The American Psychiatric Association (APA), the leading psychiatric medical society in the United States, convenes its 159th Annual Meeting this weekend in Toronto, Canada, from May 20-25. Experts will address a variety of hot topics, from cell phone dependence and methamphetamine addiction to the consequences of school-yard bullies and Hurricane Katrina. A special track on alcoholism will also be featured by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

The APA Annual Meeting, which assembles during Mental Health Month, continues to be the largest gathering of psychiatric physicians on the globe and attracts more than a thousand clinical papers, symposia, new research poster sessions and workshops, to be presented at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and surrounding hotels. Psychiatrists and journalists alike will have access to the world's premier psychiatric practitioners and researchers and their latest work on topics such as:

-- Early Predictors of Later PTSD and Depression in Battle-Injured Soldiers

-- The Relationship Between Ethnicity and Pain Perceptions

-- I Can't Be Pregnant! The Phenomena of Denial and Concealment of Pregnancy

-- Research Planning for DSM - V (the next edition of the APA's Diagnostic & Statistical Manual)

-- Adolescent Brain Development: Implications for Psychiatric Treatment

-- Comparison of Postpartum and Nonpostpartum Depression on Mothers

-- What Have We Learned About Alcoholism From Animal Models?

-- School-Based Suicide Prevention: Evidence-Based Strategies and New Approaches

-- Women's Life Cycle and Mental Health

-- What Do You Do With a Patient Who Has Access to a Gun?

-- 911 Calls at Methadone Clinics, Convenience Stores, and Residences

The theme of the 2006 APA Annual Meeting is "From Science to Public Policy: Advocacy for Patients and the Profession."

The meeting is also a forum for distinguished guests. At the Convocation Lecture, Pulitzer Prize winning author David K. Shipler, will discuss his experiences as a writer involved in covering racial and economic disparities. "Conversations," an annual event hosted by the American Psychiatric Foundation, will feature actress, model and author Mariel Hemingway as she discusses her family's experience with mental illness and its impact on future generations.

Pre-registration has closed, but journalists are invited to register onsite beginning Saturday, May 20 up through May 25. Registration is free for credentialed journalists.

For more information visit APA's Online Press Room at psych/news_room/virtual_pressrms/am2006/index.cfm. Please be sure to check this site regularly as new releases and information will be posted leading up to and during the meeting.

The APA Annual Meeting Communications Center Press Room will be located in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Room 101, North Level 100. The Press Room hours are Saturday, May 20, 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (EDT); Sunday - Wednesday, May 21-24, 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.; and Thursday, May 25, 8:00 a.m. - noon. The Center serves as a media briefing room and a working press room for credentialed members of the media and credentialed public relations staff. The Press Room is managed and staffed by the APA Office of Communications and Public Affairs (OCPA).

About the American Psychiatric Association:

The American Psychiatric Association is the leading medical specialty society in the United States whose more than 36,000 physician members specialize in diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at psych and healthyminds.