Guest Blog: PsychSummit 2023: Reimagining Correctional Psychiatry
As part of PRMS’ ongoing efforts to support the behavioral healthcare community and promote the organizations that work towards this mission, we are pleased to feature Dr. Grace Cheney, PsychSummit 2023 Advisory Panel Member and board-certified psychiatrist by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, with additional qualifications in child and adolescent and forensic psychiatry, as our guest blogger this month. Dr. Cheney shares more about PsychSummit 2023: Reimagining Correctional Psychiatry, a national brainstorming series taking place virtually on the topic of correctional psychiatry.
Launched four years ago by the Colorado and New York County Psychiatric Societies, PsychSummit was created with the goal of virtually starting important conversations and exchanging ideas to spark change. It is different from most conferences in that our goal is to bring together experts from around the country to brainstorm and develop potential solutions to real world challenges – this year we focus on ideas to improve correctional psychiatry.
If you work in a prison or jail, or work with justice-involved or at-risk youth or patients and are interested in collaborating with psychiatrists across the country to find solutions to real world problems you face, we hope you can join our conversations. Register for free at PsychSummit 2023: Reimagining Correctional Psychiatry.
So far in 2023, we have held sessions on: restricted housing led by Dr. Jeff Metzner; prescribing guidelines led by Dr. Tony Tamburello; and navigating the carceral setting as a psychiatrist by Dr. Elizabeth Ford; and we have met with workgroups to implement ideas that came out of the small group discussions. After participating in these events, Dr. Saranyan Senthelal, Chief Resident at Mt Sinai Elmhurst in New York City, said:
"The topics I found to be the most engaging were related to gaps in patient care. It was fascinating to learn about how different states addressed mental health issues in the prison system, based on public versus private institutions. One of the suggestions that our group made was to formally address national correctional organizations in order to be on the same page as healthcare providers. This seemed like an obvious way to move forward with respect to the gaps, however it was evident that this issue is still not being addressed. It was very worthwhile discussing the potential of working on this in the future."
As a member of the PsychSummit 2023 Advisory panel, and a forensic and child and adolescent psychiatrist, I was especially excited for the September session on justice-involved and at-risk youth. The session kicked off with a presentation on structural intersectionality and trauma-informed care, followed by robust small group discussions. Child and adolescent psychiatrists joined us from across the country for this exciting opportunity to brainstorm ways to help our patients. Although the rapidly increasing number of forensic and child and adolescent psychiatrists inspires hope, I believe we need to unite and engage in ongoing professional dialogue to create meaningful change.
PsychSummit 2023 provides a unique opportunity to gather a national perspective on systemic innovations and challenges in correctional psychiatry. Residents, fellows, and early career psychiatrists are welcome and encouraged to attend! If you're interested in hearing more about PsychSummit, get involved at www.PsychSummit.org or hear from Advisory Panel members in this video. The next event is on Wednesday, November 1st.
We are grateful to PRMS, which has been a consistent supporter of PsychSummit since its inception in 2019. In addition, we appreciate our other 2023 supporters, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Colorado Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Society, the New York Council on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association, and our production partner, MatchBox Virtual Media.
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