Interventional psychiatry is a rapidly growing sub-specialty in the field of psychiatry. One component of interventional psychiatry employs neuromodulation, or brain stimulation, which involves the use of electroconvulsive therapy to address issues such as depression and obsessive compulsive disorder.
The UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute’s interventional psychiatry program utilizes evidence-based treatments that can provide remarkable results. Some of the methods used by the interventional psychiatry staff are relatively new while others have been approved for use for many years. All are effective in treating mental illnesses that have not improved with the use of antidepressants or psychotherapy.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of patients from Arkansas and surrounding states are suffering from mental health problems that could be reduced or even resolved through the interventional psychiatry program here at the Psychiatric Research Institute.
The interventional psychiatry program at the Psychiatric Research Institute could be the answer to those with long-term depression and other mental health problems that have not improved through the use of medication or psychotherapy. To find out more about the Interventional Psychiatry Program, call 501-526-8100 or email us at pri@uams.edu. The program will accept referrals from a patient’s current psychiatrist by faxing a recent history to 501-526-8199 to the attention of Ken Hall.
Here are some of the treatments offered by the program:
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy is used for patients with severe mood disorders (depression and bipolar) that have not responded to other forms of treatment. When a disorder becomes this severe, it is referred to as treatment-resistant depression. Electroconvulsive therapy is a primary a treatment choice for treatment-resistant depression, psychotic depression and acute suicidality. Also, it can be an ideal choice for severe depression during pregnancy and afterwards (postpartum depression), thereby allowing minimal exposure of the baby to medications.
Electroconvulsive therapy involves brief electrical stimulation of the brain conducted while the patient is under anesthesia. The electroconvulsive therapy team of medical professionals at the Psychiatric Research Institute includes a psychiatrist, an anesthesiologist and a nurse, all highly trained and experienced.
Ketamine
Ketamine has been used primarily as an anesthetic since the 1960s. Recently, it has been shown in some individuals to dramatically improve the symptoms of patients with severe depression, especially those with suicidal thoughts. The Psychiatric Research Institute is currently using two forms of this drug to treat suicidal ideation and treatment resistant depression: