Psychiatry hosts conference on early identification and intervention for children


January 4, 2017

8th Annual Psychiatry Update“Young Minds: Early Identification and Intervention in Behavioral Health” is the focus of this year’s Psychiatry Update, an annual conference sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School.

The event, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Memorial Hermann Conference Center, will cover a wide range of behavioral health conditions often first identified in children and youth, including mood disorders, addiction, autism, borderline personality disorder, and trauma-related issues. The presentations will appeal to a variety of health care professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, family medicine practitioners, social workers, counselors and other mental health clinicians.

“Today, more and more young people are seeking help due to mental health disorders,” said Elizabeth Newlin, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School. “This conference will address the early identification of emerging psychopathology, the implementation of evidence-based interventions and the added value of risk reduction among children and adolescents.”

Newlin also serves as vice chair for the division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School and chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services at UTHealth Harris County Psychiatric Center.

The keynote speaker is Karen D. Wagner, M.D., Ph.D., the Titus H. Harris Chair and Harry K. Davis Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Wagner will discuss treating depression in children and adolescents.

This daylong conference is offered to faculty, students, alumni, educators, and other professionals who address mental health issues in children and adolescents.

-Angie Meus, Office of Public Affairs