Title: Incorporating a Multidisciplinary Approach Towards Improving Mental Wellbeing: Current Perspectives and Future Trends

Abstract: Throughout recent years, findings have consistently indicated a rising awareness and demand for mental health services on a global scale. However, several obstacles prevent equitable access to care, including issues at the policy level, as well as treatment-level concerns related to unfavourable outcomes and long waitlists. The present talk will focus on first highlighting current and expected trends in mental health treatment. Next, the speaker will discuss how clinical psychologists approach case conceptualization and treatment planning, including the benefits and limitations of current models of treatment. Finally, the speaker will discuss future and upcoming directions in the field of clinical psychology, and the potential role of advanced modeling of heterogeneous symptom presentations and comorbidities in improving mental health outcomes.

Bio: Sachin Lokuge is a third-year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Virginia Tech. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Toronto, followed by five years working in research and clinical capacities at the START Clinic for Mood and Anxiety Disorders in Toronto, Canada. Sachin has published primarily on topics related to anxiety, depression, including several multidisciplinary collaborations that leverage machine learning techniques or smartphones in improving mental health outcomes. Clinically, he is interested in treatment modalities such as mindfulness-based interventions that target transdiagnostic characteristics of mental illness, and in improving personalized healthcare.

Please sign up via the following form: https://forms.gle/URwHWsbyHVFjqBpg8