Primary Care Psychiatry: Practical Skills for Internal Medicine Physicians: 2025 Video Recordings Package

Expert clinician educators will provide an evidence-informed update for internal medicine physicians on practical approaches to interviewing patients to recognize, diagnose, treat, and/or refer patients with commonly encountered mental health disorders. Faculty with training in both internal medicine and psychiatry will emphasize the importance of a patient-centered approach, motivational interviewing, and simple cognitive behavioral techniques that can be quickly used in medical settings. A practical overview of psychopharmacology considerations in the general medical setting will also be provided. Faculty will focus on psychiatric diagnoses that are prevalent in general medical practice, including major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, trauma-related disorders, substance use disorders, insomnia, and bipolar mood disorders, to improve recognition, confidence in management, and effectiveness of referral. 

This extensive collection of virtual lectures will cover: 

• Updates on practical patient-centered interview strategies to detect treatable mental illness. 
• Current best practices regarding management of depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders in primary care and specialty medical settings.  
• A practical approach to prescribing and monitoring common psychotropic medications to facilitate management and communication with psychiatric care providers. 
  • Antidepressants in medical practice. 
  • Antipsychotics in medical practice. 
  • Drug–drug interactions relevant to psychotropic medications. 
• An overview and examples of the use of motivational interviewing in a busy medical practice. 
• Different drug classes used to initiate and maintain sleep, including their mechanisms of action, indications for latency versus maintenance, and side effect profiles, to effectively choose the appropriate agent for each patient. 

Course Directors 

Robert McCarron, DO, DFAPA, FAIHM, Member 
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Director of Education, Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, Associate Dean, Continuing Medical Education, Director, UC Irvine Train New Trainers (TNT) Fellowships, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, Irvine, CA 

Jane P. Gagliardi, MD, MHS, FACP 
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Professor of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC

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