Psychopharmacology 2018: A Masterclass Harvard USA

This unique two-day course is designed for the experienced clinician. The objectives of this course are to provide, in a lecture and question and answer format, a review of the mechanisms of psychiatric disorders as well as the clinical applications of psychotropic drug treatments. Presentations will focus on the typical psychiatric patient who presents for treatment with particular emphasis on difficult-to-treat patients. Course participants will be expected to have had clinical experience, familiarity with the neurobiological and genetic contributions to psychiatric illnesses as well as an understanding of the basic therapeutic mechanisms of psychotropic medications. There will be considerable opportunity for interaction with the presenters.

This conference will focus on the following topics: An updated review of neurobiology and brain function will be presented, taking the attendee through neurotransmission sequence from the central role of neurotransmitter circuits and synthesis, synaptic function and gene transcription. The interaction between genes and the environment will be emphasized. This year, for the first time, an entire lecture will be devoted to the interaction between medical and psychiatric disorders with implications for treatment. The drug treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder will be presented with a focus new antipsychotic medications along with potential new uses for mood stabilizers. The mechanisms of depression with emphasis on the neurobiology and genetic predisposition to depression will be emphasized along with the modern use of antidepressants based on the latest research findings. Special consideration will be given to Ketamine, ECT, TMS and augmentation strategies in treatment resistant depression. Treatment of Bipolar Depression will be emphasized. There will also be a presentation and focus on the diagnosis and treatment of attention deficit disorder with an emphasis on the use of stimulants in their treatment of adults with this disorder. The neurobiological mechanisms of anxiety and anxiety-spectrum disorders as well as their pharmacological treatment will be presented, including panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. New concepts and treatments of obsessive compulsive disorder will be included. The importance of the evaluation and psychopharmacological treatment of women’s mental health issues will be addressed with particular emphasis on PMS, perinatal, and postpartum disorders. The course will also include a review of the role of psychopharmacology in the treatment of sleep disorders. Advances in the neurobiology and treatment of alcohol and substance abuse disorders will also be highlighted. The latest advances in child, adolescent and geriatric psychopharmacology will be emphasized. Throughout the course the establishment and importance of the therapeutic alliance when prescribing all psychotropic medications will be underscored, as will the potential hazards/benefits of polypharmacy drug interactions.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Evaluate the effects of neurotransmitters and genes on psychotropic drug treatment;
• Describe the pharmacologic treatment of schizophrenia with particular reference to the prodromal period and first episode;
• Outline the emerging theories and treatments of bipolar disorder, depression, treatment resistant depression, bipolar depression, stress and anxiety disorder;
• Identify the benefits and risks of Ketamine;
• Discuss the role of psychotropic medications in women’s mental health with an emphasis on PMS, pregnancy, nursing, and the postpartum period;
• Review the appropriate use of medications in the treatment of sleep disorders;
• Review the appropriate use of stimulants in the treatment of attention and ADHD disorders as well as their use as an adjunct to antidepressant treatment;
• Assess the role of psychopharmacology in the treatment of substance use disorders with particular emphasis on alcohol, opiates, and cannabis;
• Describe the latest advances and problems associated with treatment approaches in the child, adolescent and geriatric populations;
• Demonstrate when to utilize ECT and TMS for the treatment of depression;
• Review standard psychopharmacologic treatments that have now been proven to be ineffective.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Experienced clinicians in the field of psychopharmacology drawn from the following disciplines: psychiatry, medicine, nursing, nurse practitioners, and psychology.

FACULTY

Ross J. Baldessarini, MD, DSc. (hon) Professor of Psychiatry and in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School; Director of the Psychopharmacology Program and International Consortium for Bipolar Disorder Research at McLean Hospital; Author of nearly 2300 scientific publications and several books, including Chemotherapy in Psychiatry and for several decades, the chapters on psychopharmacology in the standard American textbook of pharmacology, Goodman and Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics; Member of editorial boards of several leading clinical and neuroscience journals.

Barbara Coffey, MD, MS Division Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Research Psychiatrist, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research; Associate Editor, Advanced Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.

Donald Goff, MD Marvin Stern Professor of Psychiatry, Vice Chair for Research, Department of Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center; Director of the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research; Author of over 200 scientific articles primarily in the field of schizophrenia.

Lawrence E. Lifson, MD Lecturer on Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Director, Continuing Education Program, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association; Editor, Understanding Therapeutic Action: Current Concepts of Cure and co-editor, Mental Health Practitioner and the Law and Psychology of Investing.

Susan L. McElroy, MD Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine; Chief Research Officer, Lindner Center of Hope, Author of over 125 scientific articles and books including Antiepileptic Drugs to Treat Psychiatric Disorders, Editorial board of 5 journals.

Charles Nemeroff, MD, PhD Leonard M. Miller Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; past President of the American College of Psychiatrists, International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology; member of the Institute of Medicine; author of over 1000 scientific articles and book chapters, Co-editor, Textbook of Psychopharmacology.

John Ratey, MD Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Author of over 85 scientific publications and eight books including Driven to Distraction and The User’s Guide to the Brain and Spark: The New Revolutionary Science of Exercise and the Brain and Go Wild: Free Your Body and Mind From the Afflictions of Civilization.

Carl Salzman, MD Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Award-winning teacher of psychiatry and psychopharmacology; Editorial board or past editorial board of several journals including The American Journal of Psychiatry;Author of over 300 publications and several books including Clinical Geriatric Psychopharmacology, 4th edition.

Stephen M. Stahl, MD, PhD Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego; Honorary Visiting Senior Fellow, University of Cambridge, UK; recipient of many national and international awards; Author of over 500 publications; Author of 39 books including Essential Psychopharmacology and Prescriber’s Guide; Editor of 13 books; Editorial board of several journals including Editor-in-Chief, CNS Spectrums.

Alan F. Schatzberg, MD Kenneth Norris Jr. Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emeritus, Stanford University; past President, American Psychiatric Association; Editorial board of many journals; Author of over 600 publications; Co-author, Manual of Clinical Psychopharmacology; Co-editor of Textbook of Psychopharmacology.

Roger Weiss, MD Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse at McLean Hospital. Author, over 300 scientific publications including, Integrated Group Therapy for Bipolar Disorder and Substance Abuse; Editorial board of many journals including American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, and the American Journal on Addictions.

John Winkelman, MD, PhD Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Past Chair of the Nosology committee of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and of the Restless Legs Syndrome Treatment Guidelines Committee for the American Academy of Neurology; Author of over 150 publications in the field of Sleep Medicine; Editorial boards of Sleep Medicine, CNS Drugs; Editor, Foundations of Psychiatric Sleep Medicine.

Kimberly Yonkers, MD Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale School of Medicine; past President of the North American Society of Psychosocial Ob-Gyn; Author, Depression in Women, Editor, Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice; and Co-editor of Mood Disorders in Women and Management of Psychiatric Disorders in Pregnancy.