The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is hosting a two-part webinar series to outline disparities in need and access to mental health services experienced by individuals living with HIV/AIDS in the rural United States, and highlight resources for optimizing access to care and treatment that is inclusive of mental health. Innovative ways of reaching rural patients are currently being developed and need to be scaled-up, particularly in the South. Interventions including the use of tele-psychiatry as well as tele-psychotherapy (group and individual) and other online techniques for the treatment for mental disorders will be explored. At the end of this webinar series, participants will be able to:

1. Understand the mental health disparities that pertain to people living with HIV/AIDS in rural areas, particularly in the South.
2. Identify the types of barriers to optimal HIV care that pertain to rural areas, particularly in the South.
3. Seek out and utilize resources for mental health treatments that optimize HIV care and may be accessed in rural areas, including those in the South.

Part 1 – Mental Health & HIV in the Rural South (Tuesday, August 16, 2016, 1pm-2:30pm EDT)
This first session will focus on the mental health of people living with HIV in the rural “Deep South”, defined as Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida and Texas. The webinar will review the epidemiology of HIV, and explore the psychosocial challenges specific to the rural Deep South that may be driving the epidemic. Register now.

Part 2 – Innovative Approaches to Rural Mental Health Treatment and HIV (Tuesday, August 30, 2016, 12:00pm-1:30pm EDT)
The second session will focus on innovative approaches to mental health treatment and HIV currently in use across the geographically diverse rural areas that could also be applied to the rural Deep South. Examples will include tele-psychiatry/tele-psychotherapy (group and individual) and online mental health treatment techniques. Register now.

The webinars will be led by Dr. Karl Goodkin, MD, PhD, DFAPA, Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University. He has served as a member of the Committee on HIV Psychiatry (formerly the Commission on AIDS) of the American Psychiatric Association, since 1992.