Harvard Psychopharmacology:
A Master Class
Advanced Strategies for Difficult-to-Treat and Treatment-Resistant Psychiatric Conditions
Review modern psychopharmacology through practical discussions of neurobiology, refractory depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, PTSD, substance use disorders, sleep, women's mental health, geriatric neuropsychiatry, neuromodulation and emerging therapeutics.
Go beyond routine prescribing for complex psychiatric cases
Psychopharmacology becomes significantly more challenging when patients do not respond to first-line treatment, experience multiple comorbidities, or require increasingly complex medication strategies.
This Master Class focuses heavily on typical psychiatric patients, with particular attention to patients who are difficult to treat or treatment-resistant.
The program connects current neurobiological research with practical treatment decisions across depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, PTSD, substance use disorders and other major areas of psychiatric practice.
- Review advanced approaches to difficult-to-treat and refractory depression
- Explore rational pharmacologic strategies for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
- Understand emerging treatments including ketamine, psychedelics and neuromodulation
- Update treatment approaches across anxiety, PTSD, sleep and substance use disorders
- Translate evolving neurobiology into practical psychiatric treatment decisions
Why This Master Class Matters
Build a deeper framework for psychiatric medication decisions across challenging patient populations and evolving therapeutic options.
The program emphasizes practical clinical translation — connecting mechanisms, treatment evidence and therapeutic strategy with the realities of managing complex psychiatric patients.
Treatment Resistance
Review advanced approaches to difficult-to-treat depression, refractory depression, bipolar depression and complex medication selection.
Emerging Therapeutics
Explore ketamine, psychedelics, neuromodulation, newer antipsychotics and evolving treatment strategies relevant to modern psychiatric practice.
Neurobiology to Practice
Connect neurotransmitters, neurocircuits, genetic factors, inflammation and brain function with practical psychopharmacologic decisions.
Complex Populations
Strengthen treatment approaches across childhood, adolescence, pregnancy, postpartum care, geriatric psychiatry, sleep disorders and substance use.
Harvard Psychopharmacology 2026 Curriculum
Explore the presentations and discussions covering contemporary psychopharmacology and complex psychiatric treatment.
Day 1 — Core Psychopharmacology & Complex Mood Disorders March 20, 2026
Neurobiology, antidepressants, bipolar disorder, perinatal psychiatry, pediatric psychopharmacology, neuromodulation, geriatric psychiatry and difficult-to-treat depression.
-
Carl Salzman · Matcheri Keshavan · Roscoe Brady
Opening
Welcome Remarks
-
Matcheri Keshavan, MD
Neurobiology
Update on the Neurobiology for the Practicing Clinician: Understanding Brain Function and Its Clinical Relevance
-
Alan Schatzberg, MD
Depression
Update on the Development of Antidepressant for Refractory Depression
-
Roscoe Brady, MD, PhD
Bipolar Disorder
Treatment of Bipolar Disorders: Rational Polypharmacy and Bipolar Depression
-
Kristina Deligiannidis, MD
Women's Mental Health
Psychopharmacology in Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
-
Melissa DelBello, MD, MS
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Psychopharmacologic Approaches in Childhood and Adolescent Affective Disorders
-
M. Keshavan · A. Schatzberg · K. Deligiannidis · M. DelBello · R. Brady
Panel Discussion
Faculty Panel Discussion #1
-
Roscoe Brady, MD, PhD
Neuromodulation
Current and Emerging Neuromodulation Approaches: Update for Prescribers
-
Alejandro Dan Mendoza, MD
Geriatric Psychiatry
Psychopharmacology in Geriatrics and Neuropsychiatry Population
-
Stephen Stahl, MD, PhD
Difficult-to-Treat Depression
Therapeutic Approaches to the Difficult Patient: Difficult-to-Treat Depression
-
Stephen Stahl · Roscoe Brady · Alejandro Mendoza
Panel Discussion
Faculty Panel Discussion #2
Day 2 — Schizophrenia, Sleep, AI, PTSD & Substance Use March 21, 2026
Schizophrenia, psychiatric sleep disorders, digital therapeutics, psychedelics, PTSD, addiction, anxiety and antidepressant-response testing.
-
Matcheri Keshavan, MD
Schizophrenia
Current Treatment for Schizophrenia: Prodrome, First Episode, Relapse and New Treatment Possibilities
-
John Winkelman, MD, PhD · Tony Cunningham, PhD
Sleep
Neurobiology and Treatment of Sleep in Psychiatric Disorders
-
John Torous, MD, MBI
Digital Psychiatry
Apps and AI as Therapeutics?
-
Ryan Henner, MD
Psychedelics & PTSD
Mechanisms of Psychedelics and Their Potential Treatment for PTSD
-
Carl Salzman · John Torous · John Winkelman · Ryan Henner · Tony Cunningham
Panel Discussion
Faculty Panel Discussion
-
Kevin Hill, MD, MHS · Pooja Sarkar, DO
Addiction Psychiatry
Effective Treatment of Substance Use Disorders
-
Carl Salzman, MD
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety Mechanisms, Treatment of Anxiety Spectrum Disorders & New Benzodiazepine Data
-
Charles Nemeroff, MD, PhD
Precision Psychiatry
The Status of Laboratory Testing to Predict Antidepressant Response: Problems and Promises
-
Carl Salzman · Kevin Hill · Charles Nemeroff · Matcheri Keshavan · Pooja Sarkar
Panel Discussion
Faculty Panel Discussion
A comprehensive review of modern psychiatric therapeutics
The course connects biological mechanisms, pharmacotherapy, emerging treatments and complex clinical decision-making.
Depression & Bipolar
Refractory depression, antidepressants, augmentation, bipolar depression, rational polypharmacy and difficult-to-treat cases.
Schizophrenia
Prodromal illness, first episode treatment, relapse, maintenance therapy and evolving treatment possibilities.
Emerging Treatments
Ketamine, psychedelics, neuromodulation, digital therapeutics, AI applications and developing psychiatric treatment strategies.
Special Populations
Child and adolescent psychiatry, perinatal mental health, geriatric neuropsychiatry, addiction, anxiety and sleep disorders.
Learning Focus & Intended Audience
Designed for clinicians seeking an advanced and clinically relevant update in psychiatric pharmacotherapy.
Key Areas of Learning
- Evaluate the effects of neurotransmitters, neurocircuits and genes on psychotropic drug treatment.
- Review pharmacologic treatment of schizophrenia with attention to prodromal illness and first-episode treatment.
- Examine emerging theories and treatments for bipolar disorder, depression, treatment-resistant depression, anxiety and PTSD.
- Review psychopharmacologic treatment of depression and bipolar disorder in children and adolescents.
- Identify potential benefits and risks associated with ketamine and psychedelic therapies.
- Review psychotropic medication use in women's mental health, including pregnancy and postpartum care.
- Explore pharmacologic treatment approaches for alcohol, opioid and cannabis use disorders.
- Review advances and treatment challenges affecting geriatric psychiatric populations.
Who Should Participate
The course is designed for professionals involved in psychiatric treatment, behavioral health and psychopharmacology.
Course Directors
Experienced academic psychiatrists leading the 2026 Master Class.
Stanley R. Cobb Professor and Academic Head of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Harvard Medical School.
Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School.
Distinguished Guest Faculty
Faculty expertise spans psychopharmacology, mood disorders, addiction psychiatry, sleep, women's mental health, neuropsychiatry and digital psychiatry.
Tony Cunningham, PhD
Director, Center for Sleep and Cognition, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.
Alejandro Dan Mendoza, MD
Director of Neuropsychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Cognitive Neurology Unit and Director of Heart Transplant Psychiatry.
Melissa DelBello, MD, MS
Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics and Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Kristina Deligiannidis, MD
Director of Women's Behavioral Health at Zucker Hillside Hospital and Professor of Psychiatry, Molecular Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Ryan Henner, MD
Staff Psychiatrist and Director of Novel Therapeutics at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Kevin Hill, MD, MHS
Director of Addiction Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Charles Nemeroff, MD, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin.
Pooja Sarkar, DO
Board-Certified Addiction Psychiatrist in the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Alan Schatzberg, MD
Kenneth Norris Jr. Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University.
Stephen Stahl, MD, PhD
Distinguished Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, University of California Riverside, and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at UC San Diego.
John Torous, MD, MBI
Director of the Digital Psychiatry Division, Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
John Winkelman, MD, PhD
Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Sleep Disorders Clinical Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.
What's Included
Access the recorded educational materials and supporting course files.
HD Video Sessions
Recorded lectures and faculty discussions covering the core 2026 Master Class curriculum.
PDF Slide Decks
Downloadable supporting presentation materials for convenient review and reference.
Total Download
Complete digital course collection delivered for convenient on-demand study.
Strengthen Your Approach to Complex Psychopharmacology
Review treatment-resistant depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, sleep, neurobiology, neuromodulation and emerging psychiatric therapies through the complete 2026 Master Class curriculum.
Download Course
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.