12:00pm- 1:30pm                                                                                          

Understanding Psychiatric Medications

This session provides an introduction to the types of medications used by psychiatrists to treat mental illness and substance use disorders. Psychiatrists are trained to diagnose behavioral health conditions, craft treatment plans, deliver psychotherapy, and prescribe medications when needed. Medications should rarely be the sole treatment. When your patient is taking medications, you should have a basic understanding of how they work and how they should be helping.

Learning Objectives

Attendees will be able to:

1. Assess when are psychiatric medications necessary.
2. Describe the role psychiatric medications play in behavioral health treatment.
3. Describe the different classes of psychiatric medication

Presenter: Eric Arzubi, M.D. 

As the CEO of Frontier Psychiatry, Dr. Arzubi is dedicated to addressing Montana’s mental health crisis. He served as Chair of Psychiatry at the Billings Clinic from 2014 to 2019, during which time he led the creation of Montana’s first psychiatry residency training program and the launch of Montana’s first EmPATH Unit, a service dedicated to providing timely care to individuals in crisis. In 2020, the Montana Medical Association presented Dr. Arzubi with one of its top physician awards, the Doctor Jack McMahon Service to Montana Physicians Award, for his contributions. Dr. Arzubi is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Yale Child Study Center. He has proudly served as President of the Big Sky Regional Council of Child and Ad Adolescent Psychiatry and as a board member of the School-Based Health Alliance. Dr. Arzubi is board certified in general psychiatry and child/adolescent psychiatry.