Emergency & Acute Psychiatry at AACAP Annual Meeting 2026

99 sessions on emergency & acute psychiatry · October 26–31, 2026, Atlanta, GA. Compare emergency & acute psychiatry at other meetings →

Monday, October 26

Tuesday, October 27

Wednesday, October 28

Posters (8)

  • Comparison of Intramuscular Lorazepam Vs Midazolam for Acute Agitation Management in Children and Adolescents — Vincent Liu
  • Prevalence of Mental Health Care Among Adolescents Admitted to the Emergency Department — Meera Wells et al.
  • Trends in Emergency Department Use After the Implementation of a Child Psychiatry Access Program — Amie F. Bettencourt et al.
  • Reducing Unnecessary Medical Screening for Pediatric Psychiatric Admissions in the ED: A Quality-Improvement Approach to Implementing Choosing Wisely Recommendations — Lara Tang et al.
  • Efficacy of an Upstream Stabilization Protocol on Reducing Youth Psychiatric Hospitalizations: A Longitudinal Analysis (FY2019-FY2026) — Eduardo Bonilla
  • Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Outpatient Mental Health Follow-Up After Emergency Department Visits Among Medicaid-Enrolled Youth — Michelle A. Siddiqui et al.
  • Structural Determinants of Inpatient Access in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: A National Clinician Survey From Türkiye — Alper Alnak et al.
  • Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Emergency Department Visits for Suicide Attempts and Intentional Self-Harm — Kassidy Kanja et al.

Thursday, October 29

Posters (11)

  • Analyzing Specialized Neurodevelopmental Inpatient Unit Outcomes Based on Diagnosis and Percent Reduction in Problematic Behavior — Eric Huynh et al.
  • Improving Pediatrics Resident Competency in Caring for Patients With Acute Mental Health Diagnoses in the Inpatient Setting — Ryan Murphy et al.
  • Predicting Outpatient Aggression in Adolescents: Comparative Validity of Brief Rating of Aggression by Children and Adolescents vs School Safety Scale — Drew H. Barzman et al.
  • Clinical Correlates of Behavioral Holds and Mechanical Restraints Among Pediatric Behavioral Health Patients in Medical Settings — Ace A. Castillo et al.
  • Inpatient Rehabilitation Outcomes in Youth With ASD — Geetha Ravindranathan et al.
  • Clinical Drivers of High Inpatient Utilization Among Youth With ASD — Aderonke Oyetunji et al.
  • Shifting Patterns in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Presentations During COVID-19 and Beyond: A Population-Based Study From Alberta — Jacquelyn Paquet et al.
  • AI Usage for Academic Purposes Among Adolescents in Acute Psychiatric Treatment Programs — Morikeoluwa E. Ayodeji et al.
  • Make Up Your Mind(set): Comparative Analysis of Generative AI Responses to Mental Health Crises — Audrey D. Nguyen et al.
  • Benchmarking AI Safety Guardrails for High-Risk Pediatric Psychiatric Presentations Using the Child and Adolescent Service Intensity Instrument (CASII) — Rahul Tyagi et al.
  • Clinical- and Systems-Level Predictors of Behavioral Escalation Among Autistic Youth Presenting to a Psychiatric Emergency Room — Larayeb Wazir et al.

Friday, October 30

Posters (4)

  • Suicidal Ideation and Depression Among Transgender and Cisgender Youth Presenting for Emergency Psychiatric Care — Rodney Villanueva et al.
  • Prevalence of Substance Use Disorders Among Adolescents With Mental Health Diagnoses Treated in a National Sample of Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitals — Glorimar Ortiz et al.
  • Feasibility and Outcomes of Systematic Substance Use Screening in Pediatric Emergency Departments for Youth in Behavioral Crisis — Katharine R. Torrey et al.
  • Suicide Crisis Syndrome in Late-Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients: Age-Related Differences in Severity and Symptom Patterns — Ortal Shimon Raz et al.

Saturday, October 31

  • 07:00–08:30 · Workshop

    Disrupting the Pattern: Approaches to Reduce Psychiatric Crisis 30-Day Return Rates for Pediatric High Utilizers and Their Families

    Charles J. Glawe · Sarah V. Amato

    A clinical consultation breakfast on why a small group of youth and families repeatedly use psychiatric emergency services. Participants review data and case examples and work through patient-level and systemic barriers to reducing repeat presentations.

    Child & Adolescent · Practice, Policy & Workforce

  • 09:00–12:00 · Workshop

    Under Attack! Expanding Your Toolkit for Treating the Dysregulated Patient Using a Neuroscience-Based and Trauma-Informed Approach

    Megan White Zappitelli · Casey Berson · Zainub Javed · Mayanka Kumar

    Workshop on understanding and treating youth with behavioral dysregulation through a neurodevelopmental, trauma-informed lens. Covers the stress-response system, bias, violence exposure, and pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, with case-based breakouts.

    Child & Adolescent · Neuroscience & Mechanisms · PTSD & Trauma

  • 09:00–11:00 · Lecture

    Enhancing Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Care for Youth With Neurodevelopmental Disorders

    James E. Bedford

    Discusses ways to improve acute inpatient psychiatric care for youth with neurodevelopmental disorders.

    Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders · Child & Adolescent

  • 09:00–11:00 · Lecture · Clinical Perspectives

    Design and Implementation of a Behavioral Health-Focused Education for Community Health Outcomes Series for Emergency Department Providers

    Cassidy McNitt

    Describes how a behavioral health education series modeled on the ECHO approach was designed and rolled out for emergency department providers caring for youth.

    Child & Adolescent · Education & Training

  • 09:00–10:30 · Lecture

    Inpatient Psychiatric Diagnostic Evaluations and Specific SSRI Treatment Modalities: Pandemic vs Postpandemic

    Ghaneb Javed

    Compares inpatient psychiatric diagnostic evaluations and SSRI treatment approaches between the pandemic and postpandemic periods.

    Child & Adolescent · Depression

  • 09:00–11:00 · Lecture · Clinical Perspectives

    Systems-Based Model to Reduce Pediatric Emergency Department Psychiatric Utilization and Improve Outpatient Crisis Care Access

    Jennifer Spitznagel

    Presents a systems-level model aimed at lowering pediatric ED psychiatric visits while widening access to outpatient crisis care.

    Child & Adolescent · Collaborative & Integrated Care

  • 09:00–11:00 · Lecture · Clinical Perspectives

    Implementing an Electronic Patient-Reported Screening Platform for Suicide Risk and Depression in the Pediatric Emergency Department

    Rachel Cafferty

    Covers implementation of an electronic patient-reported screening tool for suicide risk and depression in a pediatric emergency department.

    Depression · Digital Psychiatry & AI · Suicide & Self-Harm

  • 09:00–11:00 · Lecture · Clinical Perspectives

    Integrating Psychiatric Care Into the Pediatric Emergency Department: Implementation and Early Outcomes

    Samuel E. Vaughn

    Reports on embedding psychiatric care within a pediatric emergency department and the early outcomes observed.

    Child & Adolescent · Collaborative & Integrated Care

  • 09:00–11:00 · Lecture · Clinical Perspectives

    Improving Safety, Confidence, and Care: Extension for Community Health Outcomes Autism in Acute Settings

    Rena Sorensen

    Discusses applying ECHO Autism in acute care settings to improve safety, clinician confidence and quality of care.

    Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders · Education & Training

  • 09:00–11:00 · Session · Clinical Perspectives

    Re-envisioning Pediatric Psychiatric Emergency Care: Education, Diversion, Screening, and Early Treatment

    Anastasia Klott · Beau A. Carubia · Cassidy McNitt · Jennifer Spitznagel · Rachel Cafferty · Samuel E. Vaughn

    Explores ways to improve pediatric psychiatric emergency care, including education, diversion from the emergency department, screening and early treatment.

    Child & Adolescent

  • 09:00–11:00 · Session · Clinical Perspectives

    Scaling Autism Best Practices Through Extension for Community Health Outcomes Autism: Innovations in Acute Care and Intensive Behavioral Supports

    Martine Lamy · Kristin Sohl · Katrina K. Boles · Matthew Siegel · Rena Sorensen

    Describes how the ECHO Autism model extends autism best practices, with a focus on acute care and intensive behavioral supports.

    Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders · Child & Adolescent

Posters (11)

  • Understanding Recurrent Psychiatric Hospitalizations in Pediatrics: A Qualitative Study of Patient and Caregiver Perspectives — Charis P. Ma et al.
  • Latent Classes of Psychosocial Factors Are Associated With Suicidal Ideation and Attempts Among Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents — Kit M. Quain et al.
  • Caring Contacts After Pediatric Psychiatric Hospitalization: Feasibility and 12-Month Acute Care Utilization Outcomes — Aubry Ball
  • Retrospective Chart Review of Factors Associated With Readmission to an Inpatient Child and Adolescent Crisis Stabilization Unit — Gerardo Corsi et al.
  • Predictors of Clinical Outcomes Following Child and Adolescent Partial Hospitalization — Paige Marie Kramer et al.
  • Reduction in Mechanical Restraint Use Following Implementation of an Integrated Behavioral Emergency Program in a Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Specialty Hospital — Hailey Bennion et al.
  • Psychiatric Hospitalization and Postdischarge Suicide Risk in Adolescents: A Systematic Review — Sofiya Ivanova et al.
  • Suicidality-Related Emergency Department Visits Among US Children and Adolescents, 2016-2022 — Ayse K. Coskun et al.
  • Nonpsychiatric Medical Comorbidities in Suicidality-Related Emergency Department Visits Among US Children and Adolescents, 2016–2022 — Ayse K. Coskun et al.
  • Enhancing Patient Satisfaction in Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry Through Discharge Family Meetings — Jacqueline Lim et al.
  • Youth Safety Planning and Acute Care Readmissions: A Quality Outcome Evaluation Pilot Study — Virginia Henson et al.

Other topics at this meeting

Child & Adolescent 1361Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders 272Diverse & Underserved Populations 231Practice, Policy & Workforce 171Psychotherapy 166Education & Training 156Digital Psychiatry & AI 149Measurement-Based Care & Diagnosis 145ADHD 135Neuroscience & Mechanisms 124PTSD & Trauma 114Suicide & Self-Harm 110

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