Research at the Center for  Psychiatric  Attention:

National Expert: You deserve to have your treatment prescribed by somebody who knows what he is doing.  I have directed and taught the Institute on Psychopharmacology at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting for 5 years in a row (1993 – 1998) and at The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for 6 years.  I give about 100 talks and tele-sessions annually to physicians about medications related to ADD, Mood and Thought disorder.  I am on the speaker’s bureau of five pharmaceutical companies and am a consultant to four top companies.  I am one of the best known physician educators and speakers in the country.

our core research focuses on a central problem in contemporary psychiatry – finding the best treatment for each patient, one patient at a time.  While this issue is obvious to patients, it is rarely  addressed through formal research strategies linking to treatment of typical and complex patients.  This research assesses not only medication effectiveness, but also patient preference. 

What do you think is the best treatment for you?
The central question for FDA approval of medication is whether a new medication is safe and is effective.   In this context, effectiveness is whether the medication is signifcantly better than placebo for a group of patients sharing a specific diagnosis.  However, this is a very different question than determining whether there is a specific medication for a patient with your personality and characteristic.  We request and require your help with this process – for our useful benefit. 

Why Use Rating Scales:
There are several reasons for using rating scales to help quantify response and understand how well we have impacted specific symptoms with each medication prescribed. 

1. Quantify how you are doing.
2. Clarify when and how long the medication is acting.
3. Determine how well the dose and the timing fits the tasks you are doing.
4. We are seeking optimal improvement individualized for you – your personality, tasks and timing.

We ask you to complete ratings not only regarding symptoms, but also specific to your personality and individual characteristics – before we begin treatment.  Once we start treatment we frequently as you to compare several similar medications in order to determine which is actually better for you.  Often your preference goes beyond efficacy and side effects.  It may extend to more subtle characteristics of medication response:  Do you feel like yourself?  How is your energy level?  Is your sense of humor intact?  What about your level of creativity?  How is your own sense of personal competence, self-esteem?  Are you able to enjoy life?  Has this medication enhanced your ability to love, care, and talk with and listen to people who are important to you?