Purpose: 1. To inform the AST community about the activities of Transplant Psychiatry Special Interest Group that has been operating within the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine (APM- Transplant Psychiatry SIG). 2. To describe potential areas of collaboration between the APM Transplant Psychiatry SIG and the AST psychosocial community.

Method. The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine (APM) is a professional organization with over 1200 members, which represents psychiatrists who work primarily with medically and surgically ill patients. Within the APM, a Transplant Psychiatry SIG has been active for over 2 decades. The APM Transplant Psychiatry SIG started as a platform to allow psychiatrists working with transplant patients to support each other via clinical consultations and informal discussions. With the transplant field expanding, the number of members of Transplant Psychiatry SIG has reached 320 as of the fall of 2017. The SIG has attracted not only psychiatrists within the APM but other mental health clinicians who work with transplant patients, such as psychologists or advanced psychiatric nurses, as well as a significant number of psychiatrists from outside the United States engaged in similar work.

Summary of the results. The presenters, who are the co-chairs of the APM Transplant Psychiatry SIG, will discuss the following:

1. A review of the history of the Transplant Psychiatry SIG, its current membership and administrative structure within the APM. Will illustrate this section with profiles of SIG members who are well known to the transplantation community for their research and activism.

2. A review of the activities of the group over the last 2 decades, which include courses in transplant psychiatry, conference workshops, peer consultation and publications.

3. A review of past, current and planned collaborations between members of the group and other organizations, including the European Association of Psychosomatic Medicine (EAPM) and AST.

Conclusions. The APM Transplant Psychiatry SIG is a substantial resource of clinical expertise and academic initiatives focused on psychiatric problems in transplant patients or organ donors. There are ample opportunities for collaboration between the APM Transplant Psychiatry SIG and the AST Psychosocial community of practice.

CITATION INFORMATION: Zimbrean P., DiMartini A., Crone C. Transplant Psychiatry- A Growing Subspecialty. Introducing the Transplant Psychiatry Special Interest Group from the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).

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