Research Team Participates in 2026 ADAA Conference

The Skyland Trail research team participated in the 2026 Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) Conference in Chicago. The theme of the 2026 conference was, “Innovations in Technology Driving Clinical Care and Research in Mood and Anxiety Disorders.”

The Skyland Trail research team presented three poster sessions. Director of Research and Outcomes, Alex Rothbaum, PhD, MPH, participated in two roundtables, including one as chair, and was selected as a mentor for the Career Development Leadership Program (CDLP).

Michelle Tobar, MS, Skyland Trail clinical research coordinator, presented a poster session on “Emotional Abuse is Associated with Improvement of Symptom Severity for Depression and Anxiety for Adolescent Residential Patients.” This research is helping Skyland Trail better understand how patients’ presentation at admission may impact treatment outcomes. This is part of the broader goal to ask clinically relevant research questions to translate back to clinical treatment.

Noah Marchuk, Skyland Trail data specialist, presented a poster session on “Response and Remission Rates Do Not Differ by Treatment Setting or Sex, However Outpatients See Greater Reduction in Depression Symptoms Following TMS.” This is an example of ongoing Skyland Trail research to better understand how neuromodulation, in this case transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), can best fit into our programs targeting depressive symptoms.

Faria Chowdhury, an Oglethorpe University student completing an internship with Skyland Trail, presented a poster session on, “PID-5 Detachment Scores Do Not Predict Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Treatment Outcomes.”

Rothbaum participated in a roundtable discussion on best practices for embedding research in clinical practice and personalized medicine in addition to chairing a roundtable on implementing technology in clinical settings. As a mentor for the Career Development Leadership Program, Rothbaum participated in CDLP programming and was matched with an individual CDLP award winner on the research track, all in line with CDLP goals of mentoring and lifting up the next generation of clinicians and researchers.

“Research is an important part of the Skyland Trail mission,” says Rothbaum. “Sharing research through national forums such as the ADAA conference helps expand our collective understanding of the best strategies to employ in residential and PHP mental health treatment settings while receiving helpful feedback from the field to help patients get better.”