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Educational Events

Psychodynamic Psychopharmacology: Person-Centered Approaches to Pharmacologic Treatment Resistance

March 2, 2025 at 11:00 AM to 12:15 PM Eastern

Varies, $150-$450

David Mintz, MD, presents "Psychodynamic Psychopharmacology: Person-Centered Approaches to Pharmacologic Treatment Resistance" at the 2025 Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association Annual Psychiatric Update.
David Mintz, MD, presents "Psychodynamic Psychopharmacology: Person-Centered Approaches to Pharmacologic Treatment Resistance" at the 2025 Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association Annual Psychiatric Update.
{from event website}
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 the systems within which psychiatrists are working often create pressures to adopt a reductionist framework, neglecting the fundamental role of psychosocial factors in shaping pharmacotherapy outcomes.

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.