Practical Psychopharmacology. Translating Findings from Evidence-Based Trials into Real-World Clinical Practice

Part I. General Principles:
1. Core concepts of good psychopharmacology
2. Targets of treatment: categories versus dimensions of psychopathology
3. Interpreting and using the literature: integrating evidence-based trials with real-world practice
4. Placebo and nocebo effects
5. Tailoring the fit: moderators and mediators of treatment outcome
6. Complex regimens and rationale-based combination drug therapies
7. Laboratory values and psychiatric symptoms: what to measure, what not to measure, and what to do with the results
8. Pharmacogenetics: when relevant, when not
9. Cross-tapering and the logistics of drug discontinuation
10. Managing major adverse drug effects: when to avoid, switch, or treat through
11. Novel drug therapeutics: nutraceuticals, steroids, probiotics, and other dietary supplements
12. Human diversity and considerations in special populations
Part II. Targets of Pharmacotherapy:
13. Disordered mood and affect
14. Disorders of impulsivity, compulsivity, and aggression
15. Psychosis
16. Deficit states and negative symptoms
17. Anxiety
18. Addiction and the reward pathway
19. Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder
20. Personality disorders
21. Cognition
22. Putting it all together
References
Index.

Despite the lack of guidance available for practitioners, extensive polypharmacy has become the primary method of treating patients with severe and chronic mood, anxiety, psychotic or behavioral disorders. This ground-breaking new book provides an overview of psychopharmacology knowledge and decision-making strategies, integrating findings from evidence-based trials with real-world clinical presentations. It adopts the approach and mind-set of a clinical investigator and reveals how prescribers can practice 'bespoke psychopharmacology', tailoring care to the individualized needs of patients. Practitioners at all levels of expertise will enhance their ability to devise rationale-based treatments, targeting manifestations of dysfunctional neural circuitry and dimensions of psychopathology that cut across conventional psychiatric diagnoses. Presented in a user-friendly, practical, full-colour layout and incorporating summary tables, bullet points, and illustrative case vignettes, it is an invaluable guide for all healthcare professionals prescribing psychotropic medications, including psychiatry specialists, primary care physicians, and advanced practice registered nurses.

• Focusing on how practising clinicians can distil information from clinical trials and apply findings to individual patients, readers will be able to render more personalized, individualized care and better understand rationales when choosing from among treatment options
• Bridges the gap between how pharmacotherapy occurs in clinical research trials and real-world practice so that clinicians feel more confident assessing patients, tracking outcomes, and determining when and why to implement pharmacotherapy changes across a range of psychiatric phenomena
• Incorporates neuroscience-based nomenclature to allow psychopharmacologists to better understand the mechanistic rationales for medications they use to treat a broad range of psychiatric conditions

Joseph Goldberg, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
Joseph Goldberg is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

Stephen Stahl, University of California, San Diego
Stephen M. Stahl is Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the University of California, Riverside, and Honorary Visiting Senior Fellow in Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.