International Conference Focusing on Women’s Mental Health to be Held in Pittsburgh, Oct. 27 to 30
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 27, 2010 – Nearly 500 researchers, clinicians and mental health advocates are expected to attend the 2010 Marcé Society International Conference, Perinatal Mental Health Research: Harvesting the Potential, Oct. 26 to 30, at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel in Pittsburgh. The event, which focuses on women’s mental health issues related to childbearing, will feature keynote speaker former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who has been an active advocate for mental health reform.
Representatives of top medical institutions from around the world will present new research covering: the biology and genetics of psychiatric illness during pregnancy and postpartum; the delivery of psychotherapy, medications and pharmacotherapy care; new data about postpartum depression in fathers; eating disorders in perinatal women; the effects of exposure to maternal psychosocial stress and anxiety; mental health issues for teen mothers, and a discussion about the status of postpartum onset disorders in the DSM-V.
The program will consist of scientific sessions on topics including: promotional discovery in the brain and behavioral sciences to fuel research on the causes of perinatal mental disorders; charting perinatal mental illness trajectories to determine when, where and how to intervene; developing new and better interventions that incorporate the diverse needs and circumstances of women with perinatal mental illnesses and their families; strengthening the public health impact of research for this population. Each day will include sessions for both clinicians and for women with perinatal disorders.
To register as press, please contact Megan Grote Quatrini at GroteME@upmc.edu or call UPMC Media Relations at (412) 586-9769. For more information, access WPIC's web site for preliminary scientific program and hotel information. Complimentary registration is available for members of the media.
The 2010 Marcé Society conference is being co-sponsored by Postpartum Support International and supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Staunton Farm Foundation, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC, the UPMC Health Plan and Community Care Behavioral Health Organization, the Fine Foundation, and the Heinz Foundation.
About the Marcé Society:
The Marcé Society is an international organization dedicated to the prevention, understanding and treatment of psychiatric illness related to childbearing, through promoting, facilitating and communicating research into all aspects of the mental health of women, their infants and partners around the time of childbirth. This involves a broad range of research activities ranging from basic science to health services research. The society is multidisciplinary and encourages involvement from all disciplines including psychiatrists, psychologists, pediatricians, gynecologist-obstetricians, midwives, nurses and early childhood specialists. The society also encourages the involvement of consumers and advocacy and self-help support groups. The 2010 meeting is being held in conjunction with training conducted by Postpartum Support International.
About Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic:
The Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) is considered to be one of the nation’s foremost university-based psychiatric care facilities and one of the world’s leading centers for research and treatment of mental health disorders. WPIC houses the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and is the flagship of UPMC Behavioral Health, the psychiatric specialty division of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.