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Register Here: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/Conference202619th Annual Florence Crittenton Mental Health Conference
Friday, October 30, 2026 • 8:30 AM // Topeka, KS // Sunflower Nonprofit Center | Powerhouse Conference Center
“Menopause & Mental Health: Closing the Gaps in Women’s Care”
Whether you care for women professionally or are seeking answers for yourself, this conference is for you!
Our 2026 conference explores the complex overlap between menopause, perimenopause, and mental health symptoms. Too often, women present across multiple care settings—primary care, OB-GYN, endocrinology, nutrition, and mental health—without a clear, coordinated understanding of underlying hormonal transitions. Participants will gain a foundational understanding of menopause and perimenopause, learn to recognize overlapping symptoms, and develop practical strategies for identifying when hormonal factors may be contributing to anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. This training emphasizes cross-disciplinary awareness to improve outcomes and reduce misdiagnosis.
CONFERENCE AGENDA:
8:30-9:00 ~ Registration
9:00-9:20 ~ Welcome and Video (20 min)
9:20-11:05 ~ Menopause 101 (Dr. Susan Brian) (105 min)
11:05-11:20 ~ Break (15 min)
11:20-12:20 ~ HRT Then and Now (Dr. Kathy Gaumer) (60 min)
12:20-1:10 ~ Lunch (50 min)
1:10-2:40 ~ Quality of Life: Mental Health and Functional Medicine Panel (90 min)
2:40-2:55 ~ Break (15 min)
2:55-3:55 ~ Lifestyle Medicine: Nutrition and Exercise (Cheryl Mussatto & Lisa Bassett) (60 min)
3:55-4:00 ~ Feedback Evaluations/Certificates of Completion
Menopause 101
Menopause is one of the most common—and often misunderstood—transitions in women’s health. Yet many of the symptoms women experience during perimenopause and menopause overlap with conditions frequently encountered in mental health practice, including anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, cognitive complaints, irritability, fatigue, and changes in motivation and emotional well-being.
In this evidence-based session, Dr. Susan Brian, endocrinologist and certified menopause specialist, will provide a practical foundation in the physiology and clinical management of menopause. Attendees will learn what happens to the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis during the menopausal transition, how fluctuating and declining estrogen levels can influence the brain and other organ systems, and why symptoms may begin years before the final menstrual period.
The session will address the distinction between perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause, common and less-recognized manifestations of the menopausal transition, and the evaluation of symptoms that may be attributed incorrectly to aging or primary psychiatric conditions. Particular attention will be given to the intersection between menopause and mood, cognition, sleep, anxiety, depression, and overall mental health.
Dr. Brian will also review current evidence regarding menopausal hormone therapy, including potential benefits, risks, appropriate candidates, contraindications, and common misconceptions. The goal is not simply to discuss hormones, but to equip clinicians with a framework for recognizing menopause-related changes and having informed, evidence-based conversations with their patients.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Describe the hormonal physiology underlying the perimenopausal transition, menopause, and postmenopause.
Recognize common and less-recognized symptoms associated with menopause, including manifestations involving mood, cognition, sleep, and mental health.
Differentiate menopause-related symptoms from conditions that may require separate medical or psychiatric evaluation.
Explain the current evidence regarding menopausal hormone therapy, including potential benefits, risks, and contraindications.
Apply an evidence-based approach to discussing menopause and treatment options with women in clinical practice.
Dr. Susan Brian, MD
Dr. Susan Brian is a board-certified endocrinologist and certified menopause specialist with more than 20 years of experience caring for women with endocrine and hormonal disorders. She completed her medical training at Dartmouth Medical School, residency in Internal Medicine at Texas Tech University, and fellowship in Endocrinology at Yale University.
Dr. Brian’s clinical and research interests include menopause, women’s hormone health, obesity, metabolic disease, diabetes, and the rapidly evolving science of GLP-1–based therapies. She has served as a principal investigator in clinical research involving multiple pharmaceutical and medical technology companies and has participated in clinical trials evaluating emerging therapies for metabolic and endocrine conditions.
She is passionate about translating complex endocrinology and menopause research into practical, evidence-based information for clinicians and patients. Through her clinical practice and educational work, Dr. Brian focuses particularly on helping clinicians understand the biological changes of midlife and how hormonal transitions can affect mood, cognition, sleep, weight, and overall health.
Dr. Brian practices endocrinology at Stormont in Topeka, Kansas.
H. Kathy Gaumer, MD, FACOG
Dr. Kathy Gaumer is a board-certified OB-GYN with over 35 years of experience, specializing in hormone optimization, preventive longevity health, and aesthetic medicine. As the Medical Director and founder of Regain Functional Medicine + Aesthetics in Kansas City and Lawrence, she leads a dedicated team of highly trained medical and aesthetic proffessionals who deliver personalized care in hormone therapy, sexual wellness treatments, peptide therapy, hair restoration, IV hydration and advanced aesthetic procedures.
Dr. Gaumer earned her undergraduate degree in Cellular Biology at Kansas University, her medical degree at the KU Medical Center and went on to complete her OB/GYN residence at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Ks. She had a busy private practice in Lawrence, Ks. for 16 years before becoming an OB/GYN Hospitalist at Advent Health, Shawnee Mission in KC. After retiring from obstetrics in October of 2024, she now dedicates 100% of her time to optimizing her patient’s health at Regain.
Her passion for women’s health and whole-body wellness has earned her national recognition, including being named a 2024 American Heart Association Kansas City Leader of Impact for her work advancing equitable cardiovascular health. Regain was honored to be named the #1 Weight Loss Center and the #3 Med Spa in KC as voted by the Kansas City Star.
Beyond the clinic, Dr. Gaumer is a fierce advocate for survivors of domestic violence. She has proudly served on the board of Newhouse Domestic Violence Shelter, Kansas City’s oldest domestic violence facility, and has helped raise critical funds and awareness as honorary chair of the Imagine A Day Gala, their primary fundraiser.
She has been married to her husband, Doug Gaumer, for 33 years and her 2 children, Alexa (31) and Austin (27), are COO and CFO at Regain making it truly a family run business.
Cheryl Mussatto, MS, RD, LD
Cheryl is a registered dietitian with a Master’s Degree in Dietetics and Nutrition from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor’s Degree in Dietetics and Institutional Management from Kansas State University.
She is also a certified health and wellness coach through Wellcoaches School of Coaching. Her specialties include nutrition counseling for weight control, high blood pressure/cholesterol, pregnancy, breastfeeding, infant and childhood feeding, and healthy eating for lifestyle changes for all ages.
Her work experience encompasses a wide diversity of dietetics practice including working with the WIC program, as a hospital dietitian, and a consulting dietitian for doctors and long-term care facilities. Currently, Cheryl is a clinical dietitian at Cotton O’Neil Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinic in Topeka, KS; an adjunct professor at Allen Community College in Burlingame, KS teaching “Basic Nutrition;” and is a freelance health and nutrition writer.
She is a weekly nutrition columnist of “Eat Well to Be Well” for osagecountyonline.com and writes several weekly nutrition articles as a blog contributor for Dr. David Samadi, Director of Men’s Health and Urologic Oncology at St. Francis Hospital, Long Island, New York (drsamaditv.com). Cheryl has been a frequent guest on Dr. Samadi’s Sunday morning radio show called World Health News at am970 The Answer in New York City.
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Event venue
5820 SW 6th Ave, Topeka, KS 66606-9602, United States
Tickets
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