Southwest Forum on Difficult to Treat Depression

Focus on Approach, Algorithms, and Access

July 11-12, 2024 | Az Biltmore | Phx, AZ

Due to the pandemic’s impact on mental health refocusing interest on the burden of depression and anxiety across the lifespan – along with the launch of novel mechanism medications and brain stimulation that leads to rapid improvement in symptoms never previously observed in the treatment of depression – mid-2024 proved to be the right time to convene the Southwest Forum on Difficult to Treat Depression: Focus on Approach, Algorithms, and Access with internationally renowned thought leaders.

We are proud to share the resources created from this forum, published by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (JCP), to create meaningful contributions to the field.


Visit the following pages to read the academic highlights, watch the experts' insights videos, access the resource center, learn about the thought leaders, and find information about the Forum's sponsors. 

 

Background

The increased efforts to prevent and treat depression is now a priority of health care systems, insurers, digital therapeutic engineers, telemedicine platforms, and community health agencies. However, the challenges of treating to remission those patients who don’t respond to first, second, or third levels of oral pharmacotherapy remain. The increased prevalence in these conditions is at odds with the shrinking psychiatric workforce.

Due to the fact that addressing persistent difficult to treat depression is situated in a rapidly evolving treatment landscape, it is vital that leaders in depression treatment: 

  1. Consider the most strategic, cost-effective, and clinically useful sequencing of emerging treatments 
  2. Implement patient and family-focused depression approaches to care that use the best efficacy and safety evidence in bringing clinical advances to the clinic.

Jordan Karp, MD - SW Forum Program Director
Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry
University of Arizona College of Medicine
Clinical Service Chief, Behavioral Medicine
Banner University Medical Center and Group - Tucson