In Module One, Dr. Buffington will begin with the basic knowledge of psychopharmacology that all non-prescribing providers need to know.

Together, you’ll review the many options your clients have for both medication and/or psychotherapy. You’ll also start exploring how drugs work, where in the body they work, and why they work (or don’t work!). Leave this module with a mastery of the foundational skills you need to better protect your patients using medication.

Foundational Knowledge

• The 9 rules of psychopharmacology
• Drug metabolism concepts: pharmacokinetics & pharmacodynamics
• Mechanism of action of today’s psychotropic medications: How, where and why medications work
• Placebo & nocebo
• Understanding receptors and how to prescribe based on their action

Masking: Psychological Problems Disguising Medical Disorders

• Differential disorders & diagnostic workup
• Top 10 life threatening side effects

Depressive Disorders

• The terminal button & neuronal health
• Biogenic amine, cortisol, down-regulation, & neurotropic hypotheses
• Treatment resistant depression and drug combinations

In this session, you’ll take a deep dive into the neurochemistry and medication management strategies of specific disorders.

Dr. Buffington will also explore side effects, including where unusual and common side effects come from, so you can ease their impact and help your clients achieve optimal results from their medication care plan.

Psychotic Disorders/Schizophrenia

• Extrapyramidal symptoms and TD
• Hyperprolactinemia: Why you need to know it
• Use of atypical antipsychotics for multiple disorders
• Pregnancy and psychotic disorders
• Movement disorders: Tardive Dyskinesias, Dystonias, Akathisia, EPS

Sleep Disorders

• REM sleep and neurotransmitters
• Hypnotics/Sedatives
• FDA-approved treatments for insomnia

Bipolar Disorders

• Mood stabilizers and lithium
• Anti-convulsants & neuromodulators

Eating Disorders

• “Stacker Diet Pills”
• Laxatives and diuretics
• Impact of medication on treatment outcomes

Anxiety, OCD and Trauma Related Disorders

• Physiological interventions
• Non-pharmacologic options
• Benzodiazepines: risks and benefits

Nutritional Psychopharmacology

• Monoaminergic rich foods
• Achetylcholinergic rich foods
• Anti-inflammatory foods

In the final module, you’ll learn how to distinguish the unique medication considerations for special populations. You’ll also learn to differentiate between acute vs. chronic pain and the ethical issues surrounding the everyday practice of clinical psychopharmacology.

You’ll leave this module confident in your ability to effectively address medication assisted treatments into your overall care plan with an understanding of your role as both the patient advocate and protector.

Attentional Disorder

• Differential diagnosis
• Treatment controversies
• Substance abuse and ADHD
• Stimulant vs. non-stimulant options

Substance Abuse Disorders

• Negative reinforcement & creation of habits
• PCP, MDMA (ecstasy) & ketamine
• Energy vs. chill drinks
• Over-the-counter & herbal psychopharmacology

Treating Client Pain

• Acute vs. chronic pain
• Alternatives to psychopharmacology
• Pain vs. depression: which comes first?
• Co-morbid pain alternatives

Special Populations

• Specialized guidelines for geriatric patients
• Dementia treatment
• Pregnancy guidelines
• Slow vs. rapid metabolizers (genetic polymorphisms)

Ethics and Psychopharmacology

• High-risk pharmacology & psychopharmacology
• Off-label use of medications
• Prescribing for children
• Marketing of mental illness
• Informed vs. uninformed consent
• Patient & third party pressures
• Ethics associated with medical errors

Perry Buffington, Ph.D., M.S., has worked for 20+ years in the medical-consulting field before turning to teaching and writing. Dr. Buffington teaches psychopharmacology at the undergraduate and graduate levels for the University of Georgia, Georgia Southern University, and the Georgia School of Professional Psychology. He is former chairman of the prestigious Florida Psychological Association’s Prescriptive Authority Committee and teaches seminars nationwide on minimizing psychopharmacological errors.

As the author of eight books (currently working on his first psychopharmacology text), his by-line has appeared in hundreds of periodicals including the Saturday Evening Post, USA Today, and Success. He is the former contributing editor for Delta Air Lines’ in-flight magazine, Sky, and served as a syndicated newspaper/web columnist for Universal Press. Additionally, he hosted his own radio show, syndicated nationally, by Envision Radio Networks.

Perry’s presentation style is engaging, a blend of education and entertainment; as a result, critics (and especially his students) applaud his ability to make complicated topics understandable and applicable – even useful!