Experts explore latest developments in child mental health care


Nearly 500 mental health professionals from all across the world recently convened in Miami for the Miami International Child & Adolescent Mental Health (MICAMH) Conference hosted by the FIU Center for Children and Families.

Nearly 500 child mental health care experts attended the Miami International Child & Adolescent Mental Health Conference hosted by the FIU Center for Children and Families.

Researchers presented the latest findings for child mental health problems including ADHD, anxiety, autism, suicide and depression, trauma and obsessive compulsive disorder. The conference keynote presentations covered a wide-range of topics including treatment for children and adolescents exposed to traumatic life events and improving mental health care in Hispanic communities.

“This is the field’s leading interdisciplinary conference focused on clinical child and adolescent psychology,” said Jonathan S. Comer, FIU psychology professor and chairman of MICAMH. “Our goal with this conference is to educate as many clinicians, practitioners and students as possible on the most effective ways to treat child and adolescent mental health problems.”

During the three-day conference hosted at the FIU Kovens Conference Center, practitioners also had the opportunity to learn hands-on strategies to improve the way they treat children with mental health problems.

“The fact that people came from all over the world to attend our conference truly speaks volumes of the worlds ahead information that was presented here by the best psychologists in the field,” said William E. Pelham Jr., director of the Center for Children and Families and founder of the MICAMH Conference. “We are truly proud of the incredible growth this conference has had at an international level in the last 15 years.”