The Role of a Psychiatric Pharmacist

Mental health treatment, to put it simply, is not simple. With every medication decision, a team is working together to help our clients achieve stability and a better quality of life. As a psychiatric pharmacist working at Brandt Behavioral Health Treatment Center and Retreat, I have the privilege of being involved in that process.  

As a psychiatric pharmacist, I play a unique role at the intersection of medicine, mental health, and patient education. I focus on helping patients understand their medications, managing side effects, optimizing regimens, and collaborating closely with our providers and clinicians to support each patient’s individualized goals. I review medication regimens to ensure there are no inappropriate medication interactions, with the goal of minimizing potential adverse reactions.  

Many patients can feel overwhelmed when starting psychiatric medication. Questions will arise about side effects, stigma, effectiveness, and long-term use for treatment. One of the most important parts of my role is creating a space for these conversations. At Brandt, we offer a consultation service with the psychiatric pharmacist for all medication education requests. This is a flexible, protected session dedicated to answering any questions about medications.  

In addition to outpatient services, the psychiatric pharmacist also provides a weekly, interactive medication and wellness group to the patients in our Intensive Outpatient Program, with a focus on educating our patients on mental health topics such as navigating medication side effects, understanding how psychiatric medications work on the body, and how certain substances (such as alcohol, caffeine, and marijuana) interact with mental health and medications for mental health. This service will also expand with the launch of the Retreat this year.  

While educating our patients, I also educate our fantastic team of providers and clinicians on new and relevant psychiatric topics, such as the synergy between psychotherapy and psychiatric medications. This ensures our clinicians are up to date on new and emerging psychiatric patterns, enabling them to better serve our clients.  

I am eager and honored to work with our treatment team to provide excellent patient care to our community.