The American Psychological Association’s 126th annual convention will take place Aug. 9–12, 2018, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

The opening session will feature a discussion entitled “The Impact of Confronting Justice” with public interest attorney Bryan Stevenson, JD, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Stevenson is known as a strong advocate for the powerless in the criminal justice system. He also initiated the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, which honors the over 4,000 African-Americans lynched in U.S. South from 1877 to 1950. The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration, challenging racial and economic justice and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.

The meeting will feature a series of talks focused on the impact psychology can have on some of the biggest issues facing society including the opioid epidemic, ethics of technology and big data, and the development of human-centered artificial intelligence.

Among the other topics to be presented:

Race and Economics

•    Can Racism Be Treated Therapeutically? Answers From the Next Generation of Psychologists

•    How Does Discrimination Make Us (Mentally) Ill

•    Psychological Perspectives on Rising Economic Inequality

•    Exploring Social Class and Marginalization in the New Economy

Technology

•    An Update on Sexting and Future Research

•    The Duality of Digital Technology - Its Impacts on Social Interaction and Internet Addiction

•    mHealth Apps - Leveraging Technology to Drive Behavior Change

•    Building Telepsychology into Clinical Training

Trauma

•    Are Early Life Traumas Reversible in Later Life?

•    Effectiveness and Implementation of Evidence-Based Psychotherapies for Trauma and PTSD

Climate Change

•    Psychology’s Role in Addressing Climate Change - State of Knowledge and a Call for Action

Emotional Support Animals

•    Emotional Support Animals: The Need for Evidence-Based Research

•    Service and Emotional Support Dogs and School-Based Mental Health Services

•    Dogs in the Courthouse: Current Research and Implications

Veterans Issues

•    Addressing Complex Care Needs for Service Members and Veterans

•    Integrating Family-Centered Care with Service Members and Veterans

•    Measuring the Impact of Programs to Improve Psychological Outcomes in Veterans

•    Telemental Health Treatment in the VA

Suicide

•    Postvention in the United States Military - Supporting Survivors of Suicide Loss

•    You Harm Me, I Harm Myself - Peer Victimization, Self-Harm, and Suicidality in At-Risk Adolescents

•    Religion and Spirituality and Suicide Prevention

•    Suicide Prevention and Social Emotional Learning in Schools

Opioids

•    Hub and Spoke - California’s Targeted Response to the Opioid Epidemic

•    Cannabis - An Alternative to Opioids for the Treatment of Chronic Pain in Our Military Veterans?

•    Addressing the Opioid Epidemic - Integrated Approaches for Education, Assessment and Treatment

The convention program is online. Printed programs will also be available on site. Selected papers will be available electronically upon request.

For more information on program topics, contact APA Public Affairs.  

Press Room:

Meeting Room 1, Exhibition Level – South Building, Moscone Center, 747 Howard Street, San Francisco. Facilities will include work space, wireless connections for laptops/tablets, high-speed printer, telephones and APA staff resources. This room will also be the site of any news briefings if any are held during the convention. Signs to the press room will be posted onsite.

Hours (Pacific Daylight Time):

Thursday, Aug. 9, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Friday – Saturday, Aug. 10 and 11, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 12, 8 a.m. to noon

Registration:

Media can register for the convention in the press room, in advance online, by emailing APA Public Affairs or by calling 202-336-5700. Registration is limited to credentialed journalists and journalists who have assignment letters on the letterhead of a media organization. All media personnel must be registered and wear their convention badges while attending any convention session or activity.

Media can make hotel reservations at convention.apa.org/attend/hotels.

News Releases: Embargoed releases about specific convention sessions, presentations and papers will be sent to news media by email in late July (a week to 10 days before the convention starts) and will be available online.

Embargoes: All releases will be embargoed until the time of presentation unless otherwise noted.

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes nearly 115,700 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.

www.apa.org

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