Grand Rounds: Psychedelics on the Edge: Experiences with Difficult to Treat Depression

March 12, 2025

This presentation will be an ONLINE VIRTUAL LIVE broadcast on March 12, 2025, from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ET. While this activity is LIVE and can only be viewed during the time specified, the evaluation will be available online until April 9, 2025. Go to the Register tab above to learn how to participate for continuing education credit, watch the broadcast and download the slides.

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

Psychedelic therapy is quickly gaining recognition as a possible treatment for psychiatric illness across much of the diagnostic spectrum.  This talk will focus on the early evidence for the safety and efficacy of psychedelic therapy within patients with particularly difficult to treat presentations of depression including bipolar type II depression, depression with chronic active suicidal ideation and severely treatment resistant depression.  Insights will be shared from the experience of a master clinical researcher as he explored the use of psilocybin. 

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. Identify three illnesses which are current targets for psychedelic therapy
  2. Define three characteristics of good psychedelic participants
  3. Describe two different methodologies for psychedelic therapy
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 ACEP NBCC clock hours
  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 1.00 Category I credits for Social Workers
  • 1.00 Psychologists
  • 1.00 MNA Contact Hours for Nurses
  • 1.00 Participation
Course opens: 
01/20/2025
Course expires: 
04/09/2025
Event starts: 
03/12/2025 - 12:00pm EDT
Event ends: 
03/12/2025 - 1:00pm EDT

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 Health System 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 lecture was supported by Grant Number 6H79FG000999-01M001 from SAMHSA. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of SAMHSA.

About the speaker

Dr. Scott Aaronson is a thought leader in the areas of biological psychiatry, diagnosis, and the integration of somatic and psychological therapies. He is an adjunct professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, distinguished life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and is a fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists, the Clinical TMS Society and the American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology.  Dr. Aaronson also serves on the board of the American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology. He graduated with honors from Harvard Medical School and completed his psychiatric residency at McLean Hospital.

Dr. Aaronson is the Chief Science Officer for the Institute for Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics at Sheppard Pratt. He has been involved with the development of new strategies to alleviate the symptoms in treatment resistant mood disorders and has published numerous articles on his research including pivotal studies in the use of devices—Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) and psychedelics in the treatment of severe refractory mood disorders.  He was named the Director of the Sheppard Pratt Centre of Psychedelic Excellence focused on the development of uses for psychedelic medications across the spectrum of psychiatric illness.  He has completed several supported investigator-initiated studies to determine the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in severely treatment resistant depression (>4 failures in the current episode) and bipolar type 2 depression.  Current studies include trials of psychedelics is smoking cessation, generalized anxiety disorder, major depression and adjustment disorder in participants with chronic medical illness.

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.

Scott Aaronson, MD, reports financial relationships with COMPASS Pathways and Neuronetics as a researcher and with LivaNova, Neuronetics, and Genomind as a consultant and advisory board member. The content of his presentation has been reviewed to ensure that the information presented is balanced and evidence-based. All relationships 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, Elizabeth Ryznar, MD, MSc, Louis Marino, MD, Devi Bhuyan, PsyD, Faith Dickerson, PhD, Carrie Etheridge, LCSW-C, Tom Flis, LCPC, Paula Bostwick, MSN, RN, CENP, Alfredo Sagisi, DNP, MS, RN, FACHE, Maggie O'Neill MSN, RN, PMH-BC, 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 live 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 hour 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 hour 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 hour in Category I credits for Social Workers.

Counselor Statement:  Sheppard Pratt has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5098.  Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified.  Sheppard Pratt is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.  This activity is available for 1.0 NBCC clock hour.

Available Credit

  • 1.00 ACEP NBCC clock hours
  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 1.00 Category I credits for Social Workers
  • 1.00 Psychologists
  • 1.00 MNA Contact Hours for Nurses
  • 1.00 Participation
Please login or register to take this course.

This presentation will be an ONLINE VIRTUAL LIVE broadcast on March 12, 2025, from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ET. While this activity is LIVE and can only be viewed during the time specified, the evaluation will be available online until April 9, 2025. Go to the Register tab above to learn how to participate for continuing education credit, watch the broadcast and download the slides.

 

REGISTER TO WATCH THE BROADCAST

Please pre-register to attend the live broadcast. Click on the Registration link located in the Register/Take Course tab. Enter your first name, last name, and email address. You will receive a confirmation email that you have registered to attend the broadcast. When it is time for the live broadcast, you can use the link in the confirmation email or click on the registration link again. If you have pre-registered, you can click on the Already Registered button and enter the email address you registered under to enter the broadcast. 

https://onlinexperiences.com/Launch/QReg/ShowUUID=81B4A2CC-C1C0-4525-BB2C-50169995A604

 

WATCH THE BROADCAST

The codeword will be announced during the live event. The codeword is used to prove you attended the event. You will not need it to access the broadcast.

The broadcast can not be accessed through cme.sheppardpratt.org. You will need to use the link provided below to watch the broadcast.

On March 12, 2025, at 12:00 pm ET, please click on, or copy and paste this link into your web browser to view the lecture online. This link is LIVE at 11:30 am ET.  An email address is required to log into the broadcast.

https://onlinexperiences.com/Launch/Event/ShowKey=267605


DOWNLOAD THE HANDOUT.

Use this link to download the handout. This handout will be available for download on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at 12:00 pm ET.  

 

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE CONTINUING EDUCATION EMAILS

https://www.sheppardpratt.org/training-education/continuing-education/continuing-education-cme-email-sign-up/

 

EARN CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE

PRIOR TO THE EVENT: Log into your Sheppard Pratt Ethos account and register by taking the Pretest. Select the activity by series, title or speaker name. Go to the last tab, REGISTER and select the GREEN RECTANGLE, TAKE COURSE, and follow the prompts. Complete the Pretest and select attendance and you will be registered for this activity. You will not be able to work further until you are marked attended by entering the codeword. You do not need the codeword to watch the live broadcast. The link for the broadcast is located on the Register/Take Course tab of the course page.

REGISTER TO WATCH THE BROADCAST: Please pre-register to attend the live broadcast. Click on the Registration link located in the Register/Take Course tab. Enter your first name, last name, and email address. You will receive a confirmation email that you have registered to attend the broadcast. When it is time for the live broadcast, you can use the link in the confirmation email or click on the registration link again. If you have pre-registered, you can click on the Already Registered button and enter the email address you registered under to enter the broadcast. 

DURING THE EVENT: Because you will view this event online, there will not be a sign in sheet. Instead of signing in, a codeword will be given during the lecture for you. The codeword will be announced during the live broadcast. There are two ways to enter the codeword: by text/SMS & through the website. To use the website to enter the codeword to be marked attended, you will go to https://cme.sheppardpratt.org/code and enter the codeword there. To use SMS to enter the codeword, you will text the codeword to 410-291-8061. To save time, add this phone number to your contacts. Once you enter the codeword, you can click on the Pending Courses tab and you will see the course listed there. From this tab you will be able to complete your course.

AFTER THE LECTURE: Once you enter the codeword, you can click on the Pending Courses tab and you will see the course listed there. From this tab you will be able to complete your course. Select the last tab, TAKE COURSE, and select the GREEN RECTANGLE, TAKE COURSE and follow the prompts. Please use the navigation button located in the lower right corner to continue throughout the course for best results. Complete the evaluation and credit designation to earn continuing education hours or credits. You must complete each component of the COURSE PROGRESS BAR to earn credit for the activity. Your transcript will reflect all completed events.

Questions? Please look at our FAQ page https://cme.sheppardpratt.org/content/faq  or email [email protected].

Required Hardware/software

Optimal System Configuration

Flash Player: Adobe Flash Player 10.1+
Browser: Firefox 3+, Internet Explorer 8.0+, Safari 4.0+, or Google Chrome 7.0+
Operating System: Windows XP+ or Mac OS X 10.4+
Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher

Minimum Requirements

Windows PC: 500-MHz Pentium II; Windows XP or higher; 128 MB RAM; Video Card at least 64MB of video memory; Sound Card at least 16-bit; Macromedia Flash Player 10 or higher, audio playback with speakers for programs with video content; Firefox 1.1+, Internet Explorer 7.0+, Safari 1.0+, Google Chrome, or Opera
Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.3 or higher with latest updates installed; 1.83MHz Intel Core Duo or faster; RAM: 128MB or more; Video Card: at least 64MB of video memory; Sound Card: at least 16-bit

Hardware/Software Specifications

This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using Internet Explorer 8+, Mozilla Firefox 3+, Safari 4+. This Web site requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Flash, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.