WPA Section on Exercise, Psychiatry and Sport

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WPA Section on Exercise, Psychiatry and Sport

• Chair-Prof. Baron
• Co-Chair-Prof. Azim
• Secretary-Prof. Tury
• Membership-Dr. Abolmagd

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Backround

• Section established Nov. 2004
• Relatively new subspecialty
• Two divisions
• Exercise
• Sport

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Exercise

• Robust existing literature on impact on MH
• Role as a primary tx. Modality
• Obesity issue
• Medication related
• Lifestyle
• Special populations
• Children
• Elderly
• Depressed/Anxious

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Sports Psychiatry

• Treating Mental Illness in Athletes
• Pre-existing disposition
• Stressors unique to sport
• Anabolic steroids
• Other drug use
• Symptoms and syndromes
• Not just performance enhancement

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Sports

• Very limited existing controlled literature
• Largely case reports
• Overgeneralized from non-athletes
• Studies do not match real-time conditions
• Diet
• Dose of steroids/supplements
• Exercise levels
• Few sports specific diagnostic instruments

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Sports

• Stigma issues critically important
• Unique role of the coach
• Youth sports and emotional development
• Athletes toughest opponent often depression,
  anxiety, addiction

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Doping Control

• Important component of sports at every level
• Psychiatric expertise needed to educate,
  understand motivation, develop prevention/treatmen
  t strategies
• Relationship to underlying mental illness and
  self medication

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Sections activities

• Expand the science
• Conduct international research
• Meta analysis of existing literature
• Ask the relevant questions
• Consult
• Sports federations
• WADA
• IOC
• Schools/ NCAA
• Other sport psych organizations

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Questions/ Comments