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Top 10 Drug Combinations in Major Depressive Disorder: Interview with Dr. Michael Thase PART 2

Transcript Hi! You’re listening to the Psychopharmacology Institute podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Wegdan Rashad and this is the show that aims to help you, the mental health clinician stay sharp on psychopharm! Today we are continuing our discussion from the last episode on the top 10 drug combinations in the management of major depressiveRead More

  • Top 10 Drug Combinations in Major Depressive Disorder: Interview with Dr. Michael Thase PART 2

  • Top 10 Drug Combinations in Major Depressive Disorder: Interview with Dr. Michael Thase PART 1

  • Reducing Suicidal Ideation Through Insomnia Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial

  • The Clinician’s Algorithm To Managing COVID-19 Related Delirium

  • Does Samidorphan Reduce Olanzapine-Induced Weight Gain?

  • Managing Depression, Anxiety, and Psychosis in Parkinson’s Disease

  • Management of Psychiatric Disturbances in Parkinson’s Disease and Other Hypokinetic Movement Disorders

  • Case Discussion: Managing Agitation in Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Pharmacotherapy of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Randomized BAART Clinical Trial

  • Antidepressant Safety During Pregnancy: Autism, IQ and Teratogenicity

  • Does Prenatal Stress Predispose to Borderline Personality Disorder?

  • Clinical Pearls in Perinatal Psychiatry

  • What Do You Know About Cognitive Enhancers in Depression?

  • Can Lithium Prevent Dementia?

  • Psychopharm in 2019: Your Ultimate Guide

  • Clinical Storytime with Dr. Ken Gillman

  • Do Antidepressants Increase Risk of Dementia?

  • Behind the Scenes: Meet Our Team

  • “New” Antidepressants? A Quick Takes Episode

  • Why Don’t We Prescribe MAOIs?

  • Ketamine for Suicidal Ideation: A Quick Take Episode

  • The Basic Guide To Ketamine and Esketamine

  • Your Psych Guide to Pharmacogenetic Testing

  • Do You Order Pharmacogenetic Testing For Your Patients?

  • Transdermal Patches in Psychiatry: Interview with Dr. Leslie Citrome

  • MOC Self Assessment #9: Ketamine in Clinical Practice: State of The Art Update, Cardiac Side Effects of Psychotropic Drugs and Pharmacogenetic Testing in Psychiatry

  • Clinical Guide to Synthetic Opioids and Bath Salts

  • Designer Drugs: Can You Handle Spice?

  • What You Need To Know About Psychedelics

  • The Magic of the Serotonin Receptors

  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder: What if You Can’t Use An SSRI?

  • Approaching A Case of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: The Basics

  • How Helpful are Antipsychotic Plasma Levels?

  • How to Prescribe Natural Medications? Part 2

  • How to Prescribe Natural Medications? Part 1

  • How to Manage Adverse Effects of Clozapine – Part 2

  • How to Manage Adverse Effects of Clozapine – Part 1

  • Do SSRIs Increase Bleeding Risk?

  • Your Guide to Treating PTSD Comorbidities

  • How to Treat PTSD-Related Sleep Disturbances?

  • Prescribing Psychotropics in the Medically Ill

  • Psychotropics and Gastrointestinal Conditions: Prescribe with the Gut in Mind

  • Clinical Pearls in Geriatric Psychopharmacology

  • Treatment-Resistant Depression: Clinical Conundrum

  • How to Manage an Agitated Patient?

  • When to Discontinue Antipsychotics? Reviewing the Evidence

  • Are Drug Interaction Warnings Influenced by Drug Company Promotion? An Interview with Dr. Jeffrey Mattes

  • Do Depression Efficacy Trials Apply to Your Clinical Practice? An Interview with Dr. Mark Zimmerman

  • Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression: An Interview with Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris

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Antidepressant-Induced Hyponatremia: Mechanisms, Risk, Diagnosis and Management

0.50 CMEs
This guide gives prescribers an evidence-based approach to antidepressant-associated hyponatremia: how the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD) develops, which patients to monitor and when, how to recognize symptoms that may mimic depression, and how to manage and apply switching strategies afterward.
Sebastián Malleza, M.D.
Psychopharmacology Institute
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Quick Take Vol. 89

0.50 CMEs
Can antipsychotics help prevent catatonia relapse? Which adjunctive antipsychotic performs best for treating major depression? What do updated antipsychotic efficacy rankings mean for practice in schizophrenia? Are GLP-1 receptor agonists safe for patients with comorbid anxiety? Does varenicline help patients quit vaping?
Faculty: Scott R. Beach, M.D., James Phelps, M.D., Oliver Freudenreich, M.D., F.A.C.L.P., Derick E. Vergne, M.D., David A. Gorelick, M.D., Ph.D., D.L.F.A.P.A., F.A.S.A.M.
35.33 minutes in 5 audio sections

Nutraceuticals and Phytoceuticals for Anxiety Disorders: A Practical Guide

No Credits
A review of nutraceuticals and phytoceuticals for anxiety disorders. Covers dosing, safety, and drug interactions for lavender, kava, ashwagandha, chamomile, omega-3s, CBD, passion flower, saffron, NAC, L-theanine, and inositol, plus supplement quality verification and a clinical case applying these strategies in practice.
Noshene E. Ranjbar, M.D., D.F.A.A.C.A.P., D.F.A.P.A.
University of Arizona
71.1 minutes in 11 sections – Expired on July 8, 2026

Gepirone Guide: Pharmacology, Indications, Dosing Guidelines and Adverse Effects

0.50 CMEs
This guide examines gepirone, the first FDA-approved selective 5-HT1A receptor agonist for major depressive disorder; its favorable sexual side-effect profile and weight neutrality, dose-dependent QTc prolongation requiring ECG monitoring, mandatory food administration, and contraindication with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors. It also traces gepirone’s unusually contested path to approval — four FDA rejections and a 2015 advisory-committee vote against its efficacy before the FDA approved it in 2023 on a modest evidence base.
Sebastián Malleza, M.D.
Psychopharmacology Institute
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Quick Take Vol. 88

0.75 CMEs
Must antipsychotics always be avoided in catatonia? Should you prescribe antidepressants in bipolar depression? Should clozapine start after just one failed antipsychotic trial? Is atypical depression a distinct subtype that resists standard antidepressants? Does soft drink intake worsen depression?
Faculty: Scott R. Beach, M.D., James Phelps, M.D., Oliver Freudenreich, M.D., F.A.C.L.P., Derick E. Vergne, M.D., Paul Zarkowski, M.D.
38.52 minutes in 5 audio sections

Antipsychotic Blood Levels: Why and How – Interview

0.50 CMEs
A discussion with Dr. John Kane on therapeutic drug monitoring of antipsychotics, covering proper sampling timing, distinguishing pseudo-resistance from true treatment resistance, the clozapine TDM algorithm and smoking effects, drug-specific monitoring of risperidone, aripiprazole, and haloperidol, long-acting injectables, and use in pregnancy.
John M. Kane, M.D.
Zucker Hillside Hospital & Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
28.22 minutes of audio interview

Highlights from ASCP 2026 – Clinical Pearls in Psychopharmacology

0.50 CMEs
This guide distills practical pearls from the 2026 ASCP Annual Meeting: deprescribing complex regimens by reconstructing each drug’s purpose (“pharmacoarcheology”); interpreting what “FDA approval” does and does not mean; tailoring antipsychotic choice and dose to ancestry and metabolism (benign ethnic neutropenia and clozapine access, first-trimester safety); and montelukast’s age-stratified neuropsychiatric effects.
Sebastián Malleza, M.D.
Psychopharmacology Institute
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Prescribing Psychotropics in Medically Complex Patients: What Clinicians Need to Know

1.25 CMEs
A guide to safe prescribing in patients with cardiovascular disease, anticoagulation requirements, and renal failure. Dr. Gee reviews the cardiac risk profile of ADHD medications, antidepressant and antipsychotic interactions with anticoagulants, mood stabilizer management in patients on NOACs and warfarin, antidepressant and antipsychotic dosing in hemodialysis, and alternative administration routes for patients who cannot take oral medications.
Siobhan Gee, M.Pharm., P.G.Dip., M.R.Pharm.S., Ph.D.
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
79.49 minutes in 10 sections

Quick Take Vol. 87

0.50 CMEs
Which antipsychotic should you choose for a woman with first-episode psychosis? When clozapine isn’t an option for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, what actually works? Do real-world abuse data change how you select insomnia medications? Did serial ketamine outperform midazolam in a new inpatient trial? Can sustained anthocyanin intake improve cognition?
Faculty: Amanda Koire, M.D., Ph.D., Oliver Freudenreich, M.D., F.A.C.L.P., David A. Gorelick, M.D., Ph.D., D.L.F.A.P.A., F.A.S.A.M., James Phelps, M.D., Derick E. Vergne, M.D.
33.59 minutes in 5 audio sections

Dextromethorphan/Bupropion: Pharmacology, Indications, Dosing Guidelines and Adverse Effects

0.50 CMEs
This guide provides a comprehensive overview of dextromethorphan/bupropion — the first oral NMDA receptor antagonist approved for major depressive disorder and, as of April 2026, the first non-antipsychotic medication FDA-approved for agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. It covers the unique mechanism and rapid antidepressant onset in MDD, the indication-specific titration schedules (including the slower titration with the new 30 mg/105 mg tablet for Alzheimer’s agitation), the supporting evidence, drug interactions driven by CYP2D6 inhibition, the newly added hyponatremia warning, and special considerations for elderly patients, CYP2D6 poor metabolizers, and other populations.
Sebastián Malleza, M.D.
Psychopharmacology Institute
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ADHD in Women: Estrogen Fluctuations, Stimulant Dosing, and Perimenopausal Cardiovascular Risk – Interview

0.50 CMEs
A discussion with Dr. Sandra Kooij on how estrogen fluctuations shape ADHD severity across the menstrual cycle, postpartum, and perimenopause in women. Topics include premenstrual stimulant dose adjustment, PMDD treatment options, postpartum depression risk, cardiovascular comorbidity, earlier menopause onset, and hormonal history taking.
Sandra Kooij, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry (Amsterdam UMC/VUmc) & PsyQ psycho-medical programs (The Hague, the Netherlands)
36.06 minutes of audio interview

Quick Take Vol. 86

0.75 CMEs
What are the teratogenic risks of zolpidem in pregnancy? Do SGLT2 inhibitors slow lithium-related kidney decline? Which antipsychotic works best for acute schizophrenia? Do herbals like Rhodiola or St. John’s wort help in mild depression? When should antipsychotics be continued after substance-induced psychosis?
Faculty: Amanda Koire, M.D., Ph.D., James Phelps, M.D., Oliver Freudenreich, M.D., F.A.C.L.P., Paul Zarkowski, M.D., David A. Gorelick, M.D., Ph.D., D.L.F.A.P.A., F.A.S.A.M.
42.09 minutes in 5 audio sections
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