Course Description: Working with the Psychologically Distressed Patient (2020)

Hour 1

Provide a simple definition of psychological distress
Review the following definitions from the stress literature that include allostasis, and allostatic load/overload
Discuss the complicated nature of distilling the many factors that contribute to a patient’s clinical presentation of psychological distress
Review common antecedents of psychological distress (i.e., allostatic load/overload), such as adverse childhood experiences, social isolation and/or loneliness, relational discord, financial insecurity/problems, socioeconomic status, unhealthy lifestyle habits (e.g., physical inactivity, insufficient diet, and sleep problems), and poor self-esteem.
Describe the stress-vulnerability hypothesis, and how this model underscores the clinical presentation (i.e., symptoms) of psychological distress

Hour 2

Review the complexities of the hypothalamic-adrenal-axis with relevance to allostasis, and allostatic load/overload
Review common neurobiological findings among patients presenting with psychological distress, including the enduring impacts to the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala
Review common biological findings among patients presenting with psychological distress, such as type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
Review possible evaluation strategies, such as routine laboratory, genomic, sleep, and salivary testing
Describe specific treatment approaches that target neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors to improve the efficiency of information processing, and recalibrate “malfunctioning” neurocircuitry

As presented at our Live 2020 ND Conference: Mental Health