The American Psychopathological Association (APPA) was founded in 1910. The mission of APPA is to promote the scientific study of psychopathology, including mental disorders of emotion, cognition, behavior, and volition. The Association addresses the study of phenomenology, measurement, and etiologic/risk and protective factors, including biologic, social, cultural, environmental, and contextual influences for psychopathology. A particular focus of the organization is the promotion of methodologic rigor in the study of psychopathology. Its membership represents multiple disciplines engaged in the prevention, evaluation, treatment, and research on the causes and consequences of mental disorders. The Association has a commitment to public health and the promotion of mental health in society.

APPA sponsors an annual conference on a specific topic relevant to the future of research in psychopathology. Leading investigators from the U.S. and abroad are invited to give original papers as part of a single program on the topic carefully curated by the President supported by the APPA Council and the Program Committee. Members of the audience are active participants as ample time is scheduled for discussions.

This annual conference provides a unique opportunity to think broadly and deeply across established and emerging disciplines, discuss, debate and imagine the future of cutting-edge issues in the topic area. It is open to all mental health professionals, trainees, and APPA members.

The 2023 APPA Annual Meeting was held on March 7-9, 2024, preceded by a workshop for early career investigators on March 6, 2023. The 2024 Meeting theme was Diversity and Inequity in Mental Health: Social-structural, Cultural, Psychological, and Biological Mechanisms

CLICK HERE FOR THE 2024 ANNUAL MEETING SCHEDULE

CME and CE credits will be available for the meeting at an additional charge. Participants at the annual conference include students, mental health scientists, and practitioners. An important APPA function is to provide a forum for high-level professional and social contact between established investigators, younger researchers, interested clinicians, and trainees. Special registration rates are available for students attending the meeting.

For over a century, APPA has brought diverse groups of researchers, policymakers, and scholars together to an annual meeting where vital issues and developments in psychopathology are presented and discussed. Although the meeting is open to all mental health professionals and researchers, the bulk of those attending belongs to the community of APPA members. The members are basic, clinical, and population researchers whose observations, questions, and insights are always valuable. Indeed, a unique feature of the APPA annual meetings is that there is a single series of presentations on a specific theme; there is scheduled discussion that involves members of the audience.