On Demand Grand Rounds: Psychodynamic Psychopharmacology: Practical Psychodynamics to Enhance Pharmacologic Outcomes with Treatment-Resistant Patients

This presentation was originally reviewed on January 10, 2023, and broadcast live online on January 11, 2023, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET. 

The views and opinions expressed by this presenter in this lecture are their own, and do not represent the views of Sheppard Pratt.

Though psychiatry has benefited from an increasingly evidence-based perspective and a proliferation of safer and more tolerable treatments, outcomes are not substantially better than they were a quarter of a century ago. Treatment resistance remains a serious problem across psychiatric diagnoses. One likely reason is that that the systems within which psychiatrists are working often create pressures for doctors to adopt biologically reductionistic framework.  In this context, the important impact of psychosocial factors in prescribing have been relatively neglected, leaving psychiatrists to work without some of our most potent tools.

Psychodynamic Psychopharmacology is a psychodynamically-informed, patient-centered approach to psychiatric patients that explicitly acknowledges and addresses the central role of meaning and interpersonal factors in pharmacologic treatment. While traditional objective-descriptive psychopharmacology provides guidance about what to prescribe, the techniques of Psychodynamic Psychopharmacology inform prescribers about how to prescribe to maximize outcomes, not only in terms of addressing symptoms, but also in ways that support the patient’s development, increase in the patient’s personal authority, and foster general wellbeing.

This presentation will touch on the evidence base connecting meaning, medications, and outcomes, and will review psychodynamic concepts relevant to the practice of psychopharmacology. We will explore how psychodynamic issues may interfere with optimal outcomes, particularly in patients with a history of early adverse experiences.  Then we will consider techniques for identifying and addressing treatment-interfering dynamics.

Target Audience

This activity is intended for physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, counselors and other mental health professionals. 

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, attendees will be able to:

  1. Recognize and diagnose common psychodynamics interfering with optimal medication outcomes
  2. Demonstrate alliance-promoting behaviors in pharmacotherapy
  3. Use psychodynamically-informed interventions to address dynamics driving treatment-resistance
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 1.00 Category II credits for Social Workers
  • 1.00 Psychologists
  • 1.00 MNA Contact Hours for Nurses
  • 1.00 Participation
Course opens: 
02/09/2023
Course expires: 
02/06/2025

Sheppard Pratt’s Professional Education Program is pleased to provide Wednesdays at Sheppard Pratt free of charge as a public service to the mental health community.  Your tax-deductible donations will help maintain the outstanding quality of this service. 

Sheppard Pratt is dedicated to improving quality of life through mental health, special education, and addiction services for children, adolescents, adults and older adults.  Our patient-centered treatment approach, combined with our legacy of clinical excellence, sets us apart from other health systems on both a local and national level.  We have been ranked among the nation’s top psychiatric hospitals for 24 consecutive years by U. S. News & World Report.  Founded in 1853 by philanthropist Moses Sheppard, Sheppard Pratt  still abides by its Quaker traditions and values.

Sheppard Pratt regularly hosts renowned speakers from across the country at our headquarters in Towson. We provide educational opportunities on subjects including psychiatric disorders, issues of behavioral health, systems-based change, mental and somatic co-morbidities, psychiatric effects on health and health outcomes, advances in neurobiology, and clinical developments in concepts underlying drug treatment of psychiatric disorders. We are accredited by the Accreditation Council of Continuing Medical Education, the Maryland Nurses’ Association, the Maryland Board of Psychology, the Maryland Board of Social Work, and the National Board of Certified Counselors.

Please send your contributions to:

Sheppard Pratt Professional Education Program
Grand Rounds Fund
6501 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21204

Professional Education Program: 410.938.4593
Conference Center at Sheppard Pratt: 410.938.3900

This activity was provided by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

About the speaker

David Mintz, M.D. is the Director of Psychiatric Education, Associate Director of Training, and Team Leader at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, a psychodynamic tertiary care center, specializing in the treatment of patients who are complex, co-morbid, and treatment refractory.  To address the treatment needs of these patients, Dr. Mintz and colleagues developed a psychodynamically-informed, patient-centred model for addressing psychological and interpersonal interferences with the patient’s healthy use of pharmacotherapy.  His book Psychodynamic Psychopharmacology: Caring for the Treatment-Resistant Patient, and dozens of other publications, explores these principlesDr. Mintz is also the recent past Leader of the Psychotherapy Caucus of the American Psychiatric Association, former Trustee of the American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis, a member of the Medical Student Education Committee of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and on the Editorial Boards of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and The American Journal of Psychotherapy.

Disclosure Statements

Sheppard Pratt holds the standard that its continuing medical education programs should be free of commercial bias and conflict of interest. In accord with Sheppard Pratt's Disclosure Policy, as well as standards of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the American Medical Association (AMA), all planners, reviewers, speakers and persons in control of content have been asked to disclose any relationship he /she has with any entity producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients, during the past 24 months. All planners, reviewers and speakers have also been asked to disclose any payments accepted for this lecture from any entity besides Sheppard Pratt, and if there will be discussion of any products, services or off-label uses of product(s) during this presentation.

David Mintz, MD, reports that he has no relationships with any entity producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients, during the past 24 months. He will not discuss any products, services, or off-label uses in this presentation. All conflicts have been mitigated through review. 

Event Planners/Reviewers Disclosures: The following event planners and/or reviewers are reported as having no financial interest, arrangement or affiliation with any entity producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients, during the past 24 months: Todd Peters, MD, Deepak Prabhakar, MD, Elizabeth Ryznar, MD, MSc, Louis Marino, MD, Ehsan Syed, MD, Devi Bhuyan, PsyD, Faith Dickerson, PhD, Carrie Etheridge, LCSW-C, Tom Flis, LCPC, Stacey Garnett, RN, MSN, Octavia Coit, MN, Heather Billings, RN, Lisa Illum, MLIS, MEd, and Jennifer Tornabene.

Physician Statement: Sheppard Pratt is accredited by The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.  Sheppard Pratt takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity.  Sheppard Pratt designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nurse Statement: Sheppard Pratt is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Maryland Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Sheppard Pratt takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity. This activity provides 1.0 contact hours for nurses.

Psychologist Statement: Sheppard Pratt is authorized by the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists as a sponsor of continuing education. Sheppard Pratt takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CE activity.  Sheppard Pratt designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 contact hours for Psychologists.

Social Worker Statement: Sheppard Pratt is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners of Maryland to offer continuing education for Social Workers.  Sheppard Pratt takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CE activity. This activity is approved for 1.0 contact hours in Category II credits for Social Workers.

Counselor Statement:  No NBCC Credit available. 

Available Credit

  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 1.00 Category II credits for Social Workers
  • 1.00 Psychologists
  • 1.00 MNA Contact Hours for Nurses
  • 1.00 Participation
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ON DEMAND WEBINAR: FOR BEST RESULTS WATCH USING GOOGLE CHROME

Grand Rounds: Psychodynamic Psychopharmacology:  Practical Psychodynamics to Enhance Pharmacologic Outcomes with Treatment-Resistant Patients

David Mintz, MD

Director of Psychiatric Education
Associate Director of Training
Team Leader

Austen Riggs Center

Stockbridge, MA

Originally reviewed January 10, 2023.
Originally broadcast live January 11, 2023, from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ET.
Enduring Activity Credit Expiration Date: February 19, 2025.

Activity Time: One-hour recorded webinar lecture with a 15-minute evaluation process. Total Time: 1:15

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