By Kara Keuthan Beatty, MD
PSV President 

As we begin to transition into autumn, I am looking forward to cooler weather, leaves changing color, and everything pumpkin spice! I am equally delighted to have our Fall PSV Meeting at Wintergreen Resort in Nellysford, VA. The theme for our meeting is “Confounding Factors: How Social Pressures Impact Our Patients”. Presentations will focus on the underlying determinants that are barriers to mental health care. This meeting will be held in person and COVID-19 guidelines from the CDC will be closely followed. We are working closely with the Wintergreen Resort team to ensure that strict protocol is followed for everyone’s safety.

We will have our usual Friday evening reception to meet our colleagues from across Virginia and to interact with local legislators. We will hear key updates from our legislative advisors and have an opportunity to ask questions about advocacy efforts. While staying at the resort, guests are invited to take advantage of all Wintergreen has to offer! Please visit their website to see all activities and amenities. 

Our main scientific session will be held on Saturday, and we have a wonderful panel of faculty. Our first presentation looks at the power of equity, diversity, and inclusion in a clinical setting. We will then review research on the impact culture has on mental health. From there, we will jump into social determinants of maternal mental health. At this point in our program, we will move into our poster presentation. The poster presentation gives an opportunity for our young budding psychiatrists to show off their research. In the afternoon, we will hear about social contexts and influences surrounding alcohol problems. We will then learn about ways to meet patient expectations in our ever-evolving digital world. Our final presenter will be coming to us from Pennington Gap, VA. Dr. Art Van Zee may well have been the first to sound the alarm on the opioid crisis. He will be talking to us about the lessons he has learned and the changes that still need to be made. 

It is always such a pleasure to see all of you at our biannual meetings. These conferences allow us to stay connected across the state and grow as a community. The Fall Meeting will continue in this tradition. I hope that many of you return and look forward to meeting new members!