Course Description

The University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences invites you to attend an exciting new conference, titled Living Legends in Psychopharmacology targeted for the practicing clinician. Lectures will center on treatment of usual psychiatric patients with emphasis on those who are difficult to treat or are treatment resistant. Newer treatments and developing treatment strategies will be discussed, including recommended algorithms, treatment sequencing, and targeted combined pharmacotherapy.

It is recommended that course attendees have some familiarity with the neurobiological and genetic contributions to psychiatric illnesses as well as an understanding of the basic therapeutic mechanisms of psychotropic medications. This conference will emphasize the topics most relevant to current clinical practice. Updates on genetic contributions to psychopathology will serve as a foundation for discussion of specific psychiatric symptoms and disorders. Understanding of the interface between psychiatric, neurological, and medical illness, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, will enhance participants’ ability to choose treatments. New antipsychotic medications and treatment augmentation will be reviewed along with potential new uses for mood stabilizers. Updates on the latest treatment of anxiety disorders, use of benzodiazepines, and PTSD will be highlighted.

Neurobiologic mechanisms of depression, with discussion of the role of inflammation, will be emphasized. Updates on evidence-based use of antidepressants will incorporate the latest clinical findings. Special consideration will be given to ketamine, ECT, TMS, psychedelics, and augmentation strategies for difficult-to-treat depression and bipolar depression.

An emphasis will be placed on special and unique populations for which medications are frequently prescribed. The second day will lead off with a review of the role of psychopharmacology in the treatment of sleep disorders. Latest advances in child, adolescent and geriatric psychopharmacology will be reviewed in two separate presentations. The use of medication across women’s reproductive life span will address such considerations as PMDD, pregnancy, lactation, and post-partum depression. A presentation on the neurobiology and treatment of alcohol, opioids, cannabis, and other substance use disorders will be included. Throughout the course, discussion of the importance of the therapeutic alliance when prescribing psychotropic medications will be underscored.

A major highlight of the course is that there will be considerable opportunity for interaction with the presenters in question-and-answer panel discussions.

Course Schedule

Day 1
Registration
Welcome Remarks
Barbara Coffey, M.D., M.S. and Charles Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D.
Lessons Learned from the DNA of Patients with Psychiatric Illness
Daniel Weinberger, M.D.
Neuropsychiatry: Interface between Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders
Martin Samuels, M.D., D.Sc. (hon)
Coffee Break
Interface of Medical and Psychiatric Disorders with an Emphasis on Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer
Charles Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D.
Tackling Unsolved Problems in the Pharmacological Treatment of Schizophrenia
Philip Harvey, Ph.D.
Panel Discussion
Drs. Harvey, Nemeroff, Samuels, and Weinberger
Lunch
Latest Advances and Current Treatment of Bipolar Mania and Bipolar Depression
Ross Baldessarini, M.D., D.Sc. (hon)
Benzodiazepines: Risks and Benefits
David Sheehan, M.D., M.B.A.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorders
Charles Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D.
Panel Discussion
Drs. Baldessarini, Nemeroff, and Sheehan

Day 2
Welcome and Overview
Barbara Coffey, M.D., M.S.
Clinical Use of Psychotropic Drugs for the Treatment of Sleep Disorders
Sogol Javaheri, M.D.
Treatment-Resistant Depression
Stephen Stahl, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc. (hon)
Coffee Break
Psychedelics and Ketamine
Alan Schatzberg, M.D.
Pharmacological Treatment of Substance Use Disorders
Roger Weiss, M.D.
Panel Discussion
Drs. Coffey, Javaheri, Schatzberg, Stahl, and Weiss
Lunch
Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology
Barbara Coffey, M.D., M.S.
Psychopharmacology Across the Reproductive Lifespan
Ariadna Forray, M.D.
Geriatric Psychopharmacology
Elizabeth Crocco, M.D.
Panel Discussion
Drs. Coffey, Crocco, and Forray

Learning Objectives

• Describe lessons learned from genomic sequencing of patients with psychiatric illnesses.
• Identify unsolved problems regarding the pharmacologic treatment of schizophrenia and learning more effective treatments.
• Describe emerging theories and treatments of bipolar disorder, difficult-to-treat depression, bipolar depression, and anxiety disorder.
• Outline the perils and possibilities of psychedelics and ketamine.
• Recognize when to utilize ECT and TMS for treatment-resistant depression.
• Illustrate emerging treatments for PTSD.
• Review sleep disorders commonly comorbid with psychiatric illness, and appropriate use of medications and treatment.
• Review interface of medicine and psychiatry with a focus on cancer, cardiovascular disease.
• Review the interface of neurology and psychiatry with an emphasis on functional neurological disease, hysteria, movement disorders, pain, OCD and others.
• Summarize the use of genetic tests, serum level measurements, and drug combinations in treatment-resistant depression.
• Identify the current role of pharmacotherapy in the treatment of substance use disorders including alcohol, opioids, and cannabis.
• Review the role of pharmacotherapy in the treatment of psychiatric disorders throughout women’s reproductive lifespan.
• Examine the latest advances and problems associated with treatment approaches in the child, adolescent, and geriatric populations.

Course Directors

Barbara J. Coffey, MD, MS

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Charles Nemeroff, MD, PhD

University of Texas at Austin

Distinguished Faculty

Ross Baldessarini, M.D., D.Sc. (hon)

Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School; Director of the Psychopharmacology Program, McLean Hospital

Author of nearly 3,300 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.

Barbara Coffey, M.D., M.S.

Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Associate Editor, Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology; Author of more than 150 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, abstracts, and book chapters.

Elizabeth Crocco, M.D.

Clinical Professor, Chief of Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Medical Director, UM Memory Disorders Clinic, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience & Aging. Author of numerous publications and book chapters within the scientific field of Geriatric Psychiatry, including Alzheimer’s and related dementias.

Ariadna Forray, M.D.

Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine

Director of the Center for the Wellbeing of Women and Mothers; board member of the North American Society of Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynecology. Author of numerous publications on reproductive psychiatry.

Philip Harvey, Ph.D.

Leonard M. Miller Professor of Psychiatry, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Recipient of the Schizophrenia International Research Society Clinical Scientist Distinguished Contributions award. Author of over 1,000 scientific papers and 60 book chapters; Editor-in-Chief, Schizophrenia Research: Cognition.

Sogol Javaheri, M.D.

Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Associate Program Director, Sleep Medicine Fellowship, Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Charles Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D.

Matthew P. Nemeroff Professor and Chair Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas at Austin

President, Anxiety and Depression Association of America; past President of the American College of Psychiatrists. Author of over 1,200 scientific articles and book chapters; Co-editor, Textbook of Psychopharmacology.

Martin Samuels, M.D., D.Sc. (hon)

Founding Chair, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Miriam Sydney Joseph Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School. Founding Editor of NEJM Journal Watch Neurology. Creator of Samuels’s Manual of Neurologic Therapeutics.

Alan Schatzberg, M.D.

Kenneth Norris Jr. Professor, Stanford University

Past Chair of Psychiatry, Stanford University. Past-President, American Psychiatric Association. Co-author, Manual of Clinical Psychopharmacology.

David Sheehan, M.D., M.B.A.

Distinguished University Health Professor Emeritus, University of South Florida

Past consultant to the World Health Organization and the U.S. FDA. Author of over 500 abstracts and 300 publications, 11 books/monographs.

Stephen Stahl, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc. (hon)

Professor of Psychiatry, UC San Diego

Honorary Visiting Senior Fellow, University of Cambridge, UK. Author of 53 books including Essential Psychopharmacology and Prescriber’s Guide; Editor-in-Chief, CNS Spectrums.

Daniel Weinberger, M.D.

Director and CEO of the Lieber Institute for Brain Development

Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neuroscience and Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University. Member of the National Academy of Medicine; Author of over 700 papers.

Roger Weiss, M.D.

Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Chief of the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction at McLean Hospital. Editorial board of many journals including American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Student Reviews

★★★★★

“The depth of knowledge presented by these experts is unparalleled. Dr. Stahl’s lecture on treatment-resistant depression was a career-changing moment for me. Highly recommended for any serious practitioner.”

– Dr. Sarah J., Psychiatrist

★★★★★

“Incredible value. The section on the interface between neurology and psychiatry provided insights I use daily in my practice. Having access to these materials is a must.”

– Mark T., PMHNP

★★★★☆

“A comprehensive update on everything from psychopharmacology in pregnancy to geriatric care. The panel discussions were particularly engaging.”

– Dr. Emily R., Resident Physician

★★★★★

“I appreciate how the course covers both the evidence base and practical applications for difficult-to-treat patients. It’s rare to find this caliber of faculty in one place.”

– James L., Clinical Psychologist