2-Day Integrative Psychopharmacology-The Future of Medications, Nutrition and Genetics – Sharon Freeman Clevenger

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Does this sound familiar? Your clients are taking multiple psychotropic medications prescribed by different healthcare professionals, not to mention their use of over-the-counter medications and herbal supplements. You discover that they have no idea who wrote which prescription or why they are even taking the medication. You realize that despite the confusion, you still have a responsibility to know your client’s symptoms, reactions to medications, and to coordinate their care. It’s more critical than ever for healthcare and mental health professionals to understand how psychotropic medications work, where in the body they work, and why they do (or don’t) improve your client’s therapeutic outcomes.

Are you confident in your role as both the client advocate and protector to effectively address medication-assisted treatments in your overall care plan?

This recording contains content from two-action-packed days learning from expert Sharon M. Freeman Clevenger, MSN, MA, PMHCNS-BC. She will guide you through the newest advances and contemporary trends in blending medication management with nutrition and psychotherapy interventions for anxiety, depression, psychotic disorders and more. You’ll finish with the knowledge you need to answer clients’ questions, manage side effects, understand medication reactions and improve your treatment outcomes.

1. Choose psychotropic medications for mood disorders and specific patient characteristics.
2. Analyze the actions, therapeutic uses, and side effects of antidepressants.
3. Design a plan to assist clients in overcoming barriers that impede the efficacy of their medication regime.
4. Determine options for clients with treatment resistant mood disorders
5. Categorize the actions, side effects, and therapeutic uses of antipsychotic medications.
6. Evaluate the three critical strategies for improving collaboration with prescribing practitioners.
7. Propose psychotropic medication treatment options for clients with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
8. Investigate the efficacy of psychotropic medications in treating eating disorders and discuss how to integrate psychotherapy with psychopharmacology for successful treatment outcomes.
9. Formulate medication treatment options for substance use disorders and discuss how to effectively incorporate medication assisted treatments into an overall plan for care.
10. Analyze the interaction between women’s hormone levels and their mental health symptoms.
11. Support the use of complementary and alternative agents for treatment of mental illnesses.
12. Determine the unique medication treatment considerations for geriatric clients.

The Nitty Gritty of Psychopharmacology

• How the brain communicates
• Specifics about nutrition & neurotransmitters
• Gut-brain connection: What it is & does it really exist?
• Over-the-counter medications
• Nutraceuticals
• Vitamins: Differences & effectiveness
• Ancient Medications: Are they still useful?

Genetic Testing: Do’s and Don’ts!

• Do genetic assays help decide medication choices?
• Common genes tested & why
• How to use genetic assays
• Understanding Methylation
• Communicating about genetic testing
• Using genetic testing to predict response & failure

What to Do Before a Diagnosis or Prescription

• Symptoms vs. circuits
• How to identify which brain organ to target
• Using the body to heal itself: Smart nutrition
• Pharmacodynamics vs. pharmacokinetics
• Expected & unexpected interactions: CYPs made simple!
• Off-label medication use & concerns
• Pearls from the Black Box Warnings

Depressive Disorders

• Screening & differential diagnosis
• Integrative approaches: medications, nutraceuticals, herbals
• Types of antidepressants & the pearls & pitfalls of each
• Mild & severe side-effects: How to assess & what to do
• Age-related differences
• Treatment resistance: What it is and how to manage it
• Cutting-edge treatments: What’s new, What’s safe

Anxiety-Related Disorders

• Screening & differential diagnosis
• Brain organs: Targets & triggers
• Integrative approaches: medications, nutraceuticals, herbals
• Choosing gold-standard treatments
• Benzodiazepines: Pearls & problems
• Safely discontinuing benzodiazepines

Mood Disorders

• Screening, stigma & safety concerns
• Types of cyclical disorders: Different types & different treatments
• Types of medications: What to choose & what to avoid
• Monitoring for safety: Labs, age, pregnancy & side-effects
• Managing mild & severe side-effects: Assessment & interventions
• When to augment & what to augment with

Psychosis & Schizophrenia

• Brain targets for treatments
• 1st & 2nd generation anti-psychotics
• Monitoring for safety & severe side-effects
• Assessment & treatment for mild to severe side-effects
• Other uses for anti-psychotics with pearls for prescribing
• Avoiding negative side-effects: Tapering off, switching medications, augmentation

Attentional Disorders

• Neurobiology of cognitive dysfunction
• Screening & differential diagnosis
• The science behind treatment options
• Medication choices: stimulants, non-stimulants, nutraceuticals

Sleep Disorders

• Types of sleep disorders & how to screen
• Differential diagnosis
• Determining what came first
• Treatment options:
  • Medications
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy
  • Integrative approaches: Nutraceuticals, herbals
• Adverse effects & interventions

Substance Use Disorders

• Screening, stigma, diagnosis & differentials
• Abuse vs. addiction
• Helping your client recover from use
• Categories of abusable drugs:
  • Caffeine
  • Nicotine
  • Cannabis vs. CBD
  • Alcohol
  • Opiates
  • Stimulants
  • Designer drugs

Putting It All Together

• Resources for prescribers & non-prescribers
• Limitations of the research & associated risks