Exploring the Intersection of Lifestyle and Mental Health: Highlights from the 2025 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting

In late May, members of the American Psychiatric Association gathered in Los Angeles, California, for the 2025 Annual Meeting.

This year's theme, "Lifestyle for Positive Mental and Physical Health," underscored the profound influence that lifestyle choices can have on our overall well-being. From regular physical activity and balanced nutrition to restorative sleep, social connections, and effective stress management, the meeting highlighted how these elements are essential in enhancing both mental and physical health outcomes.

Awards presented to department members at the annual meeting include:

• Dr. Alan Schatzberg, Kenneth T. Norris, Jr. Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, who received the Nasrallah Family Award for Advances in Psychiatric Neuroscience. This award, established in 2020 and endowed by the Nasrallah family, is given in recognition of distinguished contributions to Psychiatric Neuroscience that have had a major impact on the field and/or altered the practice of psychiatry.
  
  
• Dr. Carolyn Rodriguez, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, who received the Research Mentorship Award. This award, co-sponsored by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), APA Foundation, and the American Association of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry, honors an academic psychiatrist who has fostered the pursuit of student research within his/her university department through direct mentorship of individual students or by the promotion of novel research-oriented training activities.
  
  
• Dr. David Baron, Adjunct Clinical Professor, who received a Presidential Commendation for his significant contributions to lifestyle and sports psychiatry.
   

Congratulations to Dr. Baron, Dr. Rodriguez, and Dr. Schatzberg for this well-deserved recognition!

Several members of our department attended and presented at the meeting this year - explore their many topics in the list below. Many members of our department also showcased their research through poster presentations at the meeting; a full listing of the meeting’s poster sessions can be found here.

Presentations

• Sleep: From Childhood to Aging
  Speaker(s):  Presenter: Rafael Pelayo, MD  Moderator: Vikas Gupta, MD, MPH  Moderator: Ronald Winchel, MD
  
  
• Navigating the Spectrum: Diagnosing Autism in Adults and Guiding Life Transitions
  Speaker(s): Director: Lawrence K Fung, MD, PhD  Faculty: Tara Chandrasekhar, MD
  
  
• Moving Towards Mental Health: Therapeutic Yoga as a Lifestyle Psychiatry Intervention
  Speaker(s): Chair: Vanika Chawla, MD  Presenter: Sudha Prathikanti, MD  Presenter: Helen Wilson, PhD  Presenter: Pamela Gail Lagera, MD  Presenter: Heather Freeman, PsyD
  
  
• Caring for the Next Generation of College Students: How and at What Cost?
  Speaker(s): Chair: Amy Alexander, MD  Presenter: Victor Hong, MD  Presenter: Ludmila De Faria, MD  Presenter: Aparna Atluru, MD
  
  
• Sex and Sexuality in Medically Ill
  Speaker(s): Chair: Yelizaveta Sher, MD  Presenter: Sheila Lahijani, MD  Presenter: Matthew Gunther, MD  Presenter: Daniel Fishman, MD
  
  
• Integrative and Lifestyle Approaches to Enhancing Positive Mental and Physical Health in Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders
  Speaker(s): Chair: Albert Yeung, MD  Presenter: Dhanviney Verma, MD  Presenter: Margaret Tuttle, MD  Presenter: Dany Lamothe, MD  Presenter: Byung Kil Kim, MD
  
  
• Psychiatry Cancer and Lifestyle Tenets: Trends, Updates, and Future Directions
  Speaker(s): Director: Kamalika Roy, MD MCR.  Director: Michelle Riba, MD  Faculty: Sheila Lahijani, MD  Faculty: Daniel McFarland  Faculty: Amvrine Ganguly, MD
  
  
• Mindgames Masters Course
  Speaker(s): Speaker: Arden D. Dingle, MD  Chair: Tobias Wasser, MD  Reviewer: Smita Das, MD, PhD, MPH.  Reviewer: Rajesh R. Tampi, MD;MS  Reviewer: Rashi Aggarwal, MD  Reviewer: Tobias Wasser, MD
  
  
• Discussing Portrayal of Psychosocial Issues in Indian Classical Dance
  Speaker(s): Chair: Smita Das, MD, PhD, MPH.  Presenter: Mythili Kumar, MS  Presenter: Rasika Kumar
  
  
• Cannabis Use: Conversations With Patients
  Speaker(s): Chair: Smita Das, MD, PhD, MPH.  Presenter: Tauheed Zaman, MD  Discussant: Petros Levounis, MD, MA  Moderator: Catherine Crone, MD  Moderator: Lorenzo Norris, MD
  
  
• Fostering the Mental Health of a Generation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists’ Role in Prevention Health Promotion and Well-Being
  Speaker(s): Chair: Tami D Benton, MD  Presenter: Sarah Vinson, MD  Presenter: Shashank V. Joshi, MD
  
  
• Advancing Mental Health in the Climate Crisis: Current Initiatives and Future Directions From the APA Committee on Climate Change and Mental Health
  Speaker(s): Chair: Joshua Wortzel, MD;MPhil;MS  Presenter: Jacob C Lee, MD  Presenter: Debra Safer, MD  Presenter: Sara Jane Anderson, MD, MPH
  
  
• Subspecialty Training: Public Psychiatry, Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry, Reproductive Mental Health, Interventional Psychiatry
  Speaker(s): Chair: Joseph Cooper, MD  Presenter: Elizabeth Fitelson, MD  Presenter: Christina Mangurian, MD, MAS  Presenter: Mahendra Bhati, MD
  
  
• Mastering Forensic Issues Encountered by the General Psychiatrist
  Speaker(s): Chair: James Reich, MD  Presenter: Richard G. Hersh, MD  Presenter: James Armontrout, MD  Discussant: Michael First, MD
  
  
• A Primer for Psychiatrists on Lesser Known Psychedelics: Ibogaine 5-Meo-DMT 2C-B and Beyond
  Speaker(s): Chair: Jacob E Perlson, MD, MPH  Presenter: Jeffrey Zabinski, MD  Presenter: Giancarlo Glick, MD  Presenter: David Hellerstein, MD
  
  
• AI Explained: Practical Applications for the Modern Psychiatrist
  Speaker(s): Director: Manu Sharma, MD, FAPA  Speaker: Declan Grabb, MD  Faculty: Steven Chan, MD  Faculty: Justin Baker, MD, PhD
  
  
• Essentials of Telepsychiatry, Digital Mental Health, and Online Practice
  Speaker(s): Director: Steven Chan, MD  Faculty: Darlene King, MD  Faculty: John Luo, MD  Faculty: Nishi Bhopal, MD  Faculty: Peter M. Yellowlees, MD
  
  
• Building a Better Future Together: Assessing Racial Discrimination Experiences in Medicine
  Speaker(s): Chair: Amy Alexander, MD  Presenter: Eyuel Terefe, MD  Presenter: Vanika Chawla, MD  Presenter: Zariah Mekile, PsyD student
  
  
• The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Transforming Treatment for Adolescent and Young Adults Mental Health Disorders
  Speaker(s): Chair: Hector Colon-Rivera, MD  Co Author: Muneer Ali  Co Author: Nina Vasan, MD, MBA  Presenter: Krysti Lan Chi Vo, MD
  
  
• Locked and Unloaded: Mastering Pediatric Firearm Safety Conversations an Important Lifestyle Intervention for Wellbeing and Safety
  Speaker(s): Chair: Apurva Bhatt, MD  Presenter: Miles Reyes, MD  Presenter: Samuel Kim, MS2  Presenter: Apurva Bhatt, MD
  
  
• In Our Own Families: Substance Use in Asian Communities and Culturally Relevant 12-Step Facilitation (TSF) Interventions
  Speaker(s): Chair: Amy Alexander, MD  Presenter: Vasudev Makhija, MD  Discussant: Ashok Khushalani, MD  Presenter: Brian P., B.S.
  
  
• Strengthening the Pipeline: Supporting Women Psychiatrists Through Their Careers at the Association of Women Psychiatrists (AWP)
  Speaker(s): Chair: Amy Alexander, MD  Presenter: Christina Mangurian, MD, MAS  Presenter: Nikole Benders-Hadi, MD  Discussant: Helena Hansen, MD, PhD  Discussant: Altha J. Stewart, MD
  
  
• Reproductive Psychiatry Essentials for Every Psychiatrist
  Speaker(s): Director: Sarah Nagle-Yang, MD  Faculty: Joanna V. MacLean, MD  Faculty: LUCY HUTNER, MD  Faculty: Julia Riddle, MD  Faculty: Avital Fischer, MD  Faculty: Neha Hudepohl, MD  Faculty: Sarah Nagle-Yang, MD
  
  
• Neuropsychiatric Masquerades – Medical and Neurological Disorders That Present With Psychiatric Symptoms
  Speaker(s): Director: Jose R. Maldonado, MD  Faculty: Daniel Fishman, MD  Faculty: Matthew Gunther, MD  Faculty: Benjamin Hoover, MD  Faculty: Dany Lamothe, MD  Faculty: Mira Zein, MD
  
  
• Pharmacologic Approaches to Suicide Prevention in Outpatient Settings
  Speaker(s): Chair: Ira David Glick, MD  Presenter: David Sheehan, MD, MBA, FACPsych, DLFAPA  Presenter: Sidney Zisook, MD
  
  
• Inspiring Ideas Into Action: Advocating for Asian Mental Health Through Collective Action From the Community to the White House
  Speaker(s): Chair: Warren Ng, MD, MPH  Presenter: Amy Alexander, MD  Presenter: Donna Tran, MD; MPH  Presenter: Camille Wang, MD, PhD
  
  
• Social Media and Youth Mental Health
  Speaker(s): Chair: Vicki Harrison, MSW  Presenter: Steven Adelsheim, MD  Presenter: Stephen Schueller, PhD  Presenter: Tiffany Chen
  
  
• A Deep Dive Into Acute Brain Failure: Everything You Need to Know About the Pathophysiology Diagnosis Management and Sequelae of Delirium
  Speaker(s): Director: Jose R. Maldonado, MD  Faculty: Derek O Pipolo, MD  Faculty: Matthew Gunther, MD  Faculty: Shixie Jiang, MD
  
  
• Master’s Course in Clinical Psychopharmacology
  Speaker(s): Chair: Alan F. Schatzberg, MD  Presenter: Rona Hu, MD  Presenter: Rafael Pelayo, MD  Presenter: Manpreet K Singh, MD, MS  Presenter: Charles Nemeroff, MD, PhD  Presenter: Charles DeBattista, MD
  
  
• Lessons Learned From Over Forty Years of Translational Neuroscience Research in Psychiatry: Implications for Drug Development: Nasrallah Family Award
  Speaker(s): Presenter: Alan F. Schatzberg, MD
• Charting an Early Research Career Challenges in a Changing LandscapeSpeaker(s):
  Chair: Nitin Gogtay, MD  Presenter: Charles Nemeroff, MD, PhD  Presenter: Alan F. Schatzberg, MD  Presenter: Cynthia Epperson, MD
  
  
• Closing the Mortality Gap in Serious Mental Illness: The Role of Reverse Integrated Primary Care in Community Mental Health Settings
  Speaker(s): Chair: Jonathan Alpert, MD, PhD  Presenter: Alison Hwong, MD, Ph.D,  Presenter: Brittany Gouse, MD, MPH  Presenter: Rohit Abraham, MD, MPH, MAT.
  
  
• Diagnosing and Managing Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD): What’s Available and What’s on the Horizon?
  Speaker(s): Director: Manish K Jha, MBBS  Faculty: Elizabeth Ballard, PhD  Faculty: Alan F. Schatzberg, MD  Faculty: Sanjay Mathew, MD  Faculty: Kathryn Ridout, MD, PhD  Faculty: Joshua Hubregsen, MD
  
  
• Burnout to Balance: Residency Wellness + Healthy Strategies
  Speaker(s): Chair: Donna Tran, MD; MPH  Presenter: Elizabeth Li, MD  Presenter: Paavani Reddy, MD  Presenter: Melissa Gonzalez, MD
  
  
• Entangled in Misdemeanors: How Patients With Serious Mental Illness Get Caught Up in Criminal Trespass Shoplifting Obstruction and Related Charges
  Speaker(s): Chair: Michael T. Compton, MD  Presenter: Leah G. Pope, PhD  Presenter: Matthew Goldman, MD, MS  Presenter: Matthew Edwards, MD
  
  
• How Do You Write a Lifestyle Psychiatry Prescription? Tips for Your Current Diverse Practice
  Speaker(s): Chair: Ken Chris Hopper, MD;MBA  Presenter: Gia Merlo, MD;MBA;MED  Presenter: Douglas Noordsy, MD
  
  
• Lifestyle Psychiatry: Translating Science to the Clinic Around the Globe
  Speaker(s): Chair: Douglas Noordsy, MD  Presenter: Philip Ward, PhD  Presenter: Arthur Danila, MD  Presenter: Felice Jacka, PhD
  
  
• A Century of Cumulative Practice Wisdom From the Leaders of Lifestyle Psychiatry
  Speaker(s):  Chair: Gia Merlo, MD;MBA;MED  Presenter: Umadevi Naidoo, MD  Presenter: Douglas Noordsy, MD  Presenter: Christopher Ramsey, MD
  
  
• Lifestyle of Wellbeing: Getting Smart About Physical Activity and Healthy Diet for Both Psychiatrists and Their Patients
  Speaker(s):  Chair: Michael T. Compton, MD  Presenter: Douglas Noordsy, MD  Presenter: Jonathan Burgess, MD, MPH  Presenter: Natalie Ruth Case, MD