2024 ADAA Annual Conference Highlights

Authors: Kathryn Boger, Ph.D., ABPP and Mona Potter, MD

The annual Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) conference has become the mecca of evidence-based practitioners and researchers for anxiety, OCD, and depression. For us, it's more than just a learning event; it's akin to a game of “This is your professional life,” where we have the opportunity to reconnect with friends, mentors, and mentees who have been instrumental throughout our careers. We were particularly grateful to have come together last month with current teammates from InStride Health and former colleagues and mentees from the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program (MAMP) where it all started for us. We take immense pride in the impact these individuals are making across the nation, through direct patient care, knowledge dissemination, and leadership roles.

We also got to indulge our nerdy hearts with many wonderful presentations. Here are some highlights from the InStride and MAMP reunion crew:

• Daniel Gittins Stone Ph.D. co-presented with the two of us on optimizing exposure therapy through virtual delivery, offering practical insights for planning and executing community-based virtual exposures and overcoming associated challenges.

• Brianna Weissel showcased a poster on pediatric anxiety and OCD and family accommodation, highlighting the interplay between child acuity levels and family accommodation, along with changes in accommodation as a result of treatment.?

• Julia Martin Burch, Ph.D and Jacqueline Sperling, Ph.D. (joined by Sarah O'Dor , Ph.D. from MGH) led an enlightening workshop on diagnosing and treating PANDAS—an often misunderstood topic.?

• Julia also collaborated with Meredith Elkins, Ph.D. for a timely discussion on emerging "intensive parenting" trends, covering microdosing, family accommodation, and the discouragement of praise and rewards.?

• Jarell Myers , PhD. presented on the “Invitation to Change Approach” which entails a blend of evidence-based treatments, including Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training (CRAFT), Motivational Interviewing, and ACT to target comorbid substance use and anxiety.?

• Abigail Stark , Ph.D. and Esther Tung, PhD (along with Julianne Tirpak, Ph.D. and Blaise Agguire, MD from McLean Hospital and Andrea Gold , Ph.D. from Brown University) gave an informative roundtable presentation on integrating DBT skills into exposure and response prevention (ERP).?

In addition, Taylor Wilmer, Ph.D. ABPP and Kat represented InStride Health in the ADAA Alies Muskin Career Development Leadership Program (CDLP) as mentors to two promising early-career award winners. Taylor also co-led the Social Anxiety Special Interest Group annual meeting, providing clinicians with a valuable platform for learning and networking.

We left the conference with an arsenal of new ideas and a renewed sense of purpose and are already looking forward to next year’s conference.