The sixth class will return to a feast of information, this time about medications. After establishing the ground rules, the group will learn about and discuss the medication process from molecular level to side effects and helping our loved ones stay on target with regimen adherence. The participants will also learn how to recognize early warning signs of relapse and gain a sense of what our family member is experiencing as they begin treatment.

Introduction and Ground Rules

• Measuring medication effectiveness
• Creating guidelines for treatment
• Ground Rule 1: We won't be "playing the doctor"
• Ground Rule 2: We will discuss general applications only, not individual cases

How Medications Work

• Looking at neurotransmitters at a cellular level
• A molecular view of synaptic contact
• How medications work in the synapse
• Response to medication
• Short class discussion

Medications for Mood and Anxiety Disorders

• Antidepressant medications: Tricyclics, MAO Inhibitors, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, Selective Reuptake Inhibitors, Selective Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors, ECT and rTMS
• Anti-anxiety medications: Benzodiazepines, Antidepressants, Cognitive-behavioral therapy
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy
• First- and second-line anti-mania and mood-stabilizing medications: Lithium, Anti-convulsants, Calcium Channel Blockers, Atypical Antipsychotics
• Question & Answer about mood disorders: class discussion

Medications for Schizophrenia

• Neuroleptic antipsychotic medications and their side effects
• New atypical antipsychotic medications
• The consequences of weight gain associated with atypicals
• Class discussion

Treatment Issues

• Adherence issues and ways to help your relative stay on medication
• Recognizing early signs of relapse in order to head off a full-blown episode
• Class discussion

Closing Lecture: Stages of Acceptance for People Suffering from Mental Illness

• Lack of insight
• Protective denial
• Avoiding the subjective pain, or boredom, of sanity
• Rebellion against patienthood
• Reluctant or partial acceptance
• Review of early warning signs of impending relapse
• Group discussion