Psychiatric Medications: A Practical Primer for Psychotherapists

This course offers psychotherapists a practical, clinically grounded introduction to the psychiatric medications they encounter most often in their clients. The course will focus on what a non-prescribing clinician needs to understand about psychotropic medications: recognizing the major drug classes and what they treat, understanding common side effects and their presentations, knowing what to watch for between a client’s psychiatry appointments, psychodynamic approaches to psychopharmacology, and communicating effectively with prescribers. The course will combine didactic presentation with q...Read moreuestion-and-answer and, if time permits, case discussion. Active participant engagement and discussion is welcomed throughout. The workshop is intended for psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, and graduate-level students. Less...

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Learning Objectives

  • Identify the major classes of psychiatric medication (antidepressants, anxiolytics/hypnotics, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and stimulants) and the conditions each is commonly used to treat.
  • Describe common and clinically significant side effects of these medications and recognize how they may present behaviorally in a psychotherapy setting.
  • Explain basic principles of how psychiatric medications work, including onset and titration timelines, setting expectations, and how psychodynamic factors and the patient's relationship with medications can affect medication response.
  • Recognize warning signs that warrant prompt communication with a prescriber or urgent care, including serotonin toxicity, signs of misuse or diversion, and acute changes in mood or behavior.
  • Apply strategies for effective collaboration with prescribers, including scope-of-practice boundaries, consent and confidentiality considerations, and clear referral communication.

Monday, October 05, 2026

Live Interactive Webinar

06:00 PM EDT - 09:00 PM EDT

Register for this Webinar
$50.00 - $90.00
EARN 3 CE Credit Hours
Click Here to Register

About the speaker

Gregory Barber, MD

Gregory Barber, MD

Gregory Barber, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist in private practice in North Bethesda, Maryland, where his work centers on psychopharmacology and psychodynamic psychotherapy. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Barber serves on the American Psychiatric Association’s Ethics Committee and has published peer-reviewed work in psychiatric ethics and novel and emerging treatments in psychiatry. He regularly works alongside therapists in coordinating care and has a particular interest in the collaborative interface between psychotherapy and medication management. Dr. Barber went to medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed his psychiatric residency at the University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt Psychiatry Residency Program. He is board certified in Psychiatry, and is licensed to practice medicine in Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., and New York.

Agenda

Program Outline


  • 10 min Intro Presenter introduction, learning objectives, and framing the relationship between therapist and prescriber.
  • 40 min Foundations & Antidepressants How medications work in broad strokes; onset and titration timelines. SSRIs, SNRIs, and other antidepressants: indications, common side effects, discontinuation effects, and serotonin toxicity as a red flag.
  • 35 min Anxiolytics, Hypnotics & Mood Stabilizers Benzodiazepines, buspirone, and sleep agents: uses, dependence and tolerance, and signs of misuse or diversion. Lithium and anticonvulsant mood stabilizers: monitoring, toxicity, and lamotrigine rash as a red flag.
  • 10 min Break 10-minute break
  • 35 min Antipsychotics & Stimulants First- and second-generation antipsychotics: uses beyond psychosis, metabolic and movement side effects, and red flags such as neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Stimulants and non-stimulants for ADHD: effects, cardiovascular cautions, and misuse/diversion considerations.
  • 50 min Collaboration, Ethics & Q&A Working with prescribers: scope-of-practice boundaries, what to communicate and when, consent and confidentiality, and writing a clear referral. Supporting adherence and managing client expectations. Case vignettes and open question-and-answer.
Total: 3 hours total (2 hrs 50 min instruction + 10-min break) 

CE Information - Earn 3 CE Credit Hours

CE Approvals

Joint Accreditation
Joint Accreditation
In support of improving patient care, CE Learning Systems is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
American Psychological Association
Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.
Association of Social Work Boards
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, CE Learning Systems is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 3 clinical continuing education credits.
New York Education Department's State Board for Social Work
CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers. #0060.
New York Education Department for Licensed Mental Health Counselors
CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0072.
New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology
CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists. #PSY-0016.
New York Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy
CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists. #MFT-0045.

CE Process Info

Before the event, you will receive an email from CE-Go with access to the virtual event. After the event, you will receive access to your evaluation and continuing education certificate via a personalized "attendee dashboard" link, hosted on the CE-Go website. This link and access to the virtual event will be sent to the email account you used to register for the event.

Upon accessing the CE-Go "attendee dashboard", you will be able to:

  • Complete evaluation forms for the event
  • Download your continuing education certificate in a PDF format

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE-Go platform, please contact CE-Go at 888-498-5578 or by email at support@ce-go.com Please Note: Emails for this event will come from "support@ceactivities.com".

If you have any continuing education related questions, please contact your event organizer.

Please make sure to check your spam/junk folder in case those emails get "stuck". We'd also suggest "Allowlisting" support@ceactivities.com. This tells your email client that you know this sender and trust them, which will keep emails from this contact at the top of your inbox and out of the junk folder.

Disclosure

DISCLOSURE OF RELEVANT FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity ― including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity’s planners, faculty, and the reviewer:


PLANNERS AND REVIEWER
The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

FACULTY
The faculty of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.