Series Description: 

The Psychiatric Grand Rounds is an educational series designed to improve psychiatric, psychological, and social work practice, including patient care, education, and public health. Relevant case studies are presented to promote active learning strategies. These presentations are open to all mental health professionals including students.

Target Audience: 

Nurse Practitioner (NP)

Nurse, Registered (RN)

Physicians (MD or DO)

Physician Assistant (PA)

Psychologists

Social Workers

Other Healthcare Professionals

Students of Health Professions

Session Objectives:

After Attending this Activity, Learners Should be Able to:

1. Demonstrate how the conscious brain reflects physiology (interception).
2. Describe how chronic stress (threat physiology) drives repetitive unpleasant thoughts (RUTs).
3. Explain how ruminating thoughts cannot be solved without calming threat physiology, and discuss how deep healing occurs by stimulating neuroplasticity.

2/3/2025:

1. Discuss the current digital context that adolescents are navigating.
2. Explain strategic questions that assess adolescent digital use and its impact.
3. Identify the latest research on the impact of social media on young people's mental health and prosocial behaviors.

02/10/2025:

1. Recognize pre-clinical symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
2. Differentiate neuroleptic-induced tremor and parkinsonism from idiopathic PD.
3. Identify and attempt to manage psychiatric manifestations of PD. 

 03/03/2025:
1. Define a theoretical framework distinguishing different forms of authority (paternal, charismatic, legal, intellectual) and how they differ from power.
2. Examine how the rise of powerful AI technologies can reshape, distort, or undermine authoritative dynamics in key social relationships—including family, education, professional environments, and psychotherapy.
3. Describe at least one experimental approach to using AI in coaching and therapy.

03/10/2025:
1. Explain what aspects of PTSD are targeted in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
2. Compare ketamine and psilocybin-assisted treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
3. Interpret what aspects of PTSD are targeted in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, and identify 1 variable shown to mediate outcomes in psychedelic research. 

03/17/2025:
1. Recognize a multidimensional framework to identify the salience of race, religion, class, immigration history, ethnicity, and sexual orientation as components of identity rather than simple categories.
2. Discuss helping couples identify their ambivalence about gender roles, family involvement, and emotional expression as part of a search for creative synthesis in their intercultural relationships.
3. Describe cultural countertransference and develop awareness of therapist identity conflicts and how to work for personal clarity. 

4/7/2025:
1. Describe the role of emotional processes in the development and persistence of psychopathologies and demonstrate an understanding of and apply common interventions of emotionally-focused treatment. Learning Objective
2. List basic principles of transdiagnostic emotionally-focused treatment. Learning Objective
3. Identify common barriers and discuss potential solutions in delivering emotionally-focused treatment, and assess culturally relevant factors in emotionally-focused treatment. 

04/14/25:
1. Examine the construction of the mental status exam.
2. Explain how to elicit valid data from the mental status exam. 
3.  Recognition how to apply the data in diagnosing neurobehavioral disorders. 

04/21/25:
1. Examine current incidence rates regarding mental health conditions with a particular focus on health service providers and graduate students.
2. Discuss systemic and individual stressors and other factors contributing to stress and burnout in mental health workers and doctoral student trainees. 
3.  Identify strategies to address these problems and particular barriers that must be addressed 

05/05/25: 
1. List 3 common problems and complications created for patients when the therapist cancels or is ill.
2. Explain the essential ingredients of a comprehensive Professional Will.
3.Describe when and whether it is appropriate to be self-disclosing regarding the psychotherapist’s health, reasons for canceling sessions and termination, factoring in differences in social-economic, power, privilege, racial, cultural, and other differences present in their clinical practice.

05/12/25
1. Describe the theoretical underpinnings of Cognitive Processing Therapy, including its basis in cognitive-behavioral therapy and its application to treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
2.Identify common cognitive distortions related to trauma, such as "stuck points," and apply CPT techniques to help patients challenge and reframe these unhelpful beliefs.
3. Develop skills to implement key components of CPT, including Socratic questioning, the ABC worksheet (Activating event, Beliefs, and Consequences), and written trauma impact statements, to support patients in achieving emotional and cognitive recovery.

05/19/25
1. Define the connection of the philosophical issue of personal identity to memory.
2. Discuss current litigation on the harms of ECT relating to memory loss and the problem of informed consent. 
3. Describe the current evidence base and the risk/benefit analysis for ECT.

Providing Culturally Appropriate Care which is Free of Implicit Biases (AB 1195 & 241):

Learners are strongly encouraged to engage in self-directed learning related to the impact of implicit biases in this clinical area via the references provided below:

Implicit bias:

Merino, Y., Adams, L., & Hall, W. J. (2018). Implicit Bias and Mental Health Professionals: Priorities and Directions for Research. Psychiatric Services, 69(6), 723–725. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201700294

Social determinants of health:

Alegría M, NeMoyer A, Falgàs Bagué I, Wang Y, Alvarez K. Social Determinants of Mental Health: Where We Are and Where We Need to Go. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2018 Sep 17;20(11):95. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30221308/

Deferio JJ, Breitinger S, Khullar D, Sheth A, Pathak J. Social determinants of health in mental health care and research: a case for greater inclusion. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2019 Aug 1;26(8-9):895-899. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocz049. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6696493/

Disclosure of Financial or In-Kind Commercial Support & Conflict of Interest

No one involved in the planning or presentation of this educational activity have any relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. No financial or in-kind commercial support was received to produce or promote this educational activity.   

– Provider Designee/Verification:  Kerri Maya, PhD(c), MSL, RN, NPD-BC