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Mariana Edwards, MD

Dr. Edwards earned her Medical Degree from the University of Lisbon Faculty of Medicine in Portugal, where she completed an integrated master’s degree on Bipolar Disorder and Creativity, reflecting an early interest in the intersection of psychiatric illness and human experience.
Since joining UMKC Psychiatry Residency Program in 2022 she has worked across inpatient, outpatient, community, forensic and consultation liaison settings. She earned the honor of Resident of the Year for the 2024-2025 academic year. She has contributed with scholarly work including a case report on clozapine-associated myocarditis and pancreatitis. She strives to understand patients within their personal and cultural contexts and loves to talk about the importance of patient and family centered interventions in psychiatry across all diagnoses, and most specifically in schizophrenia.
She feels honored to provide mental health care to the population of Kansas City and to present on the topic of Neurocognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia.

Presentation(s): 

Neurocognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia: an Updated Review

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Kerri Tesreau, MBA

Kerri Tesreau serves as a Deputy Director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, where she helps oversee the strategic direction and daily operations of the agency. Kerri is a dedicated public servant with over two decades of experience in high-impact government operations. With a B.S. in Business Management and Marketing and an M.B.A specializing in Public Administration, she has focused on optimizing processes and implementing effective, data-driven solutions for complex government challenges. Kerri has participated in several large-scale initiatives including the COVID-19 pandemic and currently serves as the Department of Mental Health lead for the Rural Health Transformation Grant.

Presentation(s): 

Understanding the Rural Health Transformation Program

Missouri’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP): What’s Included

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Quitting vs. Thriving: Flipping the Script on Alcohol Reduction Education

Room: Paradise A

Speaker(s):

Fred Rottnek, MD

Presentation: Flipping the Script on Alcohol Reduction Education is an interactive session that reframes alcohol counseling around health gains rather than deprivation. Participants will explore concrete health benefits of cutting back, learn how even small reductions in drinking improve well-being, and practice asking patients about their own goals for change. The session will also highlight practical strategies and medications that clinicians can implement to support patients reduce alcohol use in a patient-centered, collaborative way.

Objectives:

  • Identify specific health benefits of reducing alcohol consumption
  • Discuss that any reduction in drinking provides health benefits
  • Ask individuals about their goals in changing their alcohol
  • Implement or support medications to reduce alcohol use

Slides and Handouts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A middle-aged man with light skin and long light brown hair tied back, wearing a white checkered shirt, looks toward the camera with a neutral expression against a plain blue background.
By

Fred Rottnek, MD, MAHCM

Dr. Rottnek is a Professor and the Director of Community Medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and the Program Director of the SSM Health Saint Louis University Addiction Medicine Fellowship.. His clinical practices include family medicine, addiction medicine, and correctional healthcare. He teaches in the School of Medicine and the School of Law. Board-Certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine, he is the Medical Director for the Assisted Recovery Centers of American (ARCA) and Juvenile Detention in Family Court for the City of St. Louis. He consults with SAMHSA’s Opioid Response Network and the GAINS Center.

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Kritika Chauhan, PsyD

Kritika Rajeev Chauhan, Psy.D., is a Clinical Forensic Psychology Postdoctoral Resident at the Center for Behavioral Medicine (CBM) in Kansas City, Missouri. At CBM, she provides competency restoration services, conducts both inpatient and outpatient competency evaluations, and delivers individual and group psychotherapies within a multidisciplinary forensic setting. She will also deliver didactic training and grand rounds. Dr. Chauhan completed her Doctor of Clinical Psychology degree at the Florida Institute of Technology and a full-year forensic internship at Mendota Mental Health Institute, where she gained specialized experience in forensic assessment, risk evaluation, competency restoration, and substance use treatment in maximum- and medium-security settings.
Dr. Chauhan’s research and clinical practice center on understanding psychological concepts within forensic settings. She has contributed to projects examining phenotypic bias in eyewitness identification and psychological influences on plea-bargaining decisions as a graduate student, and her award-winning doctoral research explored fear of crime and somatization among international students. With training in competency assessment, violence risk assessment, and expert testimony preparation, she is deeply committed to strengthening fairness, accuracy, and person-centered values in forensic evaluations and treatment. Her conference presentation highlights practical, evidence-based strategies for recognizing and mitigating bias in forensic practice.

Presentation(s):

Blind Spots in Justice: Recognizing and Reducing Cognitive Bias in Forensic Psychology

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Neurocognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia: an Updated Review

Room: Nautical Wheeler

Speaker(s):

Mariana Edwards, MD

Presentation: Schizophrenia is a chronic illness that affects approximately 23 million people in the world. It is associated with high chronic risk of suicide and lifelong functional impairment, and it is one of the leading 15 causes of disability. People with schizophrenia are at more vulnerable to human rights violations, neglect, and homelessness and there is still stigma about the illness from society at large.

Objectives:

  • Highlight data and statistics about schizophrenia, and its cognitive symptoms
  • Present case of a patient with schizophrenia with prominent cognitive symptoms
  • Talk about cognitive symptoms and social difficulties in schizophrenia
  • Talk about the overall negative impact of cognitive symptoms in the lives of patients with schizophrenia
  • Discuss evidence-based treatments of cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia

Slides and Handouts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Understanding the Rural Health Transformation Program

Room: Paradise C

Speaker(s):

Kerri Tesreau, MBA

Presentation: This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of the new federal Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) designed to evolve rural healthcare and increase sustainable access to care. This session will outline funding available to states, timelines, and how states can use the funds to strengthen rural infrastructure and improve patient access. This session is ideal for those wanting to understand the RHTP, what is allowed and what is restricted within the grant parameters.

Objectives:

  • Review RHTP grant funding awards
  • Discuss RHTP grant timelines
  • Describe RHTP grant allowable expenditures

Slides and Handouts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Department of Mental Health Housing Programs

Room: Windgate 62-63

Speaker(s):

Rosie Anderson-Harper, MA

Presentation: The Department of Mental Health houses several programs to assist Missourians with mental health and substance use disorders obtain and maintain safe, decent, and affordable housing that meets their individual and family needs. These programs, which are supported through federal and state funds, are key to helping Missourians in need and their families attain self-determination, self-sufficiency, and integration with the community.

Objectives:

  • Provide an overview of DMH housing programs
  • Highlight the Continuum of Care model for addressing homelessness in Missouri communities
  • Give an overview of the Person-Centered approach to housing

Slides and Handouts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cannabis Use and the Developing Mind: Effects, Risks, and Mental Health Impact

Room: Paradise B

Speaker(s):

Rebecca Preston, PhD

Presentation: Due to the changing attitude towards cannabis, and the increasing decriminalization of non-medical marijuana, cannabis use is at historically high levels among adolescents and young adults – with daily or near daily use continuing to rise. At the same time, perception of risk associated with cannabis use has decreased. Exposing developing brains to cannabis disrupts brain development and behavior, primes the brain for being more susceptible to developing other forms of addiction later in life, and impacts trajectories leading to psychosis, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and other substance use disorders. Of the various mental health disorders, significant attention has focused on the co-occurrence of cannabis use and psychosis.

Objectives:

  • Understand the association between cannabis use during brain development and cognition, emotional functioning, and the risk of developing mental health disorders, particularly psychosis
  • Highlight the developmental, acute, and long-term effects of cannabis use
  • Raise awareness that regular THC use during brain development is not a benign activity and can impact brain, behavior, and mental health trajectories

Slides and Handouts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Blind Spots in Justice: Recognizing and Reducing Cognitive Bias in Forensic Psychology

Room: Windgate 60-61

Speaker(s):

Kritika Chauhan, PsyD

Presentation: Forensic psychology plays a critical role in shaping decisions that impact justice, safety, and individual lives. Yet even the most skilled professionals are vulnerable to cognitive biases that can subtly influence judgement. This introductory level presentation will examine the most common cognitive biases encountered in forensic settings and review the contextual and systematic factors that contribute to these biases. The session will also identify strategies to reduce the impact of cognitive biases. By fostering awareness and offering mitigating approaches, the session aims to enhance fairness, accuracy, and professional integrity in forensic practice and decision-making.

Objectives:

  • Define common cognitive biases observed in forensic psychology settings
  • Explore individual, organizational, and contextual factors that contribute to the development and reinforcement of cognitive biases
  • Identify practical strategies and interventions to reduce the impact of cognitive biases in forensic practice

Slides and Handouts: