AACAP Annual Meeting 2026: Program & Speakers

Gagan Joshi, MD · Natasha Marrus, MD, PhD · Amandeep Jutla, MD · Aaron D. Besterman, MD · Kathleen A. Koth, DO · Roma Vasa, MD · James Luccarelli, MD, DPhil

Full-day institute giving clinicians an evidence-based update on autism assessment and management — current prevalence data, psychiatric comorbidity treatment, and emerging interventions — with emphasis on individualized multimodal treatment planning.

Theodore A. Petti, MD, MPH · Stacy S. Drury, MD, PhD · Mayank Gupta, MD · Anthony Joseph Deo, MD, PhD · Jennifer Zuk, PhD · Tyler Whitney, PsyD · Gabrielle Blackman, MD

Institute on the frequently missed problem of language deficits in children with emotional, behavioral, and psychotic disorders, covering screening, neurobiology, comorbidity with ASD/ADHD, and referral for special education services.

Heather Marie Joseph, DO · Sarah Karalunas, PhD · Marissa M. Dennis, PhD · Alexis Federico, PhD · Anastasia N. Kerr-German, PhD · Madelyn Heise, MS

Research symposium on prodromal markers of ADHD in early childhood, before formal diagnosis, drawing on developmental and neurocognitive cohort work.

Henry Teaford, MD · Brent Beck, MD · Tatum Burdo, MD, MPH · Shruti Tilak, MBBS

Clinical perspectives session on managing treatment-resistant schizophrenia in children and adolescents, including when and how to move to clozapine and other next-step strategies.

Lisa B. Namerow, MD · Salma Malik, MD, MS · Jeffrey Robert Strawn, MD · Laura B. Ramsey, PhD · Jeffrey R. Bishop, PharmD, MS

Annual update on pharmacogenetic testing guidance for pediatric psychiatric prescribing, from clinician-researchers including Jeffrey Strawn, Laura Ramsey, and Jeffrey Bishop.

John T. Walkup, MD · Awais Aftab, MD

AACAP's president sits down with psychiatrist and writer Awais Aftab for a live-streamed conversation on conceptual and philosophical issues facing modern psychiatry.

Rana Elmaghraby, MD · Suma Jacob, MD, PhD · Alexandra L. Bey, MD, PhD · Pankhuree Vandana, MD · Natasha Marrus, MD, PhD · Matthew State, MD, PhD · Alison T. Singer, MBA

Matthew State presents how the identification of more than 100 high-confidence autism risk genes is being turned into therapeutic programs, with profound autism as a tractable starting point, while Alison Singer brings the family perspective on genetic testing and trial participation.

Dorothy E. Grice, MD · Karen G. Martinez-Gonzalez, MD, MSc · Veerle Bergink, MD, PhD · Moriah E. Thomason, PhD

A general-session research symposium examining how maternal psychiatric illness and intrauterine exposures shape child developmental and mental health outcomes, led by perinatal psychiatry and developmental neuroscience researchers.

Lisa H. Weiss, MD · Jennifer L. Derenne, MD · Jennifer Leah Goetz, MD · Guido K. W. Frank, MD · Jennifer L. Carlson, MD · Elizabeth Wassenaar, MD, MS · James Lock, MD, PhD

Institute spanning the biological foundations, diagnosis, and management of pediatric eating disorders, designed for trainees through experienced clinicians and featuring family-based treatment developer James Lock.

Ji Hong, MD · Kelly Sheperd, PhD · Alyson Fagan, MS · Ross Goodwin, MD

Extended workshop teaching early developmental assessment across language, cognitive, motor, play, and social domains, including administration of the DAYC-2 and autism screening and diagnostic instruments for very young children.

Karen A. Frankel, PhD · Ashley D. Sward, PsyD · Mini Tandon, DO · Melissa Batt, MD, MPH

Hands-on extended workshop on the nuts and bolts of evaluating preschool-aged children, using the DC:0-5 diagnostic system, the AACAP Infant Toddler Mental Status Exam, the Crowell Procedure, and the Working Model of the Child Interview.

Karen Dineen Wagner, MD, PhD · Judith A. Cohen, MD · Cody G. Dodd, PhD · Erin Logue, ABPP, PhD · Cynthia A. Claassen, PhD · John Leri, PhD

Symposium on the downstream clinical outcomes of childhood trauma, featuring TF-CBT co-developer Judith Cohen and mood-disorders researcher Karen Dineen Wagner.

Amandeep Jutla, MD · Takahiro Soda, MD · James T. McCracken, MD · Gautam Rajendran, MD · Margaret R. Latt, MS, OTR/L

Symposium examining how psychosis emerges in autistic youth and what that means for risk assessment, clinical management, and future research.

Jonathan S. Comer, PhD · John Piacentini, PhD, ABPP · Andrea Spencer, MD · Molly Adrian, PhD

First-look results from the Kids FACE FEARS pragmatic randomized trial comparing therapist-led versus guided internet-delivered CBT for pediatric anxiety, presented by trial leaders Jonathan Comer and John Piacentini.

Rebecca Marshall, MD · Megan Mroczkowski, MD · Meghan Schott, DO · Michael M. Chu, MD

Emergency psychiatry symposium on practical strategies for managing agitated and aggressive youth in the ED as pediatric mental health boarding grows.

Aishwarya Rajagopalan, DO, MHS · Anastasia Klott, MD · Jacob Feigal, MD · Jonathan R. Komisar, MD · Beau A. Carubia, MD · Alejandra Chavez

Case conference on severe malignant catatonia from anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis requiring a cross-country transfer for ECT, used to spotlight state-level legal barriers to pediatric ECT access, with the patient and family perspective included.

Sasha K. Narayan, MD · Ilang M. Guiroy, MD · Amalia Londoño Tobón, MD · Sophie Scharner, MD · Caridad Benavides, MD

Case-based session offering practical principles for evaluating and managing pregnant adolescents in psychiatric crisis through a two-generation lens, an area where few child psychiatrists have formal training.

John T. Walkup, MD · Loretta J. Ross

The meeting's opening plenary features activist and scholar Loretta J. Ross in conversation with AACAP President John Walkup on 'calling in' — engaging disagreement with compassion rather than public shaming.

Robyn P. Thom, MD · Neera Ghaziuddin, MD · Graham J. Emslie, MD · Robert L. Findling, MD, MBA · Raman Baweja, MD, MS · Bekir B. Artukoglu, MD · Lee Wachtel, MD

Institute organized around starting and stopping treatment across antidepressants, antipsychotics, and stimulants, plus pediatric ECT and the psychotherapeutic dimensions of prescribing, with faculty including Graham Emslie and Robert Findling.

Sarah Y. Vinson, MD · Barbara Robles-Ramamurthy, MD · Jenika Hardeman, PhD · Randee J. Waldman, JD

Interactive forensic workshop distinguishing consultation from clinical roles, then applying content through a report-writing exercise and mock testimony based on a de-identified case.

Laurel L. Williams, DO · Carl Fleisher, MD · Owen S. Muir, MD · Efrain Bleiberg, MD · Chris W. Grimes, LCSW · Robert A. Dugger II, MD, MPH

Extended workshop on mentalization-based therapy for dysregulated adolescents, covering epistemic trust, how family interactions produce mentalizing breakdowns, and even how mentalizing failures relate to online disinformation.

Jeanne Greenblatt, MD, MPH · A. Ning Zhou, MD · Nayla M. Khoury, MD · Tareq Yaqub, MD · Catherine Fuchs, MD

This year's named Simon Wile symposium on consultation-liaison psychiatry examines integrated behavioral health models led by child psychiatrists that move beyond access toward measurable impact for marginalized youth.

Ellen J. Hoffman, MD, PhD · Devanand Manoli, MD, PhD · Matthew State, MD, PhD · Rebecca A. Muhle, MD, PhD · David Kastner, MD, PhD · Simone D. Sun, PhD

Translational symposium on how the function of specific autism risk genes is being characterized in model systems and leveraged toward new treatments, with gene-discovery pioneer Matthew State among the presenters.

Alysa E. Doyle, PhD · David R. Coghill, MD · Sandra K. Loo, PhD · Julie B. Schweitzer, PhD

Research symposium presenting new data on cognitive function in ADHD from leading neuropsychology and psychopharmacology investigators including David Coghill and Sandra Loo.

Sarah Karalunas, PhD · Bonnie J. Nagel, PhD · Hannah Morton, PhD · Sara Shao, BS · Yanli Zhang-James, MD, PhD

Symposium comparing suicide-risk prediction approaches across clinical samples, population cohorts, and EHR-based machine learning models, weighing predictive accuracy against real-world clinical utility.

Rasim Somer Diler, MD · Boris Birmaher, MD · Cesar A. Soutullo, MD · Melissa P. DelBello, MD, MS · Manpreet K. Singh, MD, MS

Symposium on AI-assisted and neuroimaging approaches to diagnosing and risk-stratifying pediatric mood disorders, with pediatric bipolar researchers Boris Birmaher, Melissa DelBello, and Manpreet Singh.

Musa Yilanli, MD · Eileen A. Chaves, PhD, MSc · Zhanna Elberg, MD · Perihan Esra Guvenek-Cokol, MD · Amy L. Christison, MD · Hiba Salhah, MD

Clinical session laying out care pathways for antipsychotic-associated weight gain in youth, including where GLP-1 receptor agonists, multimodal care, and behavioral interventions fit.

Felicia G. Gallucci, MD · Jennifer L. Derenne, MD · Aisa M. Moreno-Megui, MD · Alexandra N. Coppa, MD · Jessica D. Leuchter, MD

Session on the intersection of GLP-1 receptor agonists and eating disorders in youth — emerging evidence, risks of misuse, and clinical considerations for prescribers.

Gail Ann Edelsohn, MD, MSPH, MBE · Boris Lorberg, MD · Wynne S. Morgan, MD · Terry Git Lee, MD

Clinical perspectives session on why psychotropic polypharmacy accumulates in young patients and how to deprescribe thoughtfully and safely.

Kerim M. Munir · Gordon Harper, MD · Alison Gopnik, PhD

Developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik delivers this year's history lecture on how cognition and learning differ across the lifespan, from exploratory young minds to the accumulated wisdom of elders.

John T. Walkup, MD · Sarah Y. Vinson, MD · Nicole K. Cotton, MD · Gail Arie Mattox, MD · Judy Fitzgerald, MSW · Mab Segrest · Darlene Lynch, JD · Danny Malec · Jose Ramirez

A host-city town meeting connecting Atlanta's civil rights legacy to children's mental health, with Morehouse School of Medicine faculty, Georgia behavioral health leaders, and community advocates.

John V. Campo, MD

Award lecture by John Campo of Johns Hopkins examining how clinicians' and society's attitudes toward suffering shape prevention and treatment efforts in youth mental health.

Timothy Rice, MD · Leon Hoffman, MD

Award lecture arguing that interpreting children's defenses in psychodynamic work supports the development of emotion regulation capacities.

Mary Margaret Gleason, MD

Award presentation on family-centered systems of care for early childhood mental health.

Vera Feuer, MD

Award lecture on peer-led programs and youth advocacy as levers for school-based mental health.

Donald W. Bechtold, MD · Irena Bukelis, MD · Paul E. Weigle, MD · Lee I. Ascherman, MD, MPH · Lisa R. Fortuna, MD, MPH, MDiv · Jeffrey Robert Strawn, MD · Chase B. Samsel, MD · Zheala Qayyum, MD · Timothy E. Wilens, MD

The Lifelong Learning Committee's annual literature-review institute, in which seven experts present and discuss roughly 37 vetted papers from the past year that practicing child psychiatrists should know.

Benjamin I. Goldstein, MD, PhD · Paul E. Croarkin, DO, MS · Daphne Korczak, MD, MSc · Melissa P. DelBello, MD, MS · Roger S. McIntyre, MD · Judy Luu, MD, PhD · Gail L. Daumit, MD, MHA

Research institute on the two-way links between psychiatric illness and cardiometabolic health in youth — including medication-related weight gain, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia — and how that science should inform treatment planning.

Souraya Torbey, MD · Nadia Zaim, MD · Gaelle Rached, MD · Caitlin Thompson, PhD

Advanced skills workshop preparing psychiatrists to assess somatic symptom and related disorders in pediatric medical settings, deliver the diagnosis therapeutically, and build function-focused behavioral treatment plans.

Mari Kurahashi, MD, MPH · Elizabeth Reichert, PhD · Zachary K. Blumkin, PsyD · Casey T. O'Brien, PsyD · Sarah K. Rosenbaum, MD, MPH · Sahana Rajan, MD · Agatha Barnowski, PsyD · Stephanie Glover, PsyD

Workshop on parent-based interventions — their shared theoretical principles, core components, and practical application — so clinicians can extend therapeutic impact into the home for common childhood mental health concerns.

Raman Baweja, MD, MS · Jeffrey H. Newcorn, MD · Margaret D. Weiss, MD, PhD · James G. Waxmonsky, MD · Cesar A. Soutullo, MD

Symposium on real-world ADHD treatment outcomes and decision-making in the presence of comorbidity, led by prominent ADHD trialists including Jeffrey Newcorn and Margaret Weiss.

Andrea Spencer, MD · John T. Walkup, MD · Jonathan S. Comer, PhD · Tara S. Peris, PhD · Bradley S. Peterson, MD

CAMS investigators and successors synthesize what the newest generation of pragmatic randomized trials adds to the landmark CAMS findings on treating childhood anxiety in routine care settings.

Jennifer Hughes, PhD, MPH · Sarah Mallard Wakefield, MD · Molly Adrian, PhD · Anna K. Radin, DrPH, MPH · Meredith R. Chapman, MD

Symposium on alternative crisis-care pathways for suicidal youth — stabilization, follow-up, and community models that reduce reliance on emergency departments.

Fadi J. Hamati, MD · Amandeep Jutla, MD · Ramez Kouzy, MD · Andrew Clark, MD · Darja Djordjevic, MD, PhD · Elaine Shen, MD

Critical symposium on consumer LLM chatbot products in psychiatric contexts, examining their limitations and safety risks for young users and clinical care.

Joseph F. McGuire, PhD · Barbara J. Coffey, MD, MS · Michael H. Bloch, MD, MS · Erica Greenberg, MD · Emily J. Ricketts, PhD

Research-update symposium on assessment and treatment of Tourette's disorder from leading tic researchers including Joseph McGuire, Barbara Coffey, and Michael Bloch.

Mayank Gupta, MD · Steven R. Pliszka, MD · James Swanson, MD · Nihit Gupta, MD

A hard look at whether stimulant treatment alters the long-term trajectory of ADHD, with MTA study investigator James Swanson and treatment-guideline author Steven Pliszka.

John T. Walkup, MD · Richard Tedeschi, PhD

Richard Tedeschi, who originated the concept of posttraumatic growth, discusses how positive psychological change can emerge after trauma and what that means for clinicians working with youth.

Matthew Siegel, MD, MBA · Bryan H. King, MD, MBA · John Leikauf, MD · Tashalee R. Brown, MD, PhD · Daniel S. Pine, MD

A combined session showcasing this year's AACAP honorees, including Daniel Pine, Bryan King, and Matthew Siegel, presenting highlights of their award-recognized work.

Rabindra Tambyraja, MD, MBA · Pamela E. Hoffman, MD · Kunmi Sobowale, MD · Joel Stoddard, MD, MAS · Alexandra Ewenczyk, MD · Niranjan S. Karnik, MD, PhD · Nicholas Carson, MD · Karam Radwan, MD

Institute covering the fundamentals of generative and agentic AI in healthcare, practical tools for clinical workflows, and the ethical and regulatory issues raised by AI in pediatric psychiatry.

Jay Salpekar, MD · Aaron Hauptman, MD · Jagan K. Chilakamarri, MD · Cassie D. Karlsson, MD · Nadia Zaim, MD · Kyung Eun Paik, MD · Julio Quezada, MD · Sigita Plioplys, MD

Institute framing childhood neurologic and psychiatric disease as integrated rather than separate conditions, with sessions on degenerative diseases, catatonia, developmental regression, and functional neurologic symptoms.

Ernest Pedapati, MD, MS · McLeod F. Gwynette, MD · Rana Elmaghraby, MD

Full-day hands-on follow-up to two sold-out AACAP AI workshops, moving clinicians from ephemeral chat-based AI use to structured, document-centric workflows that are auditable and practice-ready for administrative and educational tasks.

Andrea D. Guastello, PhD · Josh Nadeau, PhD · Robert R. Henderson, PhD

Psychologist-led workshop training psychiatrists in exposure and response prevention for OCD — the science behind it, implementation in prescribing practices, and how to work through common stuck points.

Bradley S. Peterson, MD · Tara S. Peris, PhD · John Piacentini, PhD, ABPP · Amy West, PhD, ABPP · Robert L. Findling, MD, MBA · V Robin Weersing

Results from a pragmatic SMART trial testing how best to sequence medication and CBT for pediatric anxiety disorders, presented by the study's senior investigators.

Natalie Ramos, MD, MPH · Jack L. Turban, MD · Aisa Burgwal, MA · Yezhe Lin, MD, MSc · Kai J. Huang, MPH · A. Ning Zhou, MD

Symposium presenting new research on the mental health of transgender and gender-diverse youth in the context of rapidly changing US and international policy environments, with researcher Jack Turban among presenters.

Carol M. Rockhill, MD, PhD, MPH · Heather J. Walter, MD, MPH · A. Reese Abright, MD · Timothy Becker, MD · Raghuram Prasad, MD · Jane A. Ripperger-Suhler, MD

AACAP guideline authors walk through the academy's clinical practice guideline recommendations and how to apply them in day-to-day practice.

John N. Constantino, MD · David A. Jobes, PhD · William E. Copeland, PhD · Phoebe K. McCutchan, PhD, MPH · Janet R. Cummings, PhD

Population-level symposium on scaling effective post-crisis suicide care for youth, featuring CAMS (Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality) developer David Jobes and John Constantino of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

Iris Manor, MD · Julia Schechter, PhD · Beth Krone, PhD · Katherine Bang-Madsen, PhD

Symposium tracing how ADHD affects girls' and women's health across the lifespan, from early childhood through adulthood, including international registry data.

John T. Walkup, MD · James T. McCracken, MD · Tara S. Peris, PhD · Jeffrey Robert Strawn, MD · John Piacentini, PhD, ABPP

First findings from the PCAY study of treating pediatric anxiety disorders within primary care, presented by senior anxiety trialists including John Walkup, James McCracken, and Jeffrey Strawn.

GenaLynne C. Mooneyham, MD · Leonardo V. Lopez, MD · Eliza M. Gordon-Lipkin, MD · Jessica Durkee-Shock, MD · Shawn S. Glocker, RN

NIH-led clinical update on autoimmune encephalitis in pediatric patients, covering recognition, workup, and treatment from psychiatry, genetics, and immunology perspectives.

Richard Gallagher, PhD

Workshop led by the manual author of the RCT-tested organizational skills training program, teaching behavioral and cognitive methods for treating organization, time-management, and planning deficits in children and teens with ADHD.

Shinnyi Chou, MD, PhD · Yasmin L. Hurd, PhD · Jeremy J. Watts, PhD · Jibran Khokhar, PhD · Rahul Nachnani, MD, PhD

Symposium on cannabis and the developing brain, spanning cannabinoid pharmacology and developmental neuroscience, with addiction neurobiologist Yasmin Hurd.

Mark A. Stein, PhD · Steven R. Pliszka, MD · James G. Waxmonsky, MD · Jeffrey H. Newcorn, MD · Stephen V. Faraone, PhD · Margaret D. Weiss, MD, PhD

An all-star ADHD faculty — including Stephen Faraone, Jeffrey Newcorn, Margaret Weiss, and Steven Pliszka — on how to select, prioritize, and sequence ADHD treatments for the individual patient.