Shifting the Paradigm: Proactive Pharmacotherapy Treatment Approaches for Perinatal Bipolar Disorder

Speakers: Dr. Crystal T Clark, MD, MSc. Moderated by Dr. Raj Rasasingham, MD, FRCPC, Director of Continuing Professional and Practice Development

Hosted by the University of Toronto and Women's College Hospital.

Dr. Crystal Clark is an internationally recognized psychiatrist in reproductive mental health. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, the Associate Head of Research at Women’s College Hospital, and a scientist at Women's College Hospital Research Institute. Dr. Clark specializes in mood and anxiety disorders specifically across the reproductive life span (from menstruation to peri and post menopause).

Dr. Clark’s research aims to address gaps in psychiatric health care through development of identification and prevention strategies for marginalized populations in psychiatry including those with severe mental illness (e.g., bipolar disorder) and visible minorities (e.g., Black maternal mental health). Dr. Clark is a past president of the Marcé of North America an organization dedicated to advancing perinatal mental health care and she serves on the board of directors of Marcé International. She has been a contributor to large initiatives in the US and Canada to improve perinatal mental health in North America. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and she has served as an expert guest on several news and radio outlets.

Learning Objectives:
- Describe perinatal bipolar disorder and the risk of recurrence during pregnancy and postpartum.
- Explain pregnancy related physiological changes and the impact on metabolism and elimination clearance of mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics.
- Describe dosing strategies that may minimize multiple drug exposures and optimize therapeutic efficacy of psychotropics.