Practical Psychopharmacology ─ Basic to Advanced Principles

Practical Psychopharmacology takes the novel approach of writing at three different levels—beginning, intermediate, and advanced—to give the practicing psychopharmacologist a tailored experience. Each chapter focuses on a specific DSM-5 disorder and outlines abbreviated treatment guidelines to help the reader understand where their knowledge base and clinical practice currently resides. At the first level, the book teaches novice prescribers practical diagnostic skills and provides a brief overview of pertinent genetic and neuroimaging findings to increase prescribing confidence. Next, it provides mid-level clinicians with intermediate techniques and guidelines for more difficult cases. The final level provides nuanced guidance for advanced practitioners or those who see the most treatment-resistant patients. This approach allows a clinician to access this book periodically throughout the care of an individual patient and to gradually progress through a series of more advanced psychopharmacological techniques for making accurate and efficient diagnoses. Readers can also visit the book’s eResource page to download a bonus chapter on eating disorders as well as case studies and multiple-choice questions for each chapter.

Thomas L. Schwartz, MD, is a professor and interim chair of psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. He is co-editor of Integrating Psychotherapy and Psychopharmacology: A Handbook for Clinicians and the second edition of Depression: Treatment Strategies and Management. He is co-author of Case Studies: Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology, Volume 2. Dr. Schwartz has received the Marc H. Hollander, MD, Psychiatry Award, the SUNY Upstate President’s Award and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Teaching, as well as the Nancy C.A. Roeske, MD, Certificate and the Irma Bland Award for Excellence in Teaching from the American Psychiatric Association.