Have you ever heard of PsychSummit? Co-created by New York County Psychiatric Society (NYCPS), Colorado Psychiatric Society (CPS), and Matchbox, this award-winning digital initiative launched in 2019 was designed from the very beginning to bring together psychiatrists from across the country to tackle society’s biggest challenges.
This ground-breaking conference series has blossomed from ideating creative and effective solutions to, in 2023, actually implementing these brilliant solutions, thanks to cutting-edge event design, passionate leadership, and the collaboration of professionals from over 30 states.
Why Does PsychSummit Have the Power to Change the World?
We’re seeing an uptick in associations bringing their members together to problem solve, and we believe PsychSummit has revolutionized the next step in the process: taking solutions beyond the ideation phase and applying them in the real world to effect meaningful change.
Where it All Started
The first-ever PsychSummit online event premiered in 2019 and served to lead engaging discussions on several topics, including climate change, the opioid crisis, and others. Organizers Anna Weaver, MA, CAE, Executive Director of the Colorado Psychiatric Society and Meagan O’Toole, JD, CAE, Executive Director of the New York County Psychiatric Society, wanted to build a co-creation experience for the psychiatric community where every attendee would be both an active participant and contributor.
“PsychSummit empowers participants to design the future by facilitating connections across the country and the globe, starting important and often challenging conversations, and exchanging ideas to spark change. “
Anna Weaver, CPS
No one knew, at the time, that the event industry was on the cusp of extreme change and innovation. The catalyst? You guessed it, COVID.
Experimentation and Agility are the Key to Future-Proofing Digital Initiatives
When the pandemic hit, every industry was challenged to learn the superpower of virtual engagement. Suddenly Anna and Meagan were seeing multiple online events pop up around them, and they wanted to keep PsychSummit on the cutting-edge of what was possible online.
That’s why they eagerly attended the Virtual Networking Incubator, which was a collaboration between Matchbox and Amanda Kaiser that brought together 150 association professionals to test out different virtual networking methodologies. Although Meagan and Anna learned a lot from the content and discussions, what inspired them the most was the incubator concept itself.
“We were bringing together passionate psychiatrists who aspire to change the world. Rather than just having discussions about the biggest challenges, could we take things one step further and lead them to true problem-solving?”
Being open to experimentation is key to staying relevant and effective in the digital realm. Whether it’s refining session formats or introducing new elements based on audience feedback or new technologies, continuous iteration ensures the ongoing success of your digital initiatives.
What PsychSummit Looks Like Today
Using strategies tested in the virtual networking incubator, Weaver and O’Toole designed a framework for each PsychSummit event that includes:
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- Every session opens with a short, thought-provoking talk by an expert. Often educational content related to the topic is made available to access in advance in the platform, such as published papers by the speaker or related literature. This gets people thinking critically about the “problem” and means attendees come ready to actively participate in discussions.
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- Sessions are built around designing solutions through the lens of the psychiatric perspective to contribute to moving the needle on major societal challenges. Attendees are encouraged to participate in brainstorming potential solutions and then designing initiatives to implement those solutions. This interactive approach engages attendees and creates a sense of belonging through active collaboration.
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- At the end of the recent three-part series on mental health in correctional facilities, attendees were polled asking their interest in participating in working groups to move some of the ideas forward. Incredibly, 100% of attendees polled said they would want to participate in working groups. This is testament to the value created by PsychSummit in addressing real challenges for their profession, providing access to experts, and supporting the co-creation of solutions.
“PsychSummit has evolved over the years and we’re excited about the results this fostered last year. The new, more interactive format allowed us to truly tap into the expertise across the country. You no longer have to wait for a bi-annual national meeting to get the right people in the room to get things done.”
Meagan O’Toole, NYCPS
What makes PsychSummit a Successful Digital Initiative?
During the process of evolving PsychSummit over the past 5 years, there were several wins collected along the way which supported the success of the series as we most recently experienced it:
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- PsychSummit is financially sustainable. Psychsummit is financially supported through sponsorship, and their main sponsor has been invested in the vision since their first iteration in 2019.
Building strong relationships with sponsors ensures financial sustainability for digital initiatives.
- PsychSummit is financially sustainable. Psychsummit is financially supported through sponsorship, and their main sponsor has been invested in the vision since their first iteration in 2019.
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- A dedicated advisory group of volunteer experts helped to make the series successful through consulting, supporting discussions, and helping facilitate the co-created breakout rooms. They also created a powerful invitation video emphasizing the power of collaboration.
This reflects both the positive impact that PsychSummit has on engagement and the value provided to participants.
- A dedicated advisory group of volunteer experts helped to make the series successful through consulting, supporting discussions, and helping facilitate the co-created breakout rooms. They also created a powerful invitation video emphasizing the power of collaboration.
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- A repository of insight. On the Matchbox platform, PsychSummit has created a system to track the progress of each solution that emerges from the series, and is accumulating contributed resources related to each sub-topic and a whole lot of data.
This enables PsychSummit to review and iterate elements of the experience design to make the conference series increasingly effective, year on year.
- A repository of insight. On the Matchbox platform, PsychSummit has created a system to track the progress of each solution that emerges from the series, and is accumulating contributed resources related to each sub-topic and a whole lot of data.
Fast forward several months after their series dedicated to true problem solving on the topic of Correctional Psychiatry, and real-world outcomes include an action paper passed by the American Psychiatric Association on language used in correctional psychiatry, a listserv created to connect psychiatrists working in carceral settings or with at-risk or justice-involved youth, and more.
“We are thrilled with the outcomes that stemmed from PsychSummit 2023: Reimagining Correctional Psychiatry. PsychSummit would not continue to be successful without the engagement of our participants, partners, and supporters. We are grateful for their commitment to exploring and implementing solutions to real world challenges.“
Anna Weaver, CPS
By thinking intentionally to design PsychSummit in a purpose-driven way to meet defined objectives, engaging the support of sponsors for financial sustainability, and co-creating this event with the global psychiatry community; NYCPS and CPS have built not just a virtual event, but an excellent example of a successful and strategic digital initiative. This is evidenced by its growth and evolution over the years and its positive impact on real-world challenges faced by psychiatrists and persons with mental illness.
Curious how to replicate this success?
Matchbox provides easy-to-use templates and ground-breaking collaboration tools in our platform to help you generate your own just like it. Our accompanying resource guides in our Education module also include:
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- Proven best practice guides for everyone involved: speakers, attendees, volunteers, and even sponsors!
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- Tips to leverage your assets, repurpose your content, and successfully monetize your initiative!
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- Data-driven suggestions for a truly engaging experience for your members.
We’d love to talk with you and explore how we can help you to build a successful digital initiative for your organization!
Use the form below to share with us your ideas and set up a one-to-one demo of our platform and digital initiative resources.
