Please mark your calendars and make your reservations for APA’s popular fall meeting—the Institute on Psychiatric Services. It will be held in Philadelphia from October 25 to 29 at the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel.

APA President-elect Daniel Borenstein, M.D., has chosen "Psychodynamic Psychotherapy" as the theme for the meeting. This very important aspect of psychiatric treatment will highlight the importance of talking with patients and families and understanding the underlying psychosocial, dynamic, and biological issues and factors in clinical care.

The Scientific Program Committee has been working hard to make this year’s institute clinically relevant and useful. More than 500 speakers will review the latest advances in psychiatric research with an emphasis on making this information practical and user friendly. Many formats provide opportunities for participants to meet with thoughtful leaders, ask questions, and raise issues. Such formats include workshops, symposia, courses, poster sessions, clinical conferences, and debates.

There will be a number of special sessions and functions for medical students and residents, including presentations that will ease the transition from being a resident to an early career psychiatrist.

In addition, the institute has many of the enduringly attractive features of APA’s spring meeting, including exhibits, book displays, and industry-supported symposia, but has the advantage of being a smaller meeting so that events are less crowded.

Philadelphia, the city where APA was founded in 1844, is an inviting location for a major meeting, especially in October. Fall foliage will no doubt be spectacular, and the mild weather will encourage visitors to spend more time walking through Philadelphia’s compact historic district. Michael Vergare, M.D., and the Local Arrangements Committee have planned some excellent events for meeting participants and their families. Shopping is terrific, with a wide range of department stores and upscale boutiques. Restaurants offer a vast array of ethnically interesting food and great eateries both in Center City and in the suburbs. Because the museums, restaurants, theaters, and shops are in close proximity to the Marriott, this is a good meeting to see and do it all!

Getting to Philadelphia is easy because of its central East Coast location. The international airport is only a short distance from downtown, Amtrak trains stop in Center City, and major expressways feed into the city.

There are so many medical schools and universities in the Philadelphia region—extending into New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and New York—that we hope to see many medical students, residents, and academic faculty as not only registrants at the meeting but presenters as well.

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Dr. Riba is chair of APA's 2000 Institute on Psychiatric Services.