Clinical Psychopharmacology

Catalog description

This weekend course will focus on the clinical uses of psychotropic medications in the treatment of anxiety disorders, unipolar and bipolar affective disorders and psychotic disorders. The mechanisms by which abused substances affect the body and drugs used in the treatment of substance abuse disorders will also be covered. The basic biology underlying these disorders will be presented as part of the discussion of the therapeutic mechanisms of drug action. An important component of the course will be differential diagnosis, especially identifying non-psychiatric factors which may affect the symptom presentation and which must be brought under control before a clear diagnosis can be reached.