Prescribing Psychotropic Medications Safely and Effectively: Understanding Common, Rare, and Severe Side Effect
Presented by David Shearer, PhD, MSCP
Recorded on Friday, March 15th, 2024
Access provided upon registration on “My Courses” page
A skill of particular importance for prescribers of psychotropic medications is to prevent, identify, and effectively manage patient side effects. Psychotropic medications have the potential to produce myriad side effects that can adversely impact patient compliance and treatment outcomes as well as lead to adverse effects. For example, psychotropic medications can lead to weight gain, sedation, sleep disturbances, sexual dysfunction, irritability, and many other side effects that range from being seen as a nuisance to being significant enough to cause the patient to drop out of treatment. In more extreme cases, severe and life-threatening reactions can occur.
In this presentation, Dr. Bret Moore will present on the critical importance of minimizing side effects, managing side effects when they occur, and recognizing the risk and development of severe and life-threatening reactions to psychotropic medications in patients. This presentation will describe common side effects that may occur during pharmacotherapy and how the astute clinician can manage and minimize their impact on patient well-being as well as ensure prescribers understand and identify the more severe risks associated with psychotropics.
When attended in full, this program offers 1.0 APA CEs for Psychologists.
A skill of particular importance for prescribers of psychotropic medications is to prevent, identify, and effectively manage patient side effects. Psychotropic medications have the potential to produce myriad side effects that can adversely impact patient compliance and treatment outcomes as well as lead to adverse effects. For example, psychotropic medications can lead to weight gain, sedation, sleep disturbances, sexual dysfunction, irritability, and many other side effects that range from being seen as a nuisance to being significant enough to cause the patient to drop out of treatment. In more extreme cases, severe and life-threatening reactions can occur.
In this presentation, Dr. Bret Moore will present on the critical importance of minimizing side effects, managing side effects when they occur, and recognizing the risk and development of severe and life-threatening reactions to psychotropic medications in patients. This presentation will describe common side effects that may occur during pharmacotherapy and how the astute clinician can manage and minimize their impact on patient well-being as well as ensure prescribers understand and identify the more severe risks associated with psychotropics.
After attending this advanced-level program, participants will be able to:
- Explain common side effects that may result from pharmacotherapy and describe interventions to manage their impact during patient treatment.
- Describe key adverse syndromes related to the practice of clinical psychopharmacology (i.e., serotonin syndrome, malignant neuroleptic syndrome, metabolic syndrome) and how to manage these syndromes.
This program meets APA’s continuing education STANDARD 1.1: Program content focuses on application of psychological assessment and/or intervention methods that have overall consistent and credible empirical support in the contemporary peer reviewed scientific literature beyond those publications and other types of communications devoted primarily to the promotion of the approach.
This program meets APA’s continuing education GOAL 2: Program will enable psychologists to keep pace with the most current scientific evidence regarding assessment, prevention, intervention, and/or education, as well as important relevant legal, statutory, leadership, or regulatory issues.
David Shearer, PhD, MSCP; Prescribing Psychologist
Dr. David Shearer is a clinical and prescribing psychologist for the Department of the Army at Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) in the state of Washington. He serves as a core faculty member and Director of Behavioral Sciences for the MAMC family medicine residency. He is responsible for training family medicine residents in behavioral health topics including psychopharmacology and clinical psychology. Dr. Shearer is fully integrated into the family medicine clinics at MAMC as the primary psychopharmacological consultant and prescriber. In addition, he also teaches a year-long psychopharmacology course to psychology doctoral interns as a faculty member of the Department of Behavioral Health at MAMC. Dr. Shearer is the Chair of the Washington State Psychological Association Prescribing Psychology Legislative Taskforce.
Dr. Shearer is currently serving as Member-at-Large on the Division 55 board of directors. He is an adjunct faculty member at Alliant International University in the psychopharmacology program. Dr. Shearer has appointments in the Department of Family Medicine as an assistant professor at the Uniformed University of Health Sciences and as a clinical instructor at the University of Washington. His research, professional interests and publications include understanding and evaluating the combination of psychopharmacology and psychotherapy in the treatment of behavioral health disorders, prescribing psychology in primary care settings, teaching psychopharmacology to psychologists and allied health care providers, and the development of prescribing psychology in the military.
Preston, J. & Moore, B. A. (2023). Clinical psychopharmacology made ridiculously simple-10th edition. Miami, FL: MedMaster.
Levenson, J. L., and Ferrando, S. J. (2024). Clinical manual of psychopharmacology in the medically ill. Arlington, Virginia: American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
Stahl, S. M. (2020). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology: Prescriber’s guide 6th ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Target Audience: Psychologists, undergraduate and graduate psychology students, faculty and staff.
Psychologists. This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 1.0 continuing education credits. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is committed to accessibility and non-discrimination in its continuing education activities. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is also committed to conducting all activities in conformity with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles for Psychologists. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods.
Non Psychologists. Most licensing boards accept Continuing Education Credits sponsored by the American Psychological Association but non-psychologists are recommended to consult with their specific state-licensing board to ensure that APA-sponsored CE is acceptable.
*Participants must attend 100% of the program in order to obtain a Certificate of Attendance.
If participants have special needs, we will attempt to accommodate them. Please address questions, concerns and any complaints to [email protected]. There is no commercial support for this program nor are there any relationships between the CE Sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could reasonably be construed as conflicts of interest.