News and Insights for Psychiatric Pharmacists

Dr. Rachel Bauer, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP, shares about assessing suicidal ideation, limiting access to high-risk medications, patient education, self-reflection, and grieving loss.

This pharmacist toolkit on benzodiazepine taper includes populations at risk for complications, screening and diagnosis, benzodiazepine withdrawal, treatment, special populations, harm reduction, clinical pearls, authors experience, and references.

Calling all psychiatric pharmacist rising stars. Nominate yourself or others for the AAPP Early Practitioner Award designed to recognize future leaders within AAPP and Psychiatric Pharmacy. Nominations close 10/1/2026.

CPE Monitor Plus is an upgraded feature within the ACPE CPE Monitor system that provides you with a more robust and personalized way to manage your professional development. It allows you to access your comprehensive CPE transcript on demand, receive proactive notifications about your license renewal dates, and helps you see how your completed CPE activities align with your specific licensure requirements. The Plus plan is $12 a year.

AAPP and the AAPP Foundation are pleased to be offering a complimentary, 2-hour workshop: Cultivating Expertise: Enhancing Presentation Design and Speaker Development in Psychiatric Pharmacists. Earn ACPE credit and make yourself a standout voice in the field of psychiatric pharmacy!

Approximately 60% of depression is treated in the primary care setting. Psychiatric pharmacists can utilize their knowledge and training to assist primary care providers in treating mental illness. Watch this video to learn more.

Calling all psychiatric pharmacist rising stars. Nominate yourself or others for the AAPP Early Practitioner Award designed to recognize future leaders within AAPP and Psychiatric Pharmacy. Nominations close 10/1/2026.

Help AAPP recognize excellence in patient care through your nomination for the Advancing Patient Care award recognizing individual member efforts and accomplishments in increasing patient access to high quality mental health care in exceptional and distinctive ways. Nominations close 10/1/2026.

The CURESZ Foundation (Comprehensive Understanding via Research and Education into SchiZophrenia) founded by Bethany Yeiser and Dr. Henry Nasarallah has assembled a Clozapine in Schizophrenia Expert Panel (CLOSZE). The goal is to assist individuals living with schizophrenia and/or caregivers in finding a clinician who can assist them in trying clozapine. AAPP encourages psychiatric pharmacists to sign up for the registry so that patients/caregivers can outreach to establish ongoing care.

Protect people. Protect communities. #choosepsychpharmacy #pharmd #psychpharm #AAPP

AAPP's newest member profile showcases psychiatric pharmacist impact through a psychotropic stewardship program demonstrating optimization of medication therapy for high-risk and clinically complex patients.

Advancing Patient Care Award application window is now open. Let’s recognize excellence in increasing patient access to high quality mental health care.

Earn up to 5.5 ACPE contact hours during this on-demand, seven-part educational series! Webinars are immediately accessible. Register and start today!

Stream this expert-led discussion on the expanding role of digital therapeutics in treating mental health conditions. Watch the recording and stay ahead in this fast-evolving field! Visit the course page to watch the webinar or learn more and register.

Stand out by achieving the highest honor in psychiatric pharmacy by applying for AAPP Fellowship. Applications for FAAPP consideration close 10/1/2026.

Missed the live webinar? "Pharmacists Must Lead Again: Making Clozapine TDM Standard Practice" was presented on July 15, 2026, and the recording is now available to watch anytime. Registration remains open, and the webinar is free for AAPP members.

Toolkit on Alcohol Use Disorder with quick tips and guideline summaries: Screening/Diagnosis, Alcohol Withdrawal, Maintenance Treatment of AUD, Special Populations and Treatment, Co-occurring Disorders, Harm Reduction Strategies, Resources and References.

Improve your peer review skills! Discover the components to evaluate, the role of the peer reviewer, the skills necessary to critically evaluate a manuscript, and how to provide feedback to authors and journal editors.

Recognize change-makers who have impacted patient access to care and/or the profession of psychiatric pharmacy through their advocacy with policymakers and/or decision-makers. Nominations close 10/1/2026.

Curious about LAIs? Need more training? Register for our free Psychotropic LAI Training Program! All registrants get access to 6 recorded webinars with ACPE credit, the LAI pocket guide, LAI administration videos, and an LAI administrative toolkit. Register today and get immediate access.

Consider referring patients to Mental Health America (MHA) for mental health support. Explore the MHA website to view available resources!

Recognize change-makers who have impacted patient access to care and/or the profession of psychiatric pharmacy through their advocacy with policymakers and/or decision-makers. Nominations close 10/1/2026.

Dr. Smitha Murthy, MD, explains what mindfulness is, why it's helpful, and how to practice it.

Pharmacists can play an instrumental role in the administration of psychotropic long-acting injectable (LAI) medications (antipsychotics, naltrexone, buprenorphine). We designed this program to train pharmacists, nurses, and other health care professional interested in administering and/or learning more about LAIs with the goal of reducing barriers and increasing patient access to these important medications.

Despite strong training, new psychiatric pharmacists will encounter challenging trainees throughout their career. Here are 5 guidelines to prevent rotation problems.

Nominate living legacies for the Saklad Award. Recognize a lifetime of impact & excellence by nominating a senior psychiatric pharmacy practitioner who has achieved a level of professional distinction.

This toolkit on urine drug screens provides reasons for unexpected results, expected metabolites for opioids with confirmation testing, evaluation of urine, and potential positive results with immunoassays and detection time in the urine.

Recognize a lifetime of impact and excellence by nominating a senior psychiatric pharmacy practitioner who has achieved a level of professional distinction and demonstrates a continuing dedication to the practice of psychiatric pharmacy. Nominations close 10/1/2026.

Learn all about building a long-acting injectable practice in this complimentary program! This is one of six modules in our Psychotropic LAI Training Program. Register today and get access to the full program and LAI resources.

AAPP provides an up to date listing of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacy Fellowships. Take a look at available opportunities!

Through expert guidance, participants will refine their presentation skills and learn how to captivate audiences. This 2-hour program with ACPE credit provides a unique opportunity to gain practical tools to elevate speaking abilities, enhance your expertise and confidence, and make you a standout voice in the field of psychiatric pharmacy. Don't miss this opportunity to learn!

This study examined purity of fentanyl samples and estimated the typical daily oral milligrams of morphine equivalent (MME).

This FREE 4-hour course translates the Joint Clinical Practice Guideline on Benzodiazepine Tapering into practical strategies for safer tapering. The course includes interactive, case-based activities centered on real-world clinical scenarios to help learners practice guideline implementation across diverse populations. It offers 4 hours of ACPE credit and is available until 5/19/2029.

Expand availability to clozapine for those living with schizophrenia. Register now for the CURESZ Foundation Clozapine Panel!

This Pharmacist Toolkit on Addressing Stimulant Shortages is intended to provide an evidence-based guide for thoughtfully converting from one stimulant product formulation to another. Download the toolkit today! #psychpharm #toolkit

Dr. Allison Beatty, PharmD, BCPP, explains how to establish an LAI clinic.

AAPP's Psychotropic LAI Training Program is back and full of updates! This grant-funded educational activity is offered complimentary and includes access to 6 webinars and LAI resources like a pocket-guide, administration videos, and more. Register today and help us share this program with others that would find it valuable.

Learn all about naltrexone and buprenorphine, two substance use disorder long-acting injectables, in this complimentary program! This is one of six modules in our Psychotropic LAI Training Program. Register today and get access to the full program and LAI resources.

Mark your calendars for this upcoming webinar: "Pharmacists Must Lead Again: Making Clozapine TDM Standard Practice" which is available for free to all members. Register now!

As I write my first presidential column, I find myself reflecting on the journey that brought me to this role—the patients during my APPE at the San Antonio State Hospital who opened my eyes to why psychiatric pharmacy matters, the mentors who challenged and inspired me as a student, resident, and throughout my career, and the dedicated volunteers and staff who make AAPP's work possible. All of these experiences have taught me that progress is bigger than one person and that we build on the work of those who have come before and those working alongside us to move the profession forward.

These results add to a growing body of evidence that CB1 neutral antagonists can attenuate the rewarding properties of opioids while sparing their therapeutically desirable antinociceptive effects, providing support for further investigation of CB1 neutral antagonists as possible treatments for OUD.

In this study estimating the effects of reducing federal funding for SSPs, the findings suggest that mortality will increase among persons who inject drugs during the 5 years after loss of funding.

Psychotherapy, including cognitive behavior therapy and motivational interviewing, offers short-term benefits; however, its long-term effectiveness is uncertain.

Adults with CUD seem to receive less stigma compared to adolescents with CUD, while stigmatizing attributions are produced less often when people have more contact with cannabis use and CUD.

In this study of hospitalized adults with OUD, treatment of opioid withdrawal with short-acting opioids exhibited a dose-dependent association with reduced hazard of early patient-directed discharge.

Very low certainty evidence suggests that, among people with opioid use disorder who have undergone withdrawal and wish to remain abstinent, a substantial percentage are willing to initiate naltrexone with marked early discontinuation.

Electronic screening alerts coupled with provider education increased the provision of medications for adolescents at risk for opioid-related harm.

Alcohol consumption, including at what may be perceived as “moderate” levels, is associated with increased mortality and morbidity risks.