Building Stronger Communities Through Addiction Care Innovation,Research,Education,and Advocacy—Overview and Proceedings of the AMERSA 2025 Conference

Abstract

This commentary provides an overview of the 49th annual AMERSA conference, held from November 13 to 15, 2025, in Portland, OR. The conference featured 16 interactive workshops, over 160 oral abstract presentations, and 120 poster presentations. In alignment with the theme of Building Stronger Communities through Addiction Care Innovation, Research, Education and Advocacy, the conference program planning committee was committed to incorporating sessions, including plenaries, workshops, and abstract presentations, which focused on expanding access to resources and including community voices. Plenary topics included building rural peer networks to expand the reach of substance use and substance use disorder care, supportive housing, expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder in rural areas, and the use of psychedelics as an emerging treatment modality, among others. Workshops addressed topics such as building partnerships between academic and tribal communities, Community Reinforcement and Family Training for practitioners, addressing stigma associated with substance use, and strategies to access difficult-to-reach populations to provide care. Through session attendance and dialogue with peers from across geographies and disciplines, the conference created space for conversations that cut across silos and helped to shape evidence-informed, community-engaged practice.