News and Insights for Psychiatric Pharmacists

The American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP) Nominations Committee is pleased to announce the slate of 6 candidates for 3 positions on the 2026-2028 Board of Directors. AAPP active members will have the opportunity to select one President-Elect candidate and two Member at Large candidates through an online voting process starting September 8.

Click the button to view the article recently published in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment.

Click the button to learn more about this addiction policy forum.

A highlight on Shadi Doroudgar's AAPP 2025 Annual Meeting session!

This paper outlines four key issues along with considerations to ensure pharmacists are part of the solution moving forward.

Registration is now open for the 2025 AAPP Summit, a two-day virtual event on October 2–3 that will deliver timely, evidence-based insights into emerging areas of psychiatric pharmacy, including migraine treatments and GLP-1 receptor agonists. Attendees can earn up to 10 hours of ACPE and BCPP recertification credit across eight expert-led sessions, plus an additional hour from a bonus symposium. All registrants will also receive extended access to session recordings to support ongoing learning and credit completion. Submit your educational request and mark your calendar to participate in this high-impact professional development opportunity.

The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, provides comprehensive health care to around 2.8 million American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) across 37 states belonging to 574 federally recognized tribes. The federal government established a special relationship with these tribes in 1787 to provide health services and raise their overall health status to the highest level.

Kaitlyn Q. Weslosky, PharmD, BCPP discusses why we overcommit, how to avoid overcommitment, and how to manage existing commitments in this What I Wish I Knew article. #WIWIK #residents #newpractitioners #psychpharmacy

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently renewed the declaration that was set to expire on March 21, for 90 days. After more than 114,000 people died of overdose in 2023, the number fell to 84,000 in the 12-month period ending October 2024.

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 10/1/2025.

The 10/31/24 #JournalClub article 2 presented "Efficacy and safety of the muscarinic receptor agonist KarXT (xanomeline-trospium) in schizophrenia (EMERGENT-2) in the USA." The recording is available free to all AAPP members.

Outside of conversations around suicide, disease progression, death, and dying are not commonly discussed in psychiatric practice. Palliative care for patients with mental illness is not typically considered beyond the context of terminal medical illness. While patients with SPMI (severe and persistent mental illness) would not routinely be considered terminally ill, many individuals who live with SPMI do not achieve adequate control of their symptoms and live with significant, distressing, and impairing problems.

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

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 10/1/2025.

Unmasking the Complexity of Psychiatric Pharmacists Workload: An AAPP Study

This free list of treatment guidelines includes anxiety and related disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, medication-induced movement disorders, schizophrenia, seizure disorders, sleep-wake disorders, and substance use disorders.

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.

Applications for AAPP Awards and Fellowship are now open! Nominate yourself, a colleague, mentor, and/or rising stars as we spotlight pharmacy excellence.

Stand out by achieving the highest honor in psychiatric pharmacy by applying for AAPP Fellowship. Applications for FAAPP consideration close 10/1/2025.

AAPP has committed up to $250,000 to support a project that will generate a high-quality, large sample size (n) data set that evaluates the impact of integrating psychiatric pharmacists into team-based mental health care in a study with multiple research sites and investigators. Download the RFP and submit your application by the Oct. 1, 2025, deadline.

Pharmacists who provide integrated, comprehensive, and accessible healthcare services to patients experiencing pain and associated symptoms are encouraged to become board certified! If you meet the eligibility requirements and desire to earn your BCPMP, apply by August 25, 2025, for the October 1, 2025 – October 22, 2025 testing window. AAPP supported the petition that recommended the creation of this specialty by contributing volunteer, staff, and financial resources, and we look forward to seeing this specialty grow.

As a growing specialty working in a profession where there are exponentially more and more patient care needs, the importance of attracting and training pharmacy students to the field has never been greater. AAPP members are critical in supporting this growth through precepting and educating students and/or by advising an AAPP Collegiate Chapter. This special edition of the AAPP Perspective demonstrates the impact of Collegiate Chapters and the numerous ways members are incorporating students into their practice, not only by educating them in psychiatric pharmacy but also in enhancing their understanding of those living with mental illness.

"Better Together: Pharmacists and Laboratorians Advancing Care" is available free to all members through 9/18/25. This on-demand session explores how collaboration between pharmacists and laboratorians transforms patient care. Register now!

AAPP is pleased to be an official supporter of ASHP’s "We’re Your Pharmacist," a national public awareness campaign bringing visibility to pharmacist contributions to patient care and public health across practice settings and specialties. We are excited to be a part of this effort to share pharmacist stories, educate the public about critical pharmacist patient care roles, and inspire the next generation of pharmacy professionals. Be sure to like, share, and comment on our social media posts promoting this exciting campaign!

HHS announced a $100M pilot funding opportunity to prevent, test for, treat and cure Hepatitis C (HCV) in individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) and/or Serious Mental Illness (SMI). This program is particularly designed to support communities severely affected by homelessness and to gain insights on effective ways to identify patients, complete treatment, cure infections, and reduce reinfection by Hepatitis C (a liver disease caused by the Hepatitis C virus).

Long-time AAPP member and the current AAPP Foundation President-Elect, Clayton English, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP, BCGP, FAAPP, is part of a team of SoP faculty researchers at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy that has been awarded a $200,000 Tier 3 pilot research grant from the UW Population Health Initiative. The team’s work aims to address the rise in opioid overdose deaths, increasingly driven by fentanyl. This work is vital to public health. Help us congratulate Dr. English!

Each 30-minute webinar offers a dynamic, peer-driven discussion focused on complex substance use disorder cases. Free to AAPP members! Click the link to learn more and register.

Two $25,000 grants are available to support quality improvement projects that support the integration of psychiatric pharmacists into mental health care teams. Projects like these are critical for the advancement of the psychiatric pharmacy profession. Download the RFP and submit your application by the Oct. 1, 2025, deadline.

The 11/14/2024 #JournalClub (1 of 2) presented "Enhancing immigrant families' mental health through the promotion of structural and community-based support." The recording is available free to all AAPP members.

New practitioners, residents, fellows, and students have an opportunity for grant funding up to $10,000! Applications are due by Sept. 4 for consideration.

Get equipped to advocate for and contribute to systemic changes that enhance mental health care delivery in this complimentary webinar! Earn 1.0 ACPE contact hours of CE and put your best foot forward. #CE #psychpharmacy #SDOH #LAI #virtual

Burnout is a well-documented occupational phenomenon that has emerged as a significant concern within the health care field. Characterized by three domains including emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (PA), burnout can have serious consequences on professional performance and personal well-being. Previous studies have identified prevalence rates and risk factors for burnout among other clinical pharmacy specialties, however none to date have evaluated burnout among psychiatric pharmacists. This study addresses this gap by evaluating burnout among Board-Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists (BCPPs) in the United States.

AAPP Student Chapters: This is your chance to get funding for your activities! Apply by Sept. 30 to receive up to $6,000.

Julie Thiel, BS Pharm, PharmD shares questions to ask before accepting a job and what to do if you discover the job is not a culture fit.

Thanks to our partnership with Current Psychiatry (CP) published through Quadrant Healthcom Inc., another Savvy Psychopharmacology article was featured in the January 2020 edition of Current Psychiatry. The goal of this section is to present an evidence-based discussion to guide safe, effective prescribing of psychotropic medications. Eva Studer, MD, Tawny L. Smith, PharmD, BCPP, and Smitha Murthy, MD, authored this article on Valproic acid-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy.

AAPP websites (including courses and course resources/materials) will be unavailable starting late on 8/17 to perform major system upgrades. We hope to minimize the downtime, but the sites may be inaccessible for several days. All members will be notified when systems are back online. Feel free to continue your discussions via AAPP Communities emails, but please do not plan to complete any important coursework or transactions early that week. Thank you for your patience!