On September 21, 2011, at the meeting of the World Psychiatric Association in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture (SSPC)  sponsored a symposium on “Current Research in Transcultural Psychiatry in the United States”. The symposium was chaired by James Boehnlein, MD, President of the SSPC. The following are the titles of the presentations and names of the presenters:

“Research in cultural psychiatry in the United States over the last ten years” by R. Kohn MD and R. Wintrob MD

“Adapting multifamily groups to improve treatment adherence in Latinos with schizophrenia” by A. Kopelowicz MD

“Sociocultural issues in psychiatry residency training accreditation standards in the United States: present and future” by F. Lu, MD

“To be or not to be? Cultural components in the development of DSM-5” by R. Alarcon, MD

“A cross-national multi-center study of depression, demoralization and functional impairment in cancer patients” by J. M. de Figueiredo, MD, ScD

Another symposium was presented at the same meeting on September 20, 2011, chaired by John M.de Figueiredo, MD, ScD on “Demoralization in Populations Experiencing Life Threatening Situations and Severe Acculturative Stress”. The following were the presenters and the titles of their presentations:

“Adaptive strategies for the prevention of demoralization in prolonged bicultural conflict and interaction” by J. de Figueiredo, MD, ScD

“The longitudinal course of demoralization and post-traumatic stress disorder following hurricane Mitch” by R. Kohn, MD

“Restoring morale among survivors of political torture: a framework for culturally-sensitive assessment and treatment” by J. L. Griffith, MD

“Mental and physical health of refugees recently arrived in a New England city” by P. Zimbrean, MD, S. Mourra, MD, A. Oteo, MD, and A. Annamalai, MD (presented by A. Annamalai, MD).

Both symposia were well attended and were followed by a stimulating discussion.