With federal policy moving, evidence evolving and patients already asking questions, Psych Congress 2026 in New Orleans examines what the next several years could mean for psychiatry and patient care

MALVERN, Pa., Sept. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Psychiatry may be approaching one of the most consequential periods in its history. New mechanisms are advancing through research as federal policy begins to move, while patients are already asking about treatments that most clinicians were never trained to evaluate or deliver. What happens over the next several years could change not only which therapies become available, but how mental health care is organized around them.

Psych Congress 2026 will bring that emerging future into full view with five sessions across five days, September 15-19 in New Orleans. More than 3,000 mental health professionals will have the opportunity to hear directly from patients and advocates, federal and legal voices, researchers, and practicing clinicians working through the evidence and the realities of care.

The program begins with a story that helped move the issue into the national conversation. After conventional treatments failed to relieve the PTSD and depression that followed Navy SEAL veteran Marcus Capone home from military service, he and his wife, Amber, pursued psychedelic treatment outside the United States. Their search changed the course of their lives and led them to establish Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS), which has since supported more than 1,300 veterans.

Marcus and Amber will open a 90-minute keynote on September 15, followed by a lbriefing from Matthew Zorn, Deputy General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a leading federal voice on psychedelics policy. Zorn will join Psych Congress the day after the FDA's public hearing, Considerations for Potential Future Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Drugs, to discuss the issues raised around provider training, patient safety, access and data standards, as well as the current federal landscape and programs moving toward FDA review.

The FDA hearing, scheduled for September 14 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. ET, is not part of Psych Congress. Its timing, however, underscores how quickly the discussion is moving and gives clinicians at Psych Congress an unusually timely opportunity to consider what federal developments could mean for patients and practice.

"There has never been a more innovative time in psychiatry, and the next two or three years could be among the most important in the field's history," said Randy Robbin, Chief Learning Officer at HMP Global and President of HMP Education. "Psychedelic medicine is one part of that transformation, but it raises questions that go well beyond whether a drug is approved. Clinicians need to understand the evidence, the patients behind it and what these models of care could require. Psych Congress is where those conversations belong."

Why Psychedelics, Why Now

Interest has moved well ahead of clinical readiness. In a survey comparing psychiatrists' views in 2016 with those in 2022 and 2023, 80.9 percent said psychedelics show promise for psychiatric disorders, up from 42.4 percent. Approximately half said they would incorporate psychedelic-assisted therapies if federally approved.

Knowledge has not increased at the same pace. A 2024 Scientific Reports survey of 879 U.S. healthcare professionals found strong belief in the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and MDMA, but only 20.6 percent of objective knowledge questions were answered correctly. Nearly 60 percent expressed serious concern about the lack of trained providers.

The clinical need is substantial. An estimated 30.9 percent of U.S. adults receiving medication for major depressive disorder have treatment-resistant depression. At the same time, the evidence for psychedelic compounds varies considerably by drug, indication and patient population. No psychedelic compound is currently approved by the FDA for a psychiatric indication.

Patients are not waiting for the field to settle every question. Licensed psilocybin services operate in several states, ketamine clinics are widespread, and some patients seek treatment outside the United States. Clinicians are increasingly being asked what the evidence supports, which patients may face greater risk and how to respond when interest has been shaped by advocacy, personal accounts or online coverage.

That combination of urgent need, rapidly developing science, federal attention and patient demand makes this a defining clinical conversation. It also makes independence essential. Psych Congress does not promote a treatment or advocate for a regulatory outcome. It brings competing questions and perspectives into the same room so clinicians can hear what is known, what remains uncertain and what could be required if new therapies reach practice.

"There is legitimate reason for interest here and legitimate reason for caution, and practicing clinicians need both," said Charles Raison, MD, Psych Congress faculty. "What the data establishes matters. So does what it does not establish, and that half of the conversation is much harder to find."

A Patient Story, a Federal Update and the Clinical Questions That Follow

The Tuesday keynote, Psychedelic Therapy After the Executive Order: Now What?, moves from the Capones' patient and family experience to Zorn's federal policy update and then to a practical clinical panel featuring Charles Raison, MD; Andrew Penn, MS, PMHNP-BC; Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH; and Saundra Jain, MA, PsyD, LPC.

The Capones will discuss what they experienced, what they wish their clinicians had understood and why their family's experience led them to advocate for more research and clinical engagement.

"We want clinicians to bring the same rigor, curiosity and compassion to psychedelic medicine that they bring to every promising area of care," said Marcus Capone, co-founder of Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions. "Patient stories can point us toward questions the science must answer."

The clinical panel will examine what psychedelic-assisted models could require in practice, including patient selection, treatment setting, monitoring, staffing, supportive therapy, insurance coverage and access. Sessions later in the week address advocacy and patient demand, neuroplastic and psychedelic approaches in major depressive disorder, emerging approaches in generalized anxiety disorder, and a focused examination of where the evidence stands and what comes next.

At least ten companies investigating psychedelic medicines are also expected to attend Psych Congress, bringing another part of the emerging field into a meeting that already convenes clinicians, researchers, advocates, patients and families.

"Psych Congress convenes the education; our faculty determine the clinical content," Robbin said. "We do not take positions on emerging treatments. We bring the community together so patient experience, new evidence and the questions clinicians are facing can be examined in the same room."

Psych Congress's engagement with psychedelic medicine extends well beyond five sessions in New Orleans. Through Psych Congress Network, regional and specialty meetings, podcasts, clinical reporting and accredited education, the brand provides year-round context as research, regulation and practice evolve. That continuing platform allows clinicians to follow the field between major milestones, not simply encounter it once a year.

At Psych Congress 2026, HMP Global will announce the next phase of that commitment: a new meeting focused on psychedelics planned for 2027 and a new peer-reviewed journal from Psych Congress. Together, these launches will create additional forums for clinicians, researchers and other leaders across the field to examine the science, debate unresolved questions and prepare for what may be one of the most consequential periods in modern psychiatry. Names, dates and additional details will be announced during the meeting.

Event Details

What: Psych Congress 2026, 39th annual meeting

When: September 15-19, 2026

Where: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

Who: More than 3,000 psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician associates, psychologists, primary care physicians, pharmacists and other mental health professionals

Scope: More than 100 sessions focused on practical psychopharmacology, with more than 50 faculty; plus 5 days featuring sessions on psychedelic therapy.

Register: https://www.hmpglobalevents.com/psych-congress

About Psych Congress
Psych Congress is the largest independent mental health educational conference in the United States and the flagship psychiatry brand of HMP Global. For nearly four decades it has delivered practical, case-based education in psychopharmacology to psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician associates, psychologists, primary care physicians, pharmacists and other mental health professionals. The annual meeting draws more than 3,000 clinicians across more than 100 sessions led by more than 50 faculty. Psych Congress is not funded by any single manufacturer and takes no position on emerging treatments; its faculty determine clinical content independently. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is the official charitable partner of Psych Congress. The Psych Congress family also includes Psych Congress Elevate, Psych Congress Regionals and Psych Congress Network, the brand's year-round digital education platform. HMP Global and Psych Congress are also planning a 2027 meeting focused on psychedelics and a new Psych Congress journal; final names, timing and launch details should be confirmed before external use.

About HMP Global
HMP Global is the trusted leader in healthcare events, education, and omnichannel engagement, with a mission to improve patient care by bringing the healthcare community together. For more than 40 years, the company has built trusted brands that healthcare professionals rely on throughout their careers, including Psych Congress, the nation's leading conference on practical psychopharmacology; the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC), the world's largest wound care meeting; EMS World Expo; NEI; LINC; and Advances in IBD. Today, HMP Global's portfolio includes 27 brands and 83 events that connect more than 2 million healthcare professionals with more than 6,000 leading experts through live experiences, accredited education, year-round engagement through HMP Collective, and first-party clinician intelligence powered by Viia, creating one of healthcare's largest healthcare engagement ecosystems. Together, these capabilities help clinicians stay at the forefront of medicine while enabling healthcare organizations to engage the audiences shaping patient care. Learn more at hmpglobal.com or follow the company on LinkedIn.

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