Lifestyle for Positive Mental and Physical Health: Residents gain valuable experience at the 2025 APA annual meeting

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior residents recently immersed themselves in the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) 2025 Annual Meeting, the premier event in mental health. Held May 17-21, 2025 in Los Angeles and Online, the conference offered a comprehensive learning experience with over 600 educational sessions. The exchange of knowledge and experiences paves the way for future collaboration and innovation in the mental health field.

Themed "Lifestyle for Positive Mental and Physical Health," highlights the critical impact of regular physical activity, nutrition, restorative sleep, avoidance of harmful substances, social connectedness and stress amelioration practices in improving mental and physical health outcomes.

Resident Presentations

* Resident names are bolded.

Presenter: Evelyn Lee, MD
Co-authors: Karen Quan, MD, MS; Carolyn Cookson, MD; Katy Lunny, MD; Gail Fernandez, MD
Advocating for Those Who Can’t: Emergency Psychiatric Care of Patients with Non-Verbal Autism

Presenter: Karen Quan, MD, MS
Co-authors: Evelyn Lee, MD; Alexis Seegan, MD
Limited Access to ECT for Catatonia Leading to Prolonged Hospitalizations

Presenter: Sophia C. Levis, MD, PhD
Co-authors: Matthew T. Birnie, PhD; Noriko Kamei, PhD; Tallie Z. Baram, MD, PhD; Stephen V. Mahler, PhD
Understanding the Link Between Early Life Adversity and Disordered Reward-Seeking Behaviors: A Potential Role of the Opioid System

Presenter: Alex Wang, MD, MBA
Co-authors: Emma Cooper, MD; Justin Le; Gemma Espejo, MD
Ethnicity Matters: Optimizing Clozapine Dosing for Different Populations

Presenter: Deven Patel, MD
Psych Bites: As Proven on Social Media

Presenter: John Luo, MD
Co-authors: Sarah O’Dell; Deven Patel, MD
Uncommon Advice in Applying to Psychiatry Residency

Presenter: Kathleen Carlos, MD, PhD
Co-authors: Jason Smucny, PhD; Tyler Lesh, PhD; Cameron Carter, MD
Neighborhood Violent Crime Influences Clinical Outcomes in Early Psychosis

Presenter: Kathleen Carlos, MD, PhD
Co-author: Gemma Espejo, MD
Treating Clozapine-Induced Constipation with Colonoscopy Bowel Prep GoLytely