Master Mechanism-Based Prescribing Strategy for Every Major Medication Class
You became a provider to treat the whole patient.
Psychiatric prescribing turned you into a specialist you never trained to be.
Whether you’re in family practice, internal medicine, psychiatry, or pediatrics, you’re the one managing depression, anxiety, ADHD, and mood stability — usually in 15 minutes or less. When a first-line medication doesn’t fully work, the next step can feel limited to raising the dose or trying another agent in the same class.
Plus, earn up to 12.5 Pharmacology CE Hours.See full CE details »Credit details
Here’s What You’ll Bring Back to Your Very Next Patient Visit
✓A mechanism-based framework to choose, switch, and combine medications
✓ A stepwise switch-and-augment algorithm for patients who are only partially responding
✓ Tools to screen for bipolarity, trauma, and comorbidities before treatment stalls
✓ The newest FDA approvals and guideline updates across every major condition you treat
✓ Clear criteria for exactly when referral is the right call — so you can manage more, refer less
✓ Earn up to 12.5 CE Hours, including up to 12.5 Pharmacology CE Hours
Two days. Zero travel. Prescribing decisions you can trust.
Meet Your Instructor
Stephanie Shafer, DHSc, MSN, PMHNP-BC, ANP-BC, founded Neurobehavioral Health and Wellness, a private mental health practice in Okemos, Michigan, recognized as the “Best Mental Health Clinic” several years in a row. The practice serves adults, adolescents, and children with psychiatric disorders, including ADHD, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and personality disorders.
Her clinical background spans emergency medicine, primary care, and psychiatry — a transition driven by a commitment to serving a growing population of underserved patients with psychiatric disorders. She holds a post-master’s in psychiatric mental health from The Johns Hopkins University, dual board certification as a nurse practitioner, and NEI Master Psychopharmacology certification. She regularly shares her expertise with multidisciplinary healthcare audiences nationwide, including resident physicians at Michigan State University. Information about Stephanie L. Shafer
Real Results: What Clinicians Have to Say After Training with Dr. Shafer
★★★★★
“Extremely well put together! Access to these advanced insights will improve my prescriptive decision making. More than I did from graduate level pharmacology courses!”
—Carey, NP
★★★★★
“Dr. Shafer is a high-level expert with excellent content delivery.”
—Christopher, APRN
★★★★★
“One of the best presentations I’ve attended in a long time. Loved the helpful visual descriptions.”
—Elizabeth, APRN
★★★★★
“Excellent program on complex therapies.”
—David, NP
★★★★★
“Speaker was great! I learned more today than what I have collected through previous trainings and experiences.”
—Debra, NP
★★★★★
“Wow! I feel much more comfortable ordering psychiatric medications, whether initiating or adjusting.”
—Joyce, NP
★★★★★
“I have a deeper understanding on the pathophysiology of psychotropics and real strategies to help patients.”
—Laura, NP
★★★★★
“Beautifully and comprehensively presented. Great slides. Bravo and thank you.”
—Christine, NP
Ready to Prescribe Psychotropic Meds with Precision?
Plus, earn up to 12.5 Pharmacology CE Hours.See full CE details »Credit details
Nine Sessions. Every Major Medication Class.
One CE-Packed Intensive.
Who Is This Training For
This training is designed for prescribing providers: Nurse Practitioners • Physician Assistants • Physicians — working in primary care, family practice, internal medicine, psychiatry, or pediatrics.
When Does This Take Place
Monday, December 14 & Tuesday, December 15, 2026
8:00 am – 4:00 pm CT (Lunch break from 11:50 am – 1:00 pm CT, 15-minute mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks)
Unavailable on the live dates? The digital seminar pre-order is available, with the same great content.
What’s Inside the Training
Nine sessions build a complete, mechanism-first approach to psychiatric prescribing — from core neurobiology to combination therapy — with primary care realities and clinical takeaways woven throughout every session.
DAY 1: The Neurobiology and Major Medication Classes
Session 1
Behind Every Psychotropic Class: The Neurobiology and Mechanisms of Action
The problem: Prescribing by habit and comfort zone, not mechanism.
Core neurotransmitter systems behind every drug class: Serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, GABA, glutamate
Serotonin receptor subtypes and how each predicts effect and side-effect profile
A repeatable framework for reading binding profiles to predict efficacy and risk
Your Takeaway: A mechanism-first framework to choose the best medication, case by case
Session 2
Antidepressants: Matching Mechanism to Patient Presentation
The problem: Managing “partial responders” with no clear next step.
Class-by-class differentiation: MAOIs, TCAs, SSRIs, SNRIs, NDRIs/SARIs/NaSSAs, SPARIs (Viibryd vs. Trintellix), and newer agents like Auvelity
Evidence Update Expanded lumateperone (Caplyta) approval as an adjunctive MDD option
Your Takeaway: A stepwise switch-and-augment algorithm
Session 3
Anxiety Disorders and Anxiolytics: The Right Agent for the Patient
The problem: Inheriting long-term benzodiazepine prescriptions with no taper plan.
The anxiety spectrum (GAD, panic, OCD, social anxiety) and overlapping neurobiology
Evidence Update New ASAM-led joint guideline on benzo tapering
Your Takeaway: A ready-to-use taper framework and risk-benefit talking points
Session 4
Antipsychotics: Binding Profiles, Benefits, and Side-Effect Trade-Offs
The problem: Hesitating to start or adjust — with no psychiatry backup.
Mechanism of action by binding profile: D2 affinity, 5-HT2A antagonism, and more
First- vs. second-generation agents, compared in practical terms
Evidence Update Newest atypical antipsychotic approval, Bysanti, for bipolar I and schizophrenia
Your Takeaway: Clear criteria for treatment vs. urgent referral, and prescribing as an augmenting agent
Session 5
Mood Stabilizers: Differentiating Bipolar Depression from Unipolar MDD
The problem: Misclassifying bipolar depression as MDD changes the treatment plan.
Mechanism of action and how mood stabilizers differ from one another
Lithium and AEDs: monitoring requirements and safety windows
Your Takeaway: A fast bipolarity screen and confidence prescribing agents like lamotrigine
DAY 2: Special Populations, Comorbidity, and Combination Strategy
Session 6
ADHD Across the Lifespan: Comparing Stimulant and Non-Stimulant Options
The problem: Initiating adult ADHD treatment without formal training.
ADHD as a neurodevelopmental condition, common comorbidities, and brain regions involved
Stimulants, non-stimulants, and alpha agents compared
Evidence Update Centanafadine (Simtriyo), the first triple-reuptake ADHD medication
Your Takeaway: A framework to select the best first-line agent, stimulant or not
Session 7
Treating Insomnia for Efficacy and Safety: Newer Options vs. Older Options
The problem: Defaulting to the same sedative-hypnotic refill, visit after visit.
Rethink the benzo: Risks of long-term use and safer, evidence-based alternatives
DORA drugs and Z-drugs compared for evidence-based, mechanism-driven selection
Anxiety + insomnia comorbidity: Frameworks for overlapping presentations
Your Takeaway: A mechanism-based decision tree for choosing between DORAs, Z-drugs, and tapering off benzos
Session 8
Trauma, PTSD, and Difficult-to-Treat Conditions: A First Line-to-Augmentation Approach
The problem: Treatment stalls without an augmentation sequence to consider.
Trauma’s effects on the brain and common comorbid presentations
Evidence Update APA’s Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD in Adults
Your Takeaway: A practical, sequenced PTSD treatment approach
Session 9
Managing Comorbidity and Combination Therapy: Treating the Whole Patient with the Fewest Medications
The problem: Comorbidity is the norm; treatment plans rarely are.
Evaluating and triaging patients with multiple comorbid psychiatric disorders
Combining medications across classes by symptoms, not just diagnosis
Your Takeaway: A symptom-triage, minimum-effective-regimen approach
Objectives
Identify the roles of the major neurotransmitter systems (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, GABA, and glutamate) in psychotropic medication mechanisms.
Differentiate how neurobiology and receptor activity influence medication selection for depression, anxiety, mood disorders, ADHD, and psychotic disorders.
Differentiate antidepressant classes based on mechanism of action, efficacy, and side effect risk.
Evaluate antidepressant treatment options for patients who have an inadequate response to first-line therapy.
Compare anxiolytic medication classes to select appropriate treatment based on patient presentation.
Develop a benzodiazepine tapering plan using current clinical practice guidelines.
Differentiate first- and second-generation antipsychotics based on mechanisms of action, efficacy, and side effect risk.
Differentiate bipolar depression from unipolar major depressive disorder to guide appropriate pharmacologic treatment.
Classify ADHD medications based on mechanism of action and patient-specific considerations.
Evaluate the role of newly approved ADHD medications compared with established treatment options.
Develop a pharmacologic treatment plan for PTSD consistent with current clinical practice guidelines.
Determine when psychiatric referral is indicated versus when management can remain in the primary care setting.
Prescribe with Precision. Manage More. Refer Less.
You didn’t become a prescriber to manage psychiatric medications by trial and error, one 15-minute visit at a time.
You accepted the responsibilities to get patients real, fast relief.
This is your chance to build a true mechanism-based framework for every major medication class — and walk out ready to use it on your very next patient.
Two days. Zero travel. Prescribing decisions you can trust.
