A first episode of psychosis is often bewildering to people having this experience and to their family members. Clinicians also may be confused about how to respond to and treat early psychosis symptoms. The traditional attitude is that people with psychosis often experience poor outcomes and lifetime disability; however, specialized treatment early in the course of illness offers the opportunity to change this trajectory. This presentation will provide information about how first episode psychosis is defined, what specialized treatment services are available, and evidence about the effectiveness of these programs. A panel of people with lived experience (a peer specialist and family members of persons with psychosis) will describe their experiences including challenges they faced and strategies that have been helpful and that promote. recovery. . A psychiatrist with expertise in treating people with first episode of psychosis will also discuss their experiences and lessons learned. Questions and comments from the audience will be encouraged.

According to online sources, approximately 70% of people worldwide report that they consider themselves happy. Notably, India and the Netherlands rank among the highest, with reported happiness levels of 88% and 86%, respectively. These findings raise an interesting question: What factors might contribute to such high levels of reported happiness in countries that face significant socioeconomic challenges, such as poverty and disease? This session provides an overview of a strength based approach to ADHD, highlighting why the traditional term “ADHD” can be inaccurate and misleading. It reviews the three core symptoms defined by the medical model and contrasts them with the corresponding strengths emphasized in the strength based framework.

This presentation will expand the learner’s understanding of psychosis allowing a more nuanced appreciation of variation in psychotic symptoms. Cross-cultural research has often been used to estimate the degree to which behavior is universal versus cultural. While all so societies have manifest individuals with debilitating mental illness and psychosis, when examined more closely there are important variations in frequency, presentation, and consequences. This talk will review these differences and the factors that are hypothesized to inform these differences.

Exercise is the lynchpin of wellness because it simultaneously influences the core systems that sustain mental health: sleep, stress regulation, mood, cognition, and human connection. Rather than acting on symptoms in isolation, exercise improves the overall physiological and psychological environment in which mental health is expressed. When wellness improves, mental health follows. From a neurobiological perspective, exercise enhances mood and attention by increasing dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, while elevating BDNF to support learning, adaptability, and stress resilience. It also calms threat circuitry by reducing amygdala reactivity and baseline anxiety. These changes create a brain state that is more emotionally regulated, flexible, and responsive to treatment. Exercise further supports wellness by strengthening social connection and agency. Shared movement—such as walking, team sports, or group classes—reduces social vigilance and fosters trust and belonging, with oxytocin playing a contributory role. At the same time, physical mastery builds self-efficacy and counters helplessness. In this way, exercise does more than improve fitness; it integrates the systems of wellness that make durable mental health possible.

This presentation was originally reviewed on October 28, 2025, and live streamed online on November 5, 2025, from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET.

This presentation was originally reviewed on December 1, 2025, and live streamed online on December 3, 2025, from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET.

In this talk, the speaker will introduce the concept of shame competence, a set of skills, principles, and practices that facilitate constructive engagement with shame. He will outline the distributed nature of shame and the need for shame competence at multiple levels of an organization. He will provide a brief overview of his team's research on shame before outlining specific strategies for building foundational shame competence in an organization.

This presentation was last reviewed on December 8, 2025, and broadcast live online on February 22, 2023, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET.

This presentation was last reviewed on December 9, 2025, and broadcast live online on November 9, 2022, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET. 

This presentation was originally reviewed on October 6, 2025, and live streamed online on October 15, 2025, from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm ET.