We are excited to announce the annual virtual Society of Digital Psychiatry (SODP) Symposium, taking place on December 12, 2025, at 1 PM ET! Join us for an online event dedicated to "Advancing Digital Mental Health Through AI."

This FREE symposium will explore the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and mental healthcare, highlighting innovative approaches that are reshaping the Digital Mental Health field. As we gather leaders and industry pioneers, this event offers a unique platform for exploration and collaboration of the latest AI advancements within the mental health landscape.

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Moderators:

Kathryn Taylor Ledley, BA

Kathryn Taylor Ledley holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Providence College. She is now a clinical research assistant in the digital psychiatry division, in the Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School affiliated teaching hospital. Kathryn also serves as a co-leader of the Society of Digital Psychiatry.

John Torous, MD, MBI; Cofounder, Society of Digital Psychiatry

Dr. Torous is director of the Digital Psychiatry division in the Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. With a background in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley, he earned his MD at UC San Diego and completed his psychiatry residency, clinical informatics fellowship, and master’s in biomedical informatics at Harvard. An expert in mobile mental health technologies, he has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and 5 book chapters. Dr. Torous also serves as editor-in-chief of JMIR Mental Health and a cofounder of the Society of Digital Psychiatry.

Speakers:

Soumya Choudhary, MSc, PhD

Soumya Choudhary is a dedicated researcher and digital mental health expert currently pursuing a PhD in Psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India. She is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Division of Digital Psychiatry, BIDMC, Harvard Medical School. Soumya holds a Master's degree in Mental Health: Research and Practice from the University of Nottingham, where she specialized in clinical psychology, neuropsychiatry and artificial intelligence. At NIMHANS, Soumya has been involved in Wellcome Trust-funded projects such as the SHARP study, focusing on smartphone-based assessments and relapse prevention in psychosis. Her research integrates advanced data analysis techniques and app-based interventions to enhance mental health care. Soumya has also published extensively in the field of digital mental health, with works exploring digital interventions, machine learning applications in mental health, and relapse prediction in schizophrenia. Soumya is passionate about scaling digital mental health solutions globally, with a focus on low and middle income countries.

Meghana Keshavan, BS

Meghana Keshavan is a journalist at STAT News, the health care arm of the Boston Globe. She has been covering the biotech sector for more than a decade, reporting on the intersection of biotechnology, artificial intelligence, drug development, and federal health policy. She writes STAT’s Readout newsletter, a daily compendium of the most important technological news in health care — including artificial intelligence. 

Her recent coverage includes FDA regulatory processes, advances in mental health treatments, psychedelic-assisted therapy research, and issues affecting the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry.

Meghana joined STAT in 2016. Before that, she worked for news outlets like Thomson Reuters, the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Metro Times and NPR affiliate WDET. As a young lass, Meghana toiled five years as a research peon in a schizophrenia genetics lab. She once spilled ethidium bromide on herself, and might be a mutant. 

Keris Myrick, MS, MBA

Ms Myrick is a leading mental health advocate and executive, known for her innovative and inclusive approach to mental health and substance use reform and the public disclosure of her personal story. Ms Myrick is the developer and host of the podcast Unapologetically Black Unicorns, which focuses on mental health, race equity, and lived experience. She is an in-demand national trainer and keynote speaker and has authored several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on the peer workforce, inclusion of lived experience, and digital therapeutics in mental health. She is Vice President of Partnerships at Inseparable and serves as a clinical advisor for the Digital Psychiatry program at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Ms Myrick has over 20 years of experience in innovations, transformation, and peer workforce development in mental health services and has been addressing race equity throughout her career at the local, state, federal, and national levels.

Benjamin W. Nelson, PhD

Dr. Nelson is a Senior Clinical Research Scientist at Verily Life Sciences on the Science and Innovation Team, an Adjunct Professor at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and a licensed psychologist. He leads Verily’s mental health science and innovation efforts, advancing precision AI health strategies and developing generative AI–enabled safety systems and clinical decision support tools across the company’s mental and behavioral health portfolio. He also contributes to the Division of Digital Psychiatry at BIDMC, bringing integrated expertise in clinical care, AI, and applied research.

His background spans clinical science, wearable digital biomarker development, AI and LLM evaluation, and the analytical and clinical validation of digital health technologies. He has deep experience in real-world clinical trial design, clinical outcomes research, and translating evidence into product strategy. Dr. Nelson’s research includes more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, multiple book chapters, and conference presentations. Clinically, he has worked across hospital settings and holds APIT certification.

Across his roles, Dr. Nelson focuses on uniting rigorous clinical science with modern digital health technology and AI applications to improve chronic health outcomes.

Dr. Amir Rahmani, PhD

Dr. Amir Rahmani is a Professor of Nursing and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where he also holds the Samueli Endowed Chair of Integrative Health. He serves as the Co-Director of the UCI Institute for Future Health and leads the multidisciplinary HealthSciTech Group at UCI. His research spans mHealth, data science, wearable and mobile computing, machine learning and agentic AI, affective computing, and bio-signal processing. Dr. Rahmani's contributions have been recognized with the UCI Beall Applied Innovation’s inaugural Faculty Innovation Fellowship, the Nokia Foundation's Research Excellence Award, and the European Union’s Global Marie Curie Fellowship. 

Steve Siddals, MSc

Steve Siddals is a psychology researcher and technology executive, affiliated to the BIDMC digital psychiatry lab, with an academic background in the psychology and neuroscience of mental health (King's College London MSc) and computer science and mathematics (Oxford University BA), and 25 years' experience leading technology transformation for multinationals.

Last year, Steve led one of the first studies to explore real-life experiences of using tools like ChatGPT for mental health. He interviewed nineteen people from across the world about what it's like to turn to generative AI for emotional support and healing, and analyzed the themes and implications. The study was published here in the Nature partner journal for mental health research, with themes available here to explore and drill down.

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Sponsorship Acknowledgment

The 2025 Annual Society of Digital Psychiatry Symposium is made possible through the generous support of its sponsor, FeelPath.

FeelPath AI is dedicated to reshaping mental health care, beginning with Alexithymia (difficulty identifying and describing emotions). FeelPath offers technology-enabled care that uses AI analysis of therapy and psychiatry session conversations to provide clinicians and researchers with clear, visual insights, psychoeducation, and tools like visual maps of missing emotion language and AI-powered alexithymia detection signals. Learn more at FeelPath.com.

Sponsorship Opportunities:

Elevate your brand and connect with industry leaders by becoming a sponsor of the SODP Symposium! Email dennis.obrien@jmir.org to get the conversation started or learn more here.

Why Sponsor?

• Engage with Experts: Connect with a diverse audience, including clinicians, researchers, data scientists, business leaders, and advocates, all committed to advancing digital mental health.
• Showcase Your Brand: Sponsorship opportunities are available to position your brand as a leader in the digital mental health space, gain visibility, and connect with key decision-makers.
• Thought Leadership: Share your insights on industry trends and innovations through presentation slots and on-demand video options.

The Society of Digital Psychiatry is dedicated to fostering innovation and advocating for equitable access to mental health resources. With over 350 members representing various sectors of digital psychiatry, this symposium is a chance to be part of an exciting community focused on transforming mental healthcare.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be at the forefront of digital mental health advancement.