UPMC 15th Behavioral Health & Aging Conference 2026

UPMC Behavioral Health Aging Conference 2026

UPMC 15th Behavioral Health & Aging Conference 2026 is a community-based geriatric behavioral health education program focused on the mental health, cognitive, psychiatric, and substance use needs of older adults.

The conference addresses challenging personality disorders in later life, late-life depression, social isolation, substance use disorders, normal cognitive aging, mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and the safe use of psychotropic medications in older adults.

+ Target Audience

Providers working with older adults, including:

• Physicians
• Nurses
• Front-Line Staff
• Case Managers
• Service Coordinators
• Therapists
• Clinicians
• Behavioral Health Professionals
• Mental Health Professionals
• Geriatric Care Providers
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Advanced Practice Providers

Family members and caregivers are also welcome to attend.

+ Information

The UPMC 15th Behavioral Health & Aging Conference 2026 celebrates the 15th year of this community-based educational conference focused on the behavioral health needs of older adults.

The 2026 program centers on three broad themes.

The first addresses older adults with particularly challenging behavioral health needs, including personality disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder, as well as the continued challenge of recognizing and treating substance use disorders in later life.

The second theme focuses on cognition and aging, including how to distinguish normal age-related cognitive changes from early signs of pathological cognitive decline. The program also addresses the cognitive effects of medications, particularly psychiatric medications that may contribute to impairment in older adults.

The third theme focuses on improving treatment for late-life depression, including a newly developed evidence-based brief psychotherapy approach and the influence of social isolation, aging, cognition, and mood on psychotherapy outcomes.

The official UPMC program was held on February 19, 2026, with sessions running from approximately 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM EST.

Course Details

• Course: 15th Annual Behavioral Health and Aging Conference
• Organizer: UPMC / University of Pittsburgh
• Year: 2026
• Date: February 19, 2026
• Format: Live Educational Conference
• Primary Focus: Behavioral Health and Aging
• Specialty Areas: Geriatric Psychiatry, Psychology, Geriatric Medicine, Behavioral Health
• Educational Emphasis: Mental Health and Cognitive Disorders in Older Adults

Program Overview

The conference provides practical education for clinicians and caregivers working with older adults who have complex behavioral, psychiatric, cognitive, and substance-related conditions.

The curriculum emphasizes four major clinical areas:

• Personality disorders in later life
• Depression and psychotherapy in older adults
• Substance use disorders in the elderly
• Cognitive aging and medication-related cognitive impairment

Sessions are designed to help participants distinguish normal aging from disease, improve communication and treatment planning in difficult behavioral health situations, and make safer decisions regarding psychiatric medication use in older adults.

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

1. Identify models which explain maladaptive personality traits in later life.
2. Describe the motivation-behavior pathways in narcissistic personality disorder and other prominent personality disorders.
3. Describe social isolation’s impact on clinical work with depressed patients.
4. Discuss the impact of aging, cognitive and mood-related factors in psychotherapy for depression in later life.
5. Describe trends in substance use in older adults.
6. Identify the preferred treatment modalities for substance use in older adults.
7. Define what is considered normal cognitive changes in later life.
8. Differentiate between mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
9. Describe the risks versus benefits of psychotropic use in the elderly.
10. Identify best practices for use of psychotropic medication in the elderly.

These learning objectives are listed in the official UPMC 2026 program.

Official Program Topics

When Personality Gets in the Way of Care

• Personality Disorders in Older Adults
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Maladaptive Personality Traits
• Motivation-Behavior Pathways
• Challenging Patient Behaviors
• Personality and Aging
• Clinical Communication
• Therapeutic Boundaries
• Behavioral Management Strategies

Faculty: Anna Szücs, MD, PhD

The official agenda includes the session “When Personality Gets in the Way of Care: Working with Older Adults with Narcissistic or Other Personality Disorders.”

Late-Life Depression and Psychotherapy

• Depression in Older Adults
• Late-Life Depression
• Evidence-Based Psychotherapy
• Brief Psychotherapy
• Social Isolation
• Aging and Depression
• Cognitive Factors in Psychotherapy
• Mood-Related Factors
• Treatment Engagement
• Psychological Treatment in Later Life

Engage & Connect

The conference includes “Engage & Connect: A Neuroscience-Informed Psychotherapy for Late-Life Depression.”

Faculty: Nili Solomonov, PhD

Social Isolation and Mental Health

• Social Isolation in Older Adults
• Loneliness
• Depression
• Behavioral Health Consequences
• Clinical Assessment
• Psychotherapy
• Social Connection
• Mental Health Interventions

Social isolation is addressed as an important factor influencing clinical work with older adults experiencing depression.

Substance Use Disorders in Older Adults

• Substance Use in Later Life
• Substance Use Disorder
• Alcohol Use in Older Adults
• Drug Use in Older Adults
• Screening
• Diagnosis
• Treatment Modalities
• Behavioral Interventions
• Addiction Treatment
• Geriatric Substance Use Trends

Substance Use Disorder and the Elderly

Faculty:

• Antoine Douaihy, MD
• Dennis C. Daley, PhD

The official UPMC agenda includes a dedicated session on Substance Use Disorder and the Elderly.

Cognitive Aging

• Normal Cognitive Aging
• Age-Related Cognitive Change
• Memory Changes
• Executive Function
• Cognitive Screening
• Pathological Cognitive Decline
• Cognitive Assessment
• Early Recognition of Cognitive Disease

A key objective of the conference is helping clinicians distinguish expected age-related cognitive changes from changes that may suggest underlying neurological or psychiatric disease.

Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia

• Mild Cognitive Impairment
• MCI
• Dementia
• Cognitive Decline
• Neurocognitive Disorders
• Differential Diagnosis
• Early Dementia Recognition
• Cognitive Screening
• Clinical Assessment

Normal Aging vs Pathological Cognitive Decline in Late-Life

Faculty:

• Kelley M. Bellia, DO
• Chantale El Alam, MD

The official agenda specifically includes a session comparing normal aging with pathological cognitive decline in later life.

Psychotropic Medications in Older Adults

• Psychotropic Medication
• Psychiatric Medications
• Medication-Related Cognitive Impairment
• Geriatric Psychopharmacology
• Medication Safety
• Risks and Benefits
• Polypharmacy
• Cognitive Adverse Effects
• Medication Review
• Safe Prescribing in Older Adults

Medication-Related Cognitive Impairment

The conference examines cognitive impairment as a potential adverse effect of commonly used psychiatric medications.

Important areas include:

• Recognition of medication-associated cognitive symptoms
• Risk-benefit assessment
• Polypharmacy
• Age-related pharmacologic vulnerability
• Appropriate psychotropic prescribing
• Medication review and optimization

Cognitive Impairment as a Potential Side Effect of Common Psychiatric Medication

Faculty: Kavya Achyutuni, PharmD

Major Topics

• Behavioral Health and Aging
• Geriatric Psychiatry
• Geriatric Mental Health
• Personality Disorders
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Maladaptive Personality Traits
• Late-Life Depression
• Psychotherapy for Older Adults
• Neuroscience-Informed Psychotherapy
• Social Isolation
• Substance Use Disorders
• Addiction in Older Adults
• Normal Cognitive Aging
• Cognitive Decline
• Mild Cognitive Impairment
• Dementia
• Neurocognitive Disorders
• Psychotropic Medications
• Geriatric Psychopharmacology
• Medication-Related Cognitive Impairment
• Polypharmacy
• Mental Health Treatment in Older Adults
• Behavioral Health Assessment
• Caregiver Education

Official 2026 Program

8:30–8:40 AM

Welcome
Ellen M. Whyte, MD

8:40–10:10 AM

When Personality Gets in the Way of Care: Working with Older Adults with Narcissistic or Other Personality Disorders
Anna Szücs, MD, PhD

10:25–11:40 AM

Engage & Connect: A Neuroscience-Informed Psychotherapy for Late-Life Depression
Nili Solomonov, PhD

12:25–1:40 PM

Substance Use Disorder and the Elderly
Antoine Douaihy, MD
Dennis C. Daley, PhD

1:40–2:55 PM

Normal Aging vs Pathological Cognitive Decline in Late-Life
Kelley M. Bellia, DO
Chantale El Alam, MD

3:05–4:20 PM

Cognitive Impairment as a Potential Side Effect of Common Psychiatric Medication
Kavya Achyutuni, PharmD

4:20–4:30 PM

Wrap Up and Adjourn
Ellen M. Whyte, MD

The program schedule and faculty are published by UPMC.

Course Directors

Candace M. Fraser, DO

UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Ellen M. Whyte, MD

Service Chief & Medical Director, Geriatric Psychiatry
Medical Director, Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care
UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Both are identified by UPMC as Course Directors for the 2026 conference.

Steering Committee

• Christopher Fullerton, MSN, CRNP, PMHNP-BC
• Sarah Goldberg, LCSW
• Holly Rearick, PA-C
• Andrea Weinstein, PhD

The steering committee represents expertise in geriatric psychiatry, behavioral health, therapy, advanced practice care, and psychology.

Faculty

Anna Szücs, MD, PhD

Research Fellow
Division of Family Medicine
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
National University of Singapore

Nili Solomonov, PhD

Associate Attending Psychologist
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry
Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry

Antoine Douaihy, MD

Professor
Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Dennis C. Daley, PhD

Former Chief of Drug and Alcohol Services
UPMC Western Behavioral Health

Kelley M. Bellia, DO

Geriatric Medicine Fellow
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Chantale El Alam, MD

Geriatric Psychiatry Fellow
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Kavya Achyutuni, PharmD

Pharmacy Resident II
Department of Psychiatry
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Faculty credentials and affiliations are listed in the official UPMC course materials.

Continuing Education

The official course page lists continuing education opportunities for several professional groups.

Available credits include:

• AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
• AAPA Category I CME
• ANCC
• APA
• ASWB
• Certificate of Attendance

The detailed UPMC accreditation section states that physicians completing the activity may claim up to 6.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, while psychology and social work participants may also receive applicable continuing education credit.

Target Audience

This course is intended for providers working with older adults, including:

• Physicians
• Nurses
• Front-Line Staff
• Case Managers
• Service Coordinators
• Therapists
• Clinicians
• Psychologists
• Social Workers
• Behavioral Health Professionals
• Geriatric Care Teams

Family members and caregivers are welcome to attend.

Why This Course Is Relevant

Behavioral health care for older adults requires clinicians to distinguish between the expected effects of aging and psychiatric, neurological, medication-related, or substance-related disorders.

The UPMC 15th Behavioral Health & Aging Conference 2026 addresses several clinically challenging areas that frequently overlap in geriatric practice, including personality disorders, depression, social isolation, substance use, cognitive decline, dementia, and psychotropic medication use.

The program is particularly valuable for healthcare professionals seeking practical education in geriatric psychiatry, late-life depression, normal cognitive aging, mild cognitive impairment, dementia, substance use disorders in older adults, and geriatric psychopharmacology.

Its multidisciplinary format also makes it relevant for nurses, psychologists, social workers, therapists, case managers, physicians, and caregivers involved in the behavioral health needs of older adults.

Short Description

UPMC 15th Behavioral Health & Aging Conference 2026 provides multidisciplinary education in geriatric behavioral health, including late-life depression, personality disorders, narcissistic personality disorder, substance use in older adults, normal cognitive aging, mild cognitive impairment, dementia, psychotherapy, and safe psychotropic medication use.