Annual Depression & Mood Disorders Conference
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The 20th Annual Depression & Mood Disorders Conference will be on Friday, November 20, 2026. Click here to register.
Previous Conference Details
Controlled Drugs: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- When: Friday, October 31, 2025
- Where: UofL Conference Center at Shelby Campus
- Contact Name: Laura Burchfield
- Contact Email: laura.burchfield@louisville.edu
Conference Schedule
Morning Session
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 8:00 - 8:10 a.m. | Welcome Rif El-Mallakh, MD |
| 8:10 - 9:00 a.m. | Psychedelic Treatment of Depression Greg Fonzo, Ph.D. |
| 9:00 - 9:45 a.m. | Breakfast Break |
| 9:45 - 10:45 a.m. | Psychiatric Considerations with Cannabis Prescribing Timothy Yff, MD & Umair Bhutto, MD |
| 10:35 – 11:25 a.m. | What Makes a Good Therapist: Evidence from 50 Years of Psychotherapy Research. Tracy D. Eells, Ph.D. |
| 11:25 a.m. - noon | Panel Discussion: Drs. Fonzo, Eells, Yff, Bhutto, and El-Mallakh |
| Noon - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch Break |
Afternoon Session
Participants choose one workshop for each time slot (1:00-2:30 p.m. and 2:50-4:20 p.m.)
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. | Workshop I |
| Effects of Marijuana on the Youthful Brain John Gallehr, MD & and Hira Waseem, MD | |
| Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy or Therapy-Assisted Psychedelics? Making Sense of a Combined Pharmaco-Behavioral Treatment. Greg Fonzo, Ph.D. | |
| 2:30 - 2:50 p.m. | Break |
| 2:50 - 4:20 p.m. | Workshop II |
| Amphetamine Use and Misuse Chris Stewart, MD, CGP, DFAPA | |
| A Model for Evidence-based, Culturally Responsive Psychotherapy Case Formulation. Tracy D. Eells, Ph.D. | |
| 4:20 - 4:30 p.m. | Course evaluation |
| 4:30 p.m. | Conference adjourns |
Accreditation & Credit:
The University of Louisville is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Designation Statement
The University of Louisville School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 6.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Nursing Credit
This program has been approved by the Kentucky Board of Nursing for 7.5 continuing education units through the University of Louisville Hospital, provider number 4-0068-12-26-1451. The Kentucky Board of Nursing approval of an individual nursing education provider does not constitute endorsement of program content.
Social Work
This program has been approved by the Kentucky Board of Social Work for 7.5 continuing education credits through University of Louisville School of Medicine, sponsorship number KBSWSP 202541. The Kentucky Board of Social Work approval of an individual social work education provider does not constitute endorsement of program content. Completion criteria to obtain CE's: Attend entire session and complete the evaluation.
Target Audience
Physicians; nurse practitioners; nurses; social workers; psychologists; psychotherapists; and other health care workers who work with psychiatric patients, or medical patients with psychiatric issues. Special Services UofL School of Medicine complies with ADA requirements. To request accommodation, call 502-582-3487.
Course Objectives
As a result of participating in this activity, participants should be able to:
- Apply current evidence to provide appropriate recommendations to patients who are using or inquiring about the use of psychedelics.
- Differentiate evidence-based information from marketing and misinformation when counseling patients about marijuana or medical marijuana use.
- Evaluate the risks and benefits of prescribing amphetamines for patients presenting with inattention to support evidence-based decision-making.
- Recommend appropriate cranial nerve stimulation techniques based on clinical evidence.
- Demonstrate improved psychotherapy techniques to enhance patient outcomes.
Advances in Biological and Psychosocial Treatments for Mood Disorders: Focus on Interventional Psychiatry
- When: Friday, November 22, 2024
- Where: UofL Conference Center on Shelby Campus
- Contact Person: Laura Burchfield
- Contact Email: laura.burchfield@louisville.edu
Conference Schedule
Morning Session
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 7:45 - 8:20 a.m. | Registration and Continental Breakfast |
| 8:20 - 8:30 a.m. | Welcome Rif El‐Mallakh, M.D |
| 8:30 - 9:20 a.m. | Ketamine and Esketamine for Major Depression Sagar V. Parikh, MD , FRCP |
| 9:20 - 9:45 a.m. | Break |
| 9:45 - 10:35 a.m. | Sexual Deviancy and Sexual Addiction Ida Dickie, Ph.D. |
| 10:35 - 11:25 a.m. | Botulism Toxin for Treatment of Major Depression Ali A. Farooqui, MD |
| 11:25 a.m. - noon | Panel Discussion: Drs. Parikh, Dickie, Farooqui, and El-Mallakh |
| Noon - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch |
Afternoon Session
Participants choose one workshop for each time slot (1:00-2:30 p.m. and 2:50-4:20 p.m.)
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. | Workshop I |
| Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Adolescents G. Randolph Schrodt, Jr. MD, DLFAPA | |
| CANMAT Treatment Guidelines and How to Use Them Sagar V. Parikh, MD, FRCPC | |
| 2:30 - 2:50 p.m. | Break |
| 2:50 - 4:20 p.m. | Workshop II |
| The Mindset for Use of Interventional Psychiatry Ali A. Farooqui, MD | |
| The Role of the Microbiome in Psychiatric Symptoms Viktoria Kane, MD, RD, MPH and Sandy Elsabbagh, M.B.B.Ch | |
| 4:20 - 4:30 p.m. | Course evaluation |
| 4:30 p.m. | Conference adjourns |
Accreditation Statement
The University of Louisville is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Designation Statement: The University of Louisville School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 6.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Nurses
The program has been approved by the Kentucky Board of Nursing for 7.5 continuing education credits through University of Louisville Hospital, provider number 4-0068-12-24-1423. The Kentucky Board of Nursing approval of an individual nursing education provider does not constitute endorsement of program content. Completion criteria to obtain CE's: Attend entire session and complete the evaluation.
Social Work
The program has been approved by the Kentucky Board of Social Work for 7.5 continuing education credits through University of Louisville School of Medicine, sponsorship number KBSWSP 2024055. The Kentucky Board of Social Work approval of an individual social work education provider does not constitute endorsement of program content. Completion criteria to obtain CE's: Attend entire session and complete the evaluation.
Target Audience
Psychiatrists, residents, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, primary care physicians, other mental health clinicians
Course Objectives
As a result of participating in this activity, participants should be able to:
- Be aware of the most recent treatment guidelines for major depression.
- Become familiar with the process regarding how treatment guidelines are created which should lead to greater acceptance and adherence of the guidelines.
- Learn to manage their countertransference when working with patients who may hurt others as part of their disease process.
- Identify aspects of their own thought processes that either facilitate or interfere with their adoption of newer treatments such as interventional psychiatry.
- Be aware of when and how to suggest interventional treatments, specifically involving treatments like ketamine, esketamine, magnetic stimulation in adults and adolescents, other forms of neuromodulation, and injections of botulism toxin.
- Be more critical and selective in recommending dietary or probiotic treatments for psychiatric illness in general and be aware of the specific organisms that have been identified that either increase or reduce the risk or severity of major depressive illness.
- Refer their patients appropriately to interventional treatments.
Advances in Biological and Psychosocial Treatments for Mood Disorders
- When: Friday, November 17, 2023
- Where: UofL Conference Center on Shelby Campus
- Contact Person: Laura Burchfield
- Contact Email: laura.burchfield@louisville.edu
Conference Schedule
Morning Session
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 7:45 - 8:20 a.m. | Registration and Continental Breakfast |
| 8:20 - 8:30 a.m. | Welcome Rif El‐Mallakh, M.D |
| 8:30 - 9:20 a.m. | New Therapies for Depression: Is Help Really on the Way Michael E. Thase, MD |
| 9:20 - 9:45 a.m. | Break |
| 9:45 - 10:35 a.m. | Interpersonal Psychotherapy: It’s Global Reach Myrna Weissman, Ph.D. |
| 10:35 - 11:25 a.m. | Menarche, Menopause, and Mood: An Exploration of Mood Disorders in Women During the Teenage and Perimenopausal Years Jennifer van Lunteren Wood, MD |
| 11:25 a.m. - noon | Panel Discussion: Drs. Thase, Weissman, Wood, and El‐Mallakh |
| Noon - 1:00 a.m. | Lunch |
Afternoon Session
Participants choose one workshop for each time slot (1:00-2:30 p.m. and 2:50-4:20 p.m.)
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. | Workshop I |
| Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression, Distress and Loneliness Jennifer Mootz, Ph.D., New York Psychiatric Institute (with Myrna Weissman, Ph.D.) | |
| Putting the Best Together: A Comprehensive Method of Care for Difficult‐to‐Treat Depression Michael E. Thase, MD | |
| Understanding the Role of Childhood and Adult Trauma in the Development and Treatment of Depression Becky Antle, Ph.D. | |
| 2:30 - 2:50 p.m. | Break |
| 2:50 - 4:20 p.m. | Workshop II |
| Strategies for Reducing Suicide Risk Across the Lifetime Stephen O’Connor, Ph.D. | |
| Depression and Cognition: A Two‐way Street Ben Schoenbachler, MD | |
| Living Well with Life‐altering Illnesses Kate Adelstein, Ph.D., ANP‐BC, PMHNP‐BC | |
| 4:20 - 4:30 p.m. | Course evaluation |
| 4:30 p.m. | Conference adjourns |
Accreditation Statement
The University of Louisville School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Designation Statement
The University of Louisville School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 6.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Nurses
This program has been approved by the Kentucky Board of Nursing for 7.5 continuing education credits through University of Louisville Hospital, provider number 4‐0068‐12‐24‐1346. The Kentucky Board of Nursing approval of an individual nursing education provider does not constitute endorsement of program content. Completion criteria to obtain CE's: Attend entire session and complete the evaluation.
Target Audience
Psychiatrists, residents, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, primary care physicians, other mental health clinicians.
Course Objectives
As a result of participating in this activity, attendees will be able to:
- Identify proposed mechanisms of action and potentials of newer treatments for depression.
- Describe a comprehensive method for evaluating and managing difficult‐to‐treat depression.
- Recognize the core principals of interpersonal psychotherapy, identify the evidence for its effectiveness, and give examples of the diverse and wide‐spread applications of this treatment method.
- Identify major biological, neuroendocrine, and psychosocial influences on mood disorders in women during the teenage and perimenopausal years and recognize how these influences can impact treatment outcome.
- Describe key findings from recent research on suicide risk and how these findings can be used to enhance evaluation and treatment of patients with risk for suicide.
- Identify core methods for assessing and treating cognitive impairment in mood disorders and mood disturbances in dementia.
- Detail evidence‐based treatment strategies for depression related to trauma.
- Describe mood symptoms and evidenced-based interventions for improving coping and promoting well‐being in patients with life‐limiting illnesses.
- Detail evidence‐based treatment strategies for depression related to trauma.
Titled: Overcoming Dilemmas in the Treatment of Mood Disorders
Titled: Progress in the Treatment of Mental Disorders: Practical Skills for Clinicians
Titled: Moving Ahead: Treating Depression in 2020 and Beyond
Titled: Is There a Better Way? Explorations in Mental Health Treatment
Titled: Depression and Anxiety Disorders 2018: Translating Science into Clinical Practice – What’s New? What Works?
Titled: Searching for Solutions: Advances in the Treatment of Mood and Personality Disorders
Titled: Expanding Horizons for Treatment of Mental Disorders
Titled: Building Skills in the Treatment of Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Titled: Improving the Treatment of Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Titled: Enhancing the Treatment of Mood Disorders: Challenges and Opportunities
Titled: Best Practices Treatments for Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Titled: Pathways to Wellness: Advances in Biological and Psychosocial Treatment of Mood Disorders
Titled: Overcoming Mood Disorders: Evidence-based Approaches for Enhancing Treatment Response
Titled: Searching for Solutions: Advances in the Treatment of Mood Disorders
Titled: Effective Treatment of Mood Disorders: Progress and Opportunities
Titled: Challenges in the Treatment of Depression