Psychopharmacology – A Comprehensive Overview

This course will teach the participant to:

• Explain the basic terms relevant to psychopharmacology, including neurotransmitters, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics
• Identify when psychiatric medication consultation is warranted and the advantages and disadvantages of consulting with primary care versus psychiatry
• Discuss the major issues that non-prescribers should know about antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and medications for insomnia and attention deficit disorder
• Identify key psychiatric approaches to the treatment of anxiety, including first-line and second-line medications and the pros and cons of benzodiazepines
• Note the ethical issues involved in treating vulnerable populations with psychotropic medications
• Explain the roles of non-prescribing therapists who work with clients who are taking psychotropic medications
• Discuss the ways in which psychopharmacological treatment can be integrated with therapy for common mental disorders.

Part One: Introduction to Psychopharmacology

The first section explains basic terms relevant to psychopharmacology, starting at the level of neurons and neurotransmitters and expanding to the ways in which drugs and the body affect one another. It concludes with information for non-prescribing therapists about referrals for a psychotropic medication evaluation.

• Neurons and neurotransmitters
• Pharmacodynamics: What the drug does to the body
• Pharmacokinetics: What the body does to the drug
• Referrals for a psychotropic medication evaluation

Part Two: What Non-Prescribing Therapists Need to Know about Common Psychotropic Medications

The second section provides a user-friendly review of important topics related to antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, mood stabilizers, and medications for insomnia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

• Antidepressants
• Antipsychotics
• Benzodiazepines
• Mood stabilizers
• Medications for insomnia
• Medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Part Three: Psychopharmacological Approaches to the Treatment of Anxiety

The third section takes a more in-depth look at psychopharmacological approaches to the treatment of depression, including differential diagnosis, comorbid conditions, first-line and second-line treatments, cautions with benzodiazepines, and the ways in which prescribers and non-prescribing therapists can collaborate.

• Psychiatric approaches to differential diagnosis
• Common first-line and second-line treatments
• Pros and cons of prescribing benzodiazepines
• Prescribing in light of common comorbid conditions, including substance abuse
• Professional collaboration between prescribers and therapists

Part Four: Ethical and Clinical Issues in Psychotropic Medication for Depression, Psychosis, and Other Conditions

The fourth section presents the most up-to-date research in the areas of medication for depression, psychosis, and other conditions. Topics include monitoring adverse side effects, medication adherence, understanding patients’ experiences and medication, dosing schedules, and personality disorders. Additional articles address ethical care for vulnerable populations, sex differences, postpartum depression, non-psychotropic medications used to treat psychiatric symptoms, and treatment failure.

• Monitoring adverse effects of antidepressants
• Antidepressant adherence in unipolar depression
• Understanding experiences of patients on antipsychotic medications
• Effect of longer dosing intervals for long-acting injectable antipsychotics on outcomes in schizophrenia
• Is pharmacotherapy useful for treating personality disorders?
• Ethical care for vulnerable populations receiving psychotropic treatment
• Sex differences in psychopharmacological treatment of depression
• Therapeutics of postpartum depression
• Treating psychiatric symptoms and disorders with non-psychotropic medications
• Is there a time when prescribing medication in psychiatry is futile?

Part Five: Integrating Psychopharmacology and Psychotherapy

The fifth section consists of book chapters on integrating psychopharmacology and psychotherapy for mood disorders, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, and insomnia. It covers the advantages and challenges of integrating both forms of treatment.

• Mood disorders
  • Measuring efficacy of antidepressants and psychotherapy
  • Combining antidepressants with cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, and psychodynamic psychotherapy
• Bipolar disorder
  • Psychopharmacology as the cornerstone of treatment
  • Evidence for combined biological and psychological treatments
• Psychotic disorders
  • Cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia
  • Psychopharmacological treatment of cognitive symptoms
  • Cognitive remediation
  • Combining pharmacological and psychosocial treatments
• Anxiety disorders
  • Psychological and pharmacological treatments, separately and in combination
  • Separate reviews for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), specific phobia, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and panic disorder
• Insomnia
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy versus pharmacotherapy
  • Factors favoring initiation of treatment with psychotherapy versus pharmacotherapy
  • Combination strategies