AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION, 1400 K STREET, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE NO. 97-21
MAY 16, 1997
SAN DIEGO ON-SITE MEDIA CONTACT: Erin Murphy
(619) 525-6543 -- Note: On-site press room opens Saturday, May 17, 1997
at 12:00 noon (PST).
OFF-SITE MEDIA CONTACT:
Michael Stewart
(202) 682-6119
e-mail: [email protected]
* * * MEDIA ADVISORY * * *
PSYCHIATRIC ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS: SATURDAY & SUNDAY, MAY 17-18, 1997
Note: All presentations are embargoed from broadcast, publication, and electronic communications release to the public until the date and the local time of the presentation.
Saturday Highlights: Press Room opens 12:00 noon; closes 6 p.m.; San Diego Convention Center, Mezzanine Level, Room 17A/B
o Be a step ahead. Register on-site to cover the meeting. Get the Program book, Syllabus & Proceedings Summary, and New Research Program & Abstracts. Let us help you navigate the scientific program, with its 121 symposia, 34 paper sessions, over 700 new research presentations, 25 special lectures, and 11 special noon forums. Get copies of scientific papers. Begin now to arrange interview opportunities with meeting presenters.
Sunday Highlights: Press Room opens 8:00 a.m.; closes 6 p.m.
o Background on the insanity defense: Lesion of the Will: Diagnosis and Criminal Responsibility in 19th Century England; (2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.; Room 6F, Upper Level, Convention Center) -- In his lecture, Joel Eigen, Ph.D., explores trials held in the pivotal 10 years after the formulation of Britain's McNaughten Rules. McNaughten, the ancestor of today's U.S. insanity defense pleas, repositioned the legal term "insanity" as an "inability to know right from wrong," rather than focusing on whether the accused's will was impaired. As the U.S. justice system and American society continue to struggle with the legal concept of insanity and its consequences, cognition and volition remain central to the debate. Dr. Eigen's lecture provides key historical background on the insanity defense. (Chair: Robert L. Sadoff, M.D.; Co-Chair: Jonas R. Rappeport, M.D.) Additional background for media: APA Fact Sheet on the Insanity Defense (available in the Press Room).
o APA President Harold I. Eist, M.D. summarizes the past year, envisions the future of quality psychiatric care, and the threats patients face (Official Opening Session; 5:00 - 6:30 p.m., Presidential Address; Manchester Ballrooms D-1, Second Floor, Hyatt). Dr. Eist's Presidential Theme: "Strengthening Psychiatry's Dedication and Commitment to: Compassionate Care, Educational Excellence, Creative Research." Following Dr. Eist's address, APA President-Elect Herbert S. Sacks, M.D., responds. (Copies of Dr. Eist's address and Dr. Sacks' response will be available in the Press Room.)
Looking Ahead:
o Media Briefing: "Are We Pushing Our Kids Too Hard?" (Tuesday, May 20, 10 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (APA Media Briefing Room)
o Presidential Issues Media Briefing: "Is Managed Care Killing Quality Psychiatric Care?" (Wednesday, May 21, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. (APA Media Briefing Room)
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TIPS ON COVERING THE MEETING:
Press Room Hours: Sat. 5/17: 12 noon - 6 p.m. Sun. 5/18 - Thurs. 5/22: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Off-Site Media can cover the meeting by contacting Michael Stewart, (202) 682-6119, e-mail:
Dates of Meeting: May 17-22, 1997, San Diego, CA
Audiotapes of many sessions available on-site at the Mobiltape Booth (Convention Center, Grand Lobby, Ground Level).
Obtain copies of scientific papers in the Press Room (as made available by the presenters).
Arrange interviews directly with presenters. Go to the APA Message Center located in the Convention Center, Grand Lobby, Ground Level. Leave a message for the presenter you wish to interview. When s/he returns your call, you can set up the interview. Except when otherwise in use for APA media events, use the APA media briefing room to conduct interviews.
Reporters using laptops to gain Internet/World Wide Web access for filing stories may hook up to one of the several modem lines available in the media work area of the Press Room.
APA has an open media policy. All Annual Meeting sessions are open to registered media EXCEPT Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses, Clinical Case Conferences, Continuous Clinical Case Conferences, Master Educator Clinical Consultations, and the Business Meetings. Copies of the APA Press Room and Media Policies are available in the Press Room, Mezzanine Level, Room 17A/B, San Diego Convention Center.
Descriptions of the various program session formats appear on pages XXVIII-XXVIX of the Program book. Topical index: pages 139-151 Participant index: pages 153-165.
All Annual Meeting presentations are listed in chronological order in the Program book. The Syllabus & Proceedings Summary book contains abstracts of all presentations on the scientific program (EXCEPT New Research presentations). Abstracts are organized by presentation format. New Research presentations and abstracts are listed separately in the New Research Program & Abstracts book. Last-minute program changes: consult the newspaper of the Annual Meeting, the Daily Bulletin (available in the Press Room).
This release and other APA materials for media are available in electronic format. On the World Wide Web, visit the SciNews-MedNews library of Newswise at http://www.newswise.com. On APA's website, go to http://www.psych.org, and look in the News Stand area. Compuserve subscribers can visit Compuserve's Journalism Forum (go jforum), look in the SciNews-MedNews Library (library 17), and select files ending in the extension ".apa" (e.g., amwomen.apa).
To obtain Annual Meeting materials for media by fax, call toll-free 1-888-267-5400. Request a copy of the APAfastFax menu when prompted. After you have received the menu by fax, look under the heading "Public Information," and select the particular Annual Meeting release(s) you wish to have faxed to you. In addition to daily highlights releases such as this one, earlier Annual Meeting releases have included topical highlights on issues of concern to women, older Americans, international audiences, and a sampling of presentations by California researchers.
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The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society, whose 42,000 physician members specialize in research, diagnosis, and treatment of mental and emotional illnesses and substance use disorders.
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