7:00  Registration

7:00 – 8:00 am  Continental Breakfast, Exhibit and Poster Set-Up

8:00 – 9:00 am SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS-NEUROBIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT | Nauman Ashraf, MD, DFAPA
This session provides a comprehensive overview of substance use disorders (SUDs), focusing on the underlying neurobiology of addiction and the brain’s reward pathways. Participants will gain insight into how addictive substances and behaviors alter brain function, leading to tolerance, dependence, craving, and relapse. The talk will review evidence-based, FDA-approved pharmacologic treatments as well as non-pharmacologic therapeutic modalities for major substance use disorders, including opioids, alcohol, and nicotine, with emphasis on mechanisms of action and clinical application. By integrating neuroscience, clinical management, this session aims to enhance providers’ ability to recognize and effectively treat substance use disorders. This presentation would benefit: Physicians (primary care, psychiatry, emergency medicine), Nurse practitioners and physician assistants, Medical students and residents, Behavioral health professionals (psychologists, counselors, social workers), Pharmacists, and Public health professionals and addiction specialists.
OBJECTIVES

1. Describe the Neurobiology of Addiction and Reward Pathway
2. Explain FDA approved medications for treatment of substance use disorders
3. Discuss nonpharmacologic modalities to treat substance use disorders

9:00 – 10:00 am DSM-THE BIBLE OF PSYCHIATRY? AN OVERVIEW | Puru Thapa, MD, MPH, Professor Emeritus, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Core Faculty, GME Psychiatry Residency Program, Baptist Health North Little Rock
The presentation is a brief overview of the evolution of DSM and changes in diagnostic criteria over the different versions, in the context of the challenges faced in classifying mental health disorders. We will discuss the contribution of DSM in the field of Psychiatry, including its uses and limitations. We will briefly explore future directions in DSM-6.
OBJECTIVES

1. Background: What is DSM? What is ICD?
2. Challenges in classifying mental disorders
3. History and development of DSM: DSM-I to DSM-5 TR
4. Examples of changes of DSM diagnoses
5. Reliability and validity of DSM
6. Uses, limitations and criticisms
7. Future directions in DSM-6

10:00 – 10:30 am Break with Exhibitors

10:30 – Noon APA STRATEGIC PLAN 2026-2029 | Rahn Bailey, MD, APA President-Elect (2026-2027)

12:00 – 1:30 pm Lunch with Exhibitors, Poster Review and Award Presentation | For information on poster submission contact the MPPA office by email or phone. Product Theater by Axsome Therapeutics

1:30 – 2:30 pm TREATING THE BRAIN AND THE BODY: A FIVE-PILLAR FRAMEWORK FOR IMPROVING PSYCHIATRIC OUTCOMES | Chrissy R.D. Glenn, DO, DABPN, DABOM, University of Kansas Medical Center
OBJECTIVES

1. Incorporate the Five Pillars—sleep, nutrition, physical activity, mental health, and medications—into routine psychiatric assessment and treatment planning.
2. Develop individualized, evidence-based treatment plans that integrate lifestyle interventions with psychopharmacologic management to improve psychiatric outcomes.
3. Apply the Five-Pillar Framework to common outpatient psychiatric conditions through case-based clinical decision making.

2:30 – 2:45 pm Break with Exhibitors

2:45 – 3:45 pm ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR PSYCHIATRIC PRACTICE | Fatima Naseer, MD, DFAPA, Compass Health Network; Faheem Saeed Arain, MD, Medical Director, Royal Oaks Hospital, Compass Health Network

This lecture intends to educate Psychiatrists and other providers on emerging Artificial Intelligence terms, the basic understanding of AI and possible applications in psychiatry. Will also touch on pitfalls and concerns for use of AI in psychiatric practice.
OBJECTIVES

1. Learn basic artificial intelligence terminology and its definitions
2. Deployment of AI in Psychiatry
3. Legal Frameworks around AI and who regulates AI
4. Ethical Faultlines
5. Benefits, risks and unique challenges of AI in psychiatry
6. Liability and malpractice