Competency in Combining Pharmacotherapy and Psychotherapy: Integrated and Split Treatment

This essential work provides the ideal text for psychiatry residents who need to develop and demonstrate competency in providing psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in both integrated and split approaches - a competency required by the Residency Review Committee in Psychiatry. Clinically and developmentally oriented, Competency in Combining Pharmacotherapy and Psychotherapy: Integrated and Split Treatment focuses on competencies in adult psychiatry in the outpatient setting. The authors detail guidelines for assessing residents' competency to provide both integrated treatment (delivered by one professional) and split treatment (delivered in collaboration by two or more professionals). They present these guidelines in two main standalone sections, which can and should be read separately. Both sections deal with similar problems and thus contain similar information, such as selection of medication and psychotherapy, evaluation and opening, sequencing and maintenance, and termination of integrated and split treatments. Today, the combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy is the most widely used treatment modality for a broad range of psychiatric disorders. Many clinicians believe that it is also far more efficacious and beneficial than either modality used alone. This volume ably addresses some of the more complicated aspects of combining treatments, such as how patient presentation affects pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, the timing and staging of combined treatment, which therapies should be used in combination with pharmacotherapy, and which professionals should be included in split treatment. This eminently practical volume will be welcomed by residents and training directors alike as an integral part of all psychiatric residency training programs, and will also be useful to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, and psychologists.

Table of Contents:
PrefaceIntroduction to the Core Competencies in Psychotherapy SeriesChapter 1. Introduction to Integrated and Split TreatmentPart I: Integrated TreatmentChapter 2. Selection of Medication and Psychotherapy in Integrated TreatmentChapter 3. Evaluation and Opening in Integrated TreatmentChapter 4. Sequencing in Integrated TreatmentChapter 5. Termination in Integrated TreatmentPart II: Split TreatmentChapter 6. Selection of Medication, Psychotherapy, and Clinicians in Split Treatment Chapter 7. Evaluation and Opening in Split TreatmentChapter 8. Sequencing and Maintenance in Split TreatmentChapter 9. Termination in Split TreatmentPart III: Evaluation, Monitoring, and SupervisionChapter 10. Evaluation, Monitoring, and Supervision of Integrated and Split TreatmentIndex

About the Author :
Michelle B. Riba, M.D., M.S., is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Richard Balon, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

Review :
As a teaching manual, it presents the distilled clinical wisdom of the authors in a practical, common-sense way (avoiding reference to psychodynamics in favor of bio-psycho-social). Useful both to residents who prefer to have psychopharmacologically expert colleagues manage part of the treatment of their patients, as well as those, the majority, who handle all aspects themselves. This approach seems more open and more conducive to teaching therapeutic flexibility than the manual-driven approaches in vogue in some quarters. It deserves sympathetic attention. This practical and easy-to-read text clearly describes how to address the issues associated with combining pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, either by the same provider(integrated treatment) or jointly by 2 providers ( split treatment). The text gives the reader clear objectives and skills that should be mastered to acquire competence in this arena. Clearly, this text is a useful resource for the beginning therapist, both psychiatrics and nonpsychiatrist. It broadly discusses combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy is being considered. Like other texts in this series, competency in combining pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy: Integrated and split Treatment should be required reading for all-and-second-year psychiatry resident. Furthermore, I highly recommend this text to the nonpsychiatrits who will be referring patients for combination therapy.