disease and bipolar disorder to epilepsy and multiple sclerosis to mindfulness meditation. And you can earn up to 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits at the same time.

October 7, 2016

(Webinar-only. In-person event sold out)

Advances in the Neurobiology of Mental Illness 2016 is a conference you don’t even have to leave your office to attend! And it’s free! There, scientists, physicians, clinicians, other allied healthcare providers, policy makers, and patients learn about the personal and society-wide impacts of neuropsychiatric disorders. For example, mental health issues contribute to nearly 20% of disability from all causes and are the largest source of lost working years due to disability in the U.S.

Learn about new findings in how genetics, neurocircuitry, and neuroimmune mechanisms impact a range of mental illnesses. Discover the basic science underlying illnesses such as schizophrenia, major depression, eating disorders, and childhood-onset psychiatric disorders such as autism in plenary presentations. And translate neurobiology into new tools and tech that provide innovative ways to improve outcomes.

Conclusion

These seven psychiatry conferences offer everything from neurobiology to addiction Integrative Medicine. And as for tech, you can learn about mental health software and EHRs. And with CME, APA, ANCC, ASWB, NBCC, NAADAC, NASBA and CCB continuing education credits mixed in, they’re definitely worth your time and money.

Any must-attend psychiatry conferences I left off the list? Let me know in the comments! And let me know if you’ve attended any listed here and what you thought of them.