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3-Day 2023 IMMH: Integrative Medicine for Mental Health: Where the Biochemical meets the Psychological - Webcast

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3-Day 2023 IMMH: Integrative Medicine for Mental Health: Where the Biochemical meets the Psychological

3-Day 2023 IMMH: Integrative Medicine for Mental Health: Where the Biochemical meets the Psychological
When:
Thursday, November 2, 2023 - Saturday, November 4, 2023
The Impact of Trauma on Mental and Physical Health through the Lens of the Polyvagal Theory: Predictable Consequences of a Dysregulated Nervous System

The talk will focus on how an understanding of polyvagal theory can help clinicians treat clients with trauma. The theory, by providing a comprehensive framework for understanding the physiological and psychological aspects of trauma responses, has been impactful in understanding and treating trauma. By recognizing the role of the autonomic nervous system in defense and sociality, clinicians can tailor interventions to regulate arousal levels, promote safety, and foster social engagement. By understanding the polyvagal theory, clinicians gain insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms behind trauma symptoms, such as hypervigilance, dissociation, and social engagement difficulties. The theory highlights the optimistic perspective of developing interventions that target the specific neurophysiological pathways involved in feeling safe and restoring autonomic regulation.
Brains on Fire: Current State of Mental Health and Integrative Treatments for Anxiety and Depression

Dr. Ackerley will discuss why our current approaches to depression and anxiety are failing our patients. She will present how environmental stressors and biotoxins can trigger neuroinflammation and produce the symptoms found in depression and anxiety and other neuropsychiatric illnesses. She provides alternate approaches for treatment and guidance for implementing these approaches into the care you provide.
Functional Medicine Psychiatry for Depression, Anxiety, and other Mental Health Disorders

An opportunity for all clinicians seeking to deepen their knowledge of Functional Medicine and its profound impact on understanding chronic disease … In this dynamic course, we will explore the intricate relationship between the brain, gut, and chronic inflammation, providing clinicians with the tools and insights needed to deliver holistic patient care. Whether you’re seeking to optimize patient care, explore new treatment paradigms, or deepen your understanding of these critical topics, this course will empower you to make a meaningful impact on patient physical and mental health.
End of Autism: Exciting New Research and Future Directions – Part 1

Hear from William Shaw, PhD, internationally known expert and author on Autism about the latest evidence and approaches around autism. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increasing prevalence and incidence in children. In this session, the attendees will learn about the major causes of ASD in the environment. Additionally, treatment and prevention of the major causes of autism using FDA-approved drugs and by nutritional recommendations and non-drug supplements will be covered.
The Role of Thyroid Hormones and Thyroid Autoimmunity in Mental Health

Let’s engage in an educational session that sheds light on the intricate relationship between thyroid hormones, thyroid autoimmunity, and mental health. We will investigate the direct impact of thyroid disorders, including hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, on mental health, mood, cognition, and emotional stability … delving into the often-overlooked connection between thyroid function and mental well-being, equipping healthcare professionals with essential knowledge to provide more holistic patient care.
End of Autism: Exciting New Research and Future Directions – Part 2

Hear from William Shaw, PhD, internationally known expert and author on Autism about the latest evidence and approaches around autism. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increasing prevalence and incidence in children. In this session, the attendees will learn about the major causes of ASD in the environment. Additionally, treatment and prevention of the major causes of autism using FDA-approved drugs and by nutritional recommendations and non-drug supplements will be covered.
Dopamine Fasting: An Early Intervention for Compulsive Overconsumption in the Digital Age

In a world brimming with digital distractions and the constant allure of overconsumption, it is time to explore innovative solutions to these addictive behaviors. Join us for a thought-provoking session that unveils the power of Dopamine Faster, an intervention technique to combat compulsive overconsumption in the digital age. This session will delve into the neuroscience behind dopamine, the "feel-good" neurotransmitter, and how it can hijack brains, leading to addictive behaviors, and how we can help our patients regain control over their digital habits, and find contentment and connectedness.
Mental Health is Metabolic Health of the Brain

Mental health is currently viewed as an imbalance of neurotransmitters, because current pharmacotherapies are directed to alter neurotransmitter levels. But most people don’t respond to those drugs very well. The question is, what are the other possible causes of mental health dysfunction? Most of these affect neuroenergetics or neurotransmission in some fashion, and many are manipulable. By understanding those, participants should be able to more completely evaluate environmental stimuli that might be contributing to mental health disorders, and provide adjunctive nutritional and/or environmental health to improve both metabolic and mental health.
The Next Frontier in Health the Brain: Beyond Functional Medicine

With mental illness on the rise, many new modalities are available to help set the foundation for brain recovery. Hear from Dr. Robert Kedaya, who pioneered the use of HYLANE technology, a new framework, which includes the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, transcranial laser therapy, and neural exercise to normalize dysfunctional nerve tracts and cortical areas in the brain. This approach can reduce or eliminate the use of medication, can reduce side effects of medication, and can improve rates of full remission. Very exciting conversation ahead.
Awareness is Not Enough: A New Look at the Staggering Statistics of Adolescent Mental Health

The American youth of today are in crisis. While rates of adolescent depression in the U.S. have hit unprecedented highs, mainstream psychiatry persists in its adherence to a century-old model of treatment and prevention … a reactionary symptom-drug polypharmacy model that has, despite widespread and longstanding implementation, failed to reverse current mental health trends.

This tragic status quo is one to which we are not bound, however. We HAVE tools with which we could prevent suicide, treat depression, improve patient outcomes, and turn the trend lines around.

This lecture introduces a novel Functional Psychiatry model of treatment and prevention spanning both psychosocial and biological factors – biomarkers linked to an increased risk of depression and suicide. It explores research supporting the utility of biomarkers such as genetic mutations and essential nutrient deficiencies, as well as lab screening to illuminate chronic underlying conditions robustly associated with neuropsychiatric dysfunction.

Bridging research, concept, and application, this presentation seeks to redefine modern treatment and prevention efforts, and reshape systems meant to provide a lifeline to those in urgent need of our attention, care, and support. Through biomarker testing in accordance with a Functional psychiatry model, today’s providers are equipped with evidence-based tools capable of improving patient outcomes, and turning the tides of the youth mental health crisis.
An Integrative Approach to Mental Health: Where the Body Meets the Mind

A common misconception is that health begins from the neck down. Too often, psychiatry and mental health are perceived to fall outside the scope of primary care, while physical and root causes are often overlooked in psychiatric practice. We feel strongly that our profession of psychiatry and general medicine can do a better job of integrating our services to assist our patients. Drs.’ Mather and Podesta will detail integrative and collaborative methods, as well as discuss the common causes, workup and treatment of various mental health concerns.
PANS/PANDAs: The Role of Infection and Toxin-Medicated Neuroinflammation in Mental Health Disorders

In the early 1990s, a group of researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health began collecting data on children who had developed neuropsychiatric disorders (OCD and tics) following infections. They found evidence that antineuronal antibodies had developed in some of these children which attacked the basal ganglia region of the brain. MRI and PET scans in these children also demonstrated inflammatory changes in the basal ganglia. In 1997, the researchers published the first article to describe this syndrome that they named PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep infections).

In PANDAS, an autoimmune attack on the brain occurs following a Strep infection. PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) is a broader term that also includes cases following exposure to other infections, toxins, and even stress. Clinicians treating children with PANS and PANDAS have found that antibiotics targeted at the offending organisms, steroids, and IVIG results in marked improvement and occasionally complete remission of the neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Disturbing symptoms consistent with many DSM-5 psychiatric disorders manifest in patients with PANS and PANDAS—yet we know that there is a biologic basis for the changes in these children. As a result, these disorders require us, as physicians and society, to view mental illness in an entirely new way. Resistance to this change in paradigm has made PANS and PANDAS difficult for clinicians to diagnose, unbearable for parents to endure, and controversial for scholars to accept.

PANS and PANDAS are complex disorders that demand a rich, multifaceted response with novel treatment approaches.

This lecture, by one of the world’s top experts in PANS and PANDAS, will explain the actual link between immune dysregulation in these children and the development of these syndromes. In this presentation, participants will find conclusive evidence from the peer-reviewed medical literature for the existence and pathophysiology of PANS and PANDAS, alongside testing and treatment interventions the author has successfully used in his own practice with hundreds of children.
Sex Hormones and their Impact on Mental Health

As the prime directive of life is the creation of new life, the ovarian and testicular produced sex hormones, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, are typically seen by the public and by health care professionals as solely important for sexual functioning and reproduction. But reproduction is viewed narrowly, rather than seen as involving every organ system working in optimal unity. Successful reproduction requires that the entire person is optimally healthy, including the cardiovascular, immune, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, genitourinary systems … as well as an optimally functioning neurological system! Human reproduction necessitates supportive relationships, love and bonding, and critical thinking for survival to enable a substantial longevity, facilitating multiple prodigy to be conceived, born, and raised to their sexual maturity. Sex hormones should be renamed as life hormones, acknowledging their enormous contribution to the healthy functioning of every bodily system, with a keen recognition of their vital involvement in both cognitive and emotional health, which will be detailed in this presentation.
Dementia Demystified: Reversing Cognitive Decline and Dementia with Functional Medicine

Alzheimer's Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder – but it is not a mysterious, untreatable brain disorder. It is a reversible multisystem illness that occurs due to toxins and Infections and inflammation and lack of hormones and other diet and lifestyle factors. It has a strong auto-immune component as well.

Neurodegeneration does not just happen. It happens for reasons, and when we can look at the big picture and address all of the driving factors, we can gain traction in stopping and sometime even reversing the degenerative process.

Alzheimer's Dementia is a multi-factorial disease, and it is rarely due to just one thing. In order to reverse dementia, we have to look at, and rectify, all of the factors that contribute: Metabolic, nutritional, toxic, inflammatory, infectious, autoimmune, and/or withdrawal of trophic support (like hormones and nutrients).

Dr. Toups will discuss the Functional Medicine approach she used to reverse her own dementia and uses with her patients and in the Precision Medicine Dementia clinical trial she conducted with Dr. Dale Bredesen. She will cover how to evaluate and test patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia using a Functional approach to determine the root causes of their illness.
The New Science of Calming Your Mind with Food (Nutritional Psychiatry: What It Is and How It Can Help Depression, Anxiety, Concentration, Memory, and More)

Learn how your clients can unlock the power of food to nourish not only their bodies but also their minds in this session on nutritional psychiatry. Gain insights into the key nutrients crucial for brain health, including omega-3-fatty acids, antioxidants, and various vitamins and minerals. In this dynamic program, we delve into the fascinating intersection of nutrition and mental health, offering a comprehensive understanding of how food impacts emotional well-being.
Ketamine, TMS, and Psychedelics and How These Fit in the Landscape of Integrative Treatments for Mental Health Disorders in Adolescents

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and nearly 1/3 of patients do not find relief with antidepressant medications. Clinicians and patients desperately need more effective, safe treatment options. TMS, ketamine, and psychedelics are breakthrough interventions that are bringing hope for people suffering from treatment-resistant mental health conditions. This session will discuss the evolution of these treatments and give you tools to use them in an integrative approach to helping your patients.
The Mind-Gut Connection

Uncover the intricate relationship between the Gut-Brain Connection. Delve into the microbiome’s inner workings, its profound influence on neurological health, and explore actionable strategies to enhance patient well-being through a deeper understanding of this connection.
The Effects of Toxins such as Molds, PFOAs, Metals and Pesticides on Mental Health

The accumulation of neurotoxins in the environment directly correlate with loss of IQ, autism and ADHD in children and multiple neuropsychiatric disorders in adults. This clinically-oriented lecture overviews the worst of the metals and chemicals, key diagnostics and the most effective and safe interventions for each toxin.
The Impact of Trauma on Mental and Physical Health through the Lens of the Polyvagal Theory: Predictable Consequences of a Dysregulated Nervous System

  1. Describe the primary principles and features of the Polyvagal Theory.
  2. Describe how autonomic regulation is linked to mental health, behavioral problems, learning processes, and sociality.
  3. Explain how a neural process, neuroception, evaluates risk in the environment and triggers adaptive neural circuits to promote either social interactions or defensive behaviors.
  4. Identify deficits in the regulation of the Social Engagement System that are observable as core features of several behavioral and psychiatric disorders.
Brains on Fire: Current State of Mental Health and Integrative Treatments for Anxiety and Depression

  1. Discuss the current approach for diagnosing and treating depression and anxiety.
  2. Describe the role of neuroinflammation in depression and anxiety.
  3. Analyze the impact of biotoxins on neuropsychiatric illness.
  4. Explain alternative management approaches for depression and anxiety.
Functional Medicine Psychiatry for Depression, Anxiety, and other Mental Health Disorders

  1. Determine where digestion begins
  2. Differentiate the 4 pillars of treatment areas
  3. Determine the 5R of gut restoration
  4. Determine which cranial nerve connects the brain to the gut
End of Autism: Exciting New Research and Future Directions – Part 1

  1. Discuss the evidence for the major causes of autism spectrum disorders.
  2. Determine the proof that HPHPA is produced by Clostridia bacteria in the intestinal tract in conjunction with human metabolism.
  3. Describe the two major human biochemical systems that are disrupted by the Clostridia product HPHPA.
  4. Describe how the Clostridia product HPHPA disrupts the major human development protein sonic hedgehog, perhaps the major immediate cause of autism.
  5. Identify the likely mechanisms by which the popular analgesic acetaminophen (paracetamol) and the common weedkiller glyphosate cause autism.
  6. Determine the unique role that fats such as cholesterol and palmitic acid play in the activation of sonic hedgehog.
The Role of Thyroid Hormones and Thyroid Autoimmunity in Mental Health

  1. Assess autoimmune thyroid disease.
  2. Assess the relationship between thyroid hormone status and thyroid autoimmunity on mood disorders, anxiety, and mental health.
  3. Construct a list out the components of a full thyroid panel to hand to a patient.
  4. Evaluate suboptimal thyroid treatment as a potential cause for residual mental health symptoms.
  5. Analyzing the consequences and trigger of AITD.
  6. Create thyroid hormone, thyroid autoimmunity and thyroid trigger directed protocols that may help mental health symptoms.
End of Autism: Exciting New Research and Future Directions – Part 2

  1. Discuss the evidence for the major causes of autism spectrum disorders.
  2. Determine the proof that HPHPA is produced by Clostridia bacteria in the intestinal tract in conjunction with human metabolism.
  3. Describe the two major human biochemical systems that are disrupted by the Clostridia product HPHPA.
  4. Describe how the Clostridia product HPHPA disrupts the major human development protein sonic hedgehog, perhaps the major immediate cause of autism.
  5. Identify the likely mechanisms by which the popular analgesic acetaminophen (paracetamol) and the common weedkiller glyphosate cause autism.
  6. Determine the unique role that fats such as cholesterol and palmitic acid play in the activation of sonic hedgehog.
Dopamine Fasting: An Early Intervention for Compulsive Overconsumption in the Digital Age

  1. Analyze the neuroscience of pleasure and pain balance and its impact on the brain with addiction.
  2. Recognize the Plenty paradox and ways in which the mismatch between our primitive wiring and our modern ecosystem has made us all more vulnerable to addiction.
  3. Determine the best approach to guard against compulsive overconsumption … Abstain, maintain, or seek out pain.
Mental Health is Metabolic Health of the Brain

  1. To assess the statistical and mechanistic overlaps between metabolic and mental health.
  2. To identify specific mechanisms by which metabolic dysfunction leads to mental health dysfunction.
  3. To identify diet and eating patterns that will help mitigate both metabolic and mental health disorders.
The Next Frontier in Health the Brain: Beyond Functional Medicine

  1. Describe the components of HYLANE and how this relates to cognitive function and mood.
  2. Determine the effect of antagonists/inverse agonists in cognitive impairment, anxiety, and depression.
  3. Analyze how neurofeedback can be used to improve cognition.
  4. Discuss ways to integrate new treatments for patients with cognitive impairment, anxiety, and depression.
Awareness is Not Enough: A New Look at the Staggering Statistics of Adolescent Mental Health

  1. Elucidate the limitations of the traditional psychiatry symptom-drug polypharmacy model of treatment and prevention.
  2. Identify two or more biologic factors associated with an increased risk of psychiatric dysfunction, and evidence-based strategies for the objective identification and/or assessment of those factors.
  3. Discuss the physical and mental health implications of undetected Celiac disease.
  4. Identify one or more micronutrient cofactors influencing the rate-limiting step in serotonin synthesis.
  5. Discuss the relevance of sleep (quality/quantity) to mental health, and identify two or more evidence-based strategies for correcting sleep dysfunction.
An Integrative Approach to Mental Health: Where the Body Meets the Mind

  1. Identify collaborative care tools in mental health and primary functional medicine.
  2. Lay the groundwork for collaborative care.
  3. Determine some of the root causes and work ups for some of the most common mental health complaints.
  4. Implement some of the tools to treat some mental health complaints.
PANS/PANDAs: The Role of Infection and Toxin-Medicated Neuroinflammation in Mental Health Disorders

  1. Define PANS and PANDAS
  2. Describe common presentations of these disorders and current diagnostic criteria
  3. Analyze the role of molecular mimicry in the genesis of autoimmune diseases
  4. Explain the concept of immune dysregulation in PANS and PANDAS and causative factors
  5. Identify the role of laboratory and radiology testing in children with PANS and PANDAS
  6. Define common infections and stressors which may precipitate flares
  7. Define the four aspects which must be addressed by both parents and physicians to successfully treat PANS and PANDAS
Sex Hormones and their Impact on Mental Health

  1. Discuss the critical involvement of the sex hormones in optimal functioning of every organ system and the interrelationships among organ system to support overall bodily health and reproductive success.
  2. Compare the specific effects of each of the sex hormones on cognitive and emotional health.
  3. Explain the mechanisms involved in the support of emotional health by each of the sex hormones, including neurotransmitter production, peptides, the endocannabinoid system, and the autonomic nervous system.
  4. Provide in integrative approach to the optimization of sex hormone production and replacement through the decades of life.
Dementia Demystified: Reversing Cognitive Decline and Dementia with Functional Medicine

  1. Discuss the multiple factors that contribute to the development of cognitive decline and dementia.
  2. Evaluate and test for the many reversible factors that are involved with cognitive decline and dementia, especially commonly missed triggers like infections, mycotoxins, and lack of trophic hormones.
  3. Determine how nutrients, brain training, mindfulness, and exercise can enhance production of brain-derived neurotrophic factors and enhance neuroplasticity to re-build damaged or lsot neurons and synapses.
  4. Analyze the findings of the first prospective Precision Medicine clinical trial.
The New Science of Calming Your Mind with Food (Nutritional Psychiatry: What It Is and How It Can Help Depression, Anxiety, Concentration, Memory, and More)

  1. Define the meaning of Nutritional Psychiatry and determine how key it is to an integrative health practitioner.
  2. Analyze current stats and data on anxiety and explain whether food can calm the mind.
  3. Explain the Gut Brain Axis as one of the mechanisms to explain the food mood connection.
  4. Identify mood foods and their impact depression, anxiety, concentration, brain fog and memory.
Ketamine, TMS, and Psychedelics and How These Fit in the Landscape of Integrative Treatments for Mental Health Disorders in Adolescents

  1. Outline the evolution of TMS in the treatment of depression and other treatment-resistant psychiatric conditions.
  2. Discuss FDA approved indications for TMS, patient selection, and safety considerations.
  3. Explain the indications, patient selection, and risks of ketamine and esketamine for depression and other psychiatric conditions.
  4. Explore principles of ketamine assisted psychotherapy and how these apply to various practice models.
  5. Outline emerging treatments in psychedelic psychiatry including legal and safety concerns.
The Mind-Gut Connection

  1. Describe the microbiome, including the diversity of microorganisms residing in the gastrointestinal tract, and its crucial role in digestion and overall health.
  2. Analyze the gut-brain axis, how the gut and brain communicate, and the significance of this intricate bidirectional connection.
  3. Explain the microbiome’s impact on neurotransmitter production, its role in brain inflammation, its influence on the immune system and neuroinflammation, its contribution to the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), its effects on mood, behavior, and mental health.
The Effects of Toxins such as Molds, PFOAs, Metals and Pesticides on Mental Health

  1. Determine which environmental neurotoxins causes the most damage to mental function in adults and children.
  2. Identify components for a competent assessment of environmental neurotoxin load.
  3. Provide patients guidelines to effectively decrease toxin load.
  4. Describe how to help reverse the neurological damage with key nutrients.
The Impact of Trauma on Mental and Physical Health through the Lens of the Polyvagal Theory: Predictable Consequences of a Dysregulated Nervous System

Polyvagal Theory
  • Theoretical basis for a neuroscience of safety
  • Safety promotes spontaneous social engagement behaviors and health, growth, and restoration
Principles
  • Autonomic state functions as an intervening variable
  • Three neural circuits form a phylogenetically ordered response hierarchy that regulate autonomic state adaptation to safe, dangerous, and life-threatening environments
  • In response to a challenge, the ANS shifts to states regulated by circuits that evolved earlier consistent with the Jacksonian principle of dissolution [30], a guiding principle in neurology
  • Ventral migration of cardioinhibitory neurons leads to an integrated brainstem circuit (ventral vagal complex) that enables the coordination of suck-swallow-breath-vocalize, a circuit that forms the neurophysiological substrate for an integrated social engagement system
  • Neuroception: Reflexive detection of risk triggers adaptive autonomic state to optimize survival
Application
  • What does this mean in practice?
  • Applying in trauma care
Brains on Fire: Current State of Mental Health and Integrative Treatments for Anxiety and Depression

Current Status – Depression/Anxiety
  • Oversimplified Diagnosis – what we know
  • SSRI Usage
  • Covid Impact
Role of Neuroinflammation
  • Causes of Chronic Inflammation
  • CIRS vs Neuropsychiatric Syndromesli>
  • Medical Gaslighting
Biotoxins and Neuropsychiatric Illness
  • Cognitive Decline
  • Inflammatory Cytokines
  • Microglia Activation
  • Suicide
Treatment Approaches
  • MCAS Supplements
  • Antihistaminergic Psych Meds
  • Bodywork Approaches
Functional Medicine Psychiatry for Depression, Anxiety, and other Mental Health Disorders

Comparison of conventional medicine and functional medicine
  • Standard psychiatric care, bloodwork ordered and siloing of treatment
  • Acute care model/silver bullet approach
  • Contrasted to functional assessment and care and testing ordered – chronic disease approach
  • Functional medicine: who is for and who is it not for
Areas of assessment and treatment overlooked and challenges of the conventional physician

Primary root cause of chronic disease is inflammation
  • How inflammation causes depression
  • Creating a timeline of the patient’s history
  • MSQ form for tracking clinically/PROMIS for research
The gut brain connection
  • Brain Immune Gut connection: BDNF
  • Zonulin, LPS and increased gut permeability
  • Vagus nerve
The functional medicine approach
  • Digestion
  • Four main root causes – foods, infections, toxins and stress and how to address each area
  • 5Rs of gut restoration – remove, replace, re-inoculate, repair and rebalance and what specifically to do
End of Autism: Exciting New Research and Future Directions – Part 1

Autism Epidemic
  • Environmental triggers
  • Prevalence and incidence
HPHPA from Clostridia bacteria and autism spectrum disorder
  • Phenylpropionic acid
  • Antibiotics that kill Clostridia eliminate phenylpropionic acid from cultures of stool samples
  • Testing for the presence of Clostridia bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract by testing urine samples for HPHPA
Dopamine and autism spectrum disorder
  • Elevated dopamine metabolite, homovanillic acid (HVA) in CSF and urine
  • Dopamine inhibitors … Haloperidol and Risperdal
  • Dopamine biochemical damage to the neurons
Clostridia inhibit the key enzyme of the brain and peripheral nervous system dopamine beta-hydroxylase
  • 4-cresol, a product of Clostridia and perhaps other bacteria, inhibits dopamine beta hydroxylase in vitro and forms covalent complexes with the enzyme
  • HPHPA, although not yest tested in vitro, is associated in autism with extreme increases in the dopamine metabolite HVA with no increase in the metabolite vanillylmandelic acid (VMA). There appears to be no biochemical explanation for this abnormality except in vivo inhabitation of dopamine beta hydroxylase.
Glyphosate weed killer is a substantial cause of the autism epidemic
  • Correlation between the increased use of glyphosate on major food crops and incidence of autism
  • Glyphosate effect on beneficial bacteria
  • Glyphosate in the feed of farm animals
Acetaminophen and autism
  • The major metabolite of acetaminophen, abbreviated as NAPQI
  • Epidemiological studies
  • Rate of autism when acetaminophen was removed from the market
The Role of Thyroid Hormones and Thyroid Autoimmunity in Mental Health

What’s going on in autoimmune thyroid disease?
  • Thyroid hormone status
  • Autoimmunity
  • Consequences of dysthyroidism/triggers/exacerbating factors of AITD
  • Symptom Overlap
  • What is a ‘full thyroid panel"?
role of thyroid hormone status (hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism) in mood disorders and anxiety
  • Subtreatment as cause for residual symptoms
  • how to optimize thyroid hormones
    • TSH
    • T4 to T3 conversion … pharmaceutical options, co-factors
Clinical relevance of thyroid autoimmunity in mental health disorders
  • Discussion of pertinent research and proposed mechanisms
  • Strategies for balancing autoimmune response … myo-inositol, selenium, LLLT, NAC
Consequences of dysthyroidism/autoimmune triggers in relation to mental health
  • Stress response
    • Blood sugar
    • Trauma
  • Nutrient deficiencies
    • Low ferritin
    • Low Vitamin D
    • Methylation
    • B12
  • Infections, gut health and toxins
Potential protocols to support thyroid and mental health symptoms
End of Autism: Exciting New Research and Future Directions – Part 2

Autism Epidemic
  • Environmental triggers
  • Prevalence and incidence
HPHPA from Clostridia bacteria and autism spectrum disorder
  • Phenylpropionic acid
  • Antibiotics that kill Clostridia eliminate phenylpropionic acid from cultures of stool samples
  • Testing for the presence of Clostridia bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract by testing urine samples for HPHPA
Dopamine and autism spectrum disorder
  • Elevated dopamine metabolite, homovanillic acid (HVA) in CSF and urine
  • Dopamine inhibitors … Haloperidol and Risperdal
  • Dopamine biochemical damage to the neurons
Clostridia inhibit the key enzyme of the brain and peripheral nervous system dopamine beta-hydroxylase
  • 4-cresol, a product of Clostridia and perhaps other bacteria, inhibits dopamine beta hydroxylase in vitro and forms covalent complexes with the enzyme
  • HPHPA, although not yest tested in vitro, is associated in autism with extreme increases in the dopamine metabolite HVA with no increase in the metabolite vanillylmandelic acid (VMA). There appears to be no biochemical explanation for this abnormality except in vivo inhabitation of dopamine beta hydroxylase.
Glyphosate weed killer is a substantial cause of the autism epidemic
  • Correlation between the increased use of glyphosate on major food crops and incidence of autism
  • Glyphosate effect on beneficial bacteria
  • Glyphosate in the feed of farm animals
Acetaminophen and autism
  • The major metabolite of acetaminophen, abbreviated as NAPQI
  • Epidemiological studies
  • Rate of autism when acetaminophen was removed from the market
Dopamine Fasting: An Early Intervention for Compulsive Overconsumption in the Digital Age

The Pleasure-Pain Balance: How It Works
  • Pleasure Seeking
  • Pain Avoidance
  • Finding Balance
The Plenty Paradox
  • Primitive Wiring
  • Modern Ecosystem
  • how to Deal with the Mismatch
Helping Your Patients Figure out What to Do About It
  • Abstain
  • Maintain
  • Seek out Pain
Mental Health is Metabolic Health of the Brain

Increasing metabolic and mental health crises around the world
  • Disease of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, CVD, cancer, dementia
  • Diseases of despair – addiction, drug use, depression
  • Overlap between metabolic and mental health disorders – could these be linked?
Does happiness lead to early mortality?
  • Unhappiness does not reduce lifespan
  • What we do to "get happy" reduces lifespan
  • Things that increase dopamine increase both metabolic and mental dysfunction
Mechanisms that worsen both metabolic and mental health
  • Mitochondrial energies and ATP availability inhibited by fructose
  • Neurotransmitter cycling, esp. glutamine synthase inhibited by fructose
  • Trophic factors, including leptin and BDNF; blockage by insulin
  • Gut inflammation due to changes in the microbiome
Improving both metabolic and mental health through nutrition
  • Protect the liver
  • Feed the gut
  • Support the brain
Use brief statements to easily convey what the attendee can expect to learn/gain from the day
  • Mental health is metabolic health of the brain
  • What improves metabolic health may also improve mental health
  • None of these pathways are responsive to medications
  • However, food may help
The Next Frontier in Health the Brain: Beyond Functional Medicine

HYLANE
  • HYperBaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)
  • LAser, and
  • Neural Eercise
  • Pascal … How is her brain… Improvement after HYLANE
  • gEEG, HBOT, Laser, KETAMINE ASSISTED THERAPY … mechanisms of action, including thalamus
Antagonists
  • NMDA/Glutamate antagonist
  • Kappa-opioid mixed antagonist/agonist
  • Nicotinic acid antogonist
  • D-2-antagonist
Other symptoms/changes
  • Neuroplasticity
  • Synaptogenesis: MPFC and hippocampus; increased dendritic spines
  • Thalamic regulation; PTSD/Movement disorders
Literature Overview
  • Laser
  • HBOT
  • Ketamine
  • Neurofeedback (NFB)
Cases
  • Shmuel B: mood charts-Laser; Aphasia (Bower), Visual: Jang/King
  • Folio-Ketamine-pre-post
  • Morris/others-Ketamine-right left shift
  • OCD: NFB-Tankel
  • HBOT: Bleiler
Awareness is Not Enough: A New Look at the Staggering Statistics of Adolescent Mental Health

The American Youth in Crisis
  • An overview of recent trends and statistics
  • How is the popular media framing this crisis? How is scientific research literature?
    • Psychosocial and environmental contributors
  • The established treatment and prevention paradigm: a closer look
    • Strengths and limitations of the traditional symptom-drug polypharmacy model
    • The widening gap between research innovation and clinical practice: opportunities for change
Functional Psychiatry: Expanding & Enhancing the Paradigm
  • Traditional models dismiss biology/biologic contributors to mental health: why this is critical omission
  • An evidence-based, dimensional model of psychiatric etiology
    • Genetics x environment x epigenetics x metabolism x neurochemistry = health
    • Functional Medicine: an evidence based, comprehensive model for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention
Genetics
  • Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their relevance to psychiatric etiology
  • SNP testing as a means to guide clinical decisions, predict individual responses to treatments
  • Strengths and limitations of the research
Low-Dose Lithium
  • Overview of the research corroborating lithium’s nutrition essentiality
  • Overview of the research illuminating lithium’s anti-suicide properties
  • Biologic mechanisms underlying lithium’s neuroprotective, mood-stabilizing, anti-suicide effects
  • Elucidating the dose-response curve: pharmaceutical vs. nutritional/low-dose lithium
  • Strategies for testing and assessment
  • Clinical indicators of deficiency
  • Strengths and limitations of the research; risks and benefits of supplementation
PANS/PANDAS
  • Introduction, review of common symptoms, etiology, and pathogenesis
  • Neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms
  • Implications of misdiagnosis, relevance to pediatric psychiatry
  • Testing
  • Strengths and limitations of the research
Celiac Disease
  • Introduction, review of common symptoms, etiology, and pathogenesis
  • Implications of misdiagnosis and lack of treatment
  • Testing
Ultra-Processed Food
  • Rate of consumption in American youth
  • Exploring research showing robust correlations with adverse mental health outcomes
  • Strength and limitations of the research
  • Implications for clinical practice
Nutrition
  • Fundamentals of human biology; commonly ignored by mainstream models
  • The laws of human nutrition: you are what you eat/you are what you don’t eat
  • Neurobiologic and neuropsychiatric implications of chronic malnutrition
  • Where does nutrition "fit" into a modern, evidence-based Functional treatment model?
Vitamin D
  • Overview of roles, biologic essentiality
  • Spotlight: serotonin synthesis
  • Common causes of deficiency
  • Research illuminating robust correlations between vitamin D deficiency and psychopathology
  • Testing
  • Strengths and limitations of the research; risks and benefits of supplementation
Zinc
  • Overview of roles, biologic essentiality
  • Spotlight: neurotransmitter synthesis, digestion
  • Common causes of deficiency
  • Testing
  • Strengths and limitations of the research; risks and benefits of supplementation
Magnesium
  • Overview of roles, biologic essentiality
  • Spotlight: neurotransmitters synthesis, HPA Axis modulation
  • Common causes of deficiency
  • Clinical indicators of deficiency
  • Strengths and limitations of the research; risks and benefits of supplementatioj
Biochemical Individuality
  • Limitations of "one size fits all" models
  • how biochemical individuality can inform a novel paradigm for treatment and prevention
"Vitamin S": Sleep
  • What does sleep accomplish, physiologically?
  • How much sleep do we need? Are kids today getting enough?
  • Physical, neuropsychiatric ramifications of inadequate sleep, sleep dysfunction
    • Research examining links between sleep and suicide
    • Limitations of the research
  • Role
Conclusion
An Integrative Approach to Mental Health: Where the Body Meets the Mind

What is Collaborative Medicine?
  • Integrative vs. collaborative vs "transdisciplinary"
  • What tools needed to integrate
  • Why integrate/collaborate with mental health ("comorbidities")
Causes, Workup and Treatment of Common Mental Health Problems
  • ADHD
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Insomnia
  • Fatigue
Common Missteps in Integrative Mental Health Care
  • Overtreatment of thyroid
  • Aggressive elimination diets
  • Over prescription of medications (SSRI, benzos)
Pillars of Some Effective Treatment of Common Mental Health Symptoms
  • Gut
  • Nutrition and diet
  • Gut health
  • Inflammation
  • Methylation
  • Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)
PANS/PANDAs: The Role of Infection and Toxin-Medicated Neuroinflammation in Mental Health Disorders

The History and Science Behind PANS and PANDAS
  • Definitions of PANS and PANDAS
  • Molecular Mimicry as a Causative Factor in Autoimmunity
  • Anti-neuronal Antibodies in PANS and PANDAS
  • Radiographic and Experimental Evidence of Basal Ganglia Pathology in PANS/PANDAS Patients
  • Origins of the Controversy Surrounding PANS and PANDAS and Evidence-based Medicine
Discussing PANS and PANDAS
  • Classic Criteria
  • A Detailed Description of Symptoms and Physical Exam Findings
  • The role of Laboratory and Radiology Testing in PANS and PANDAS
  • Specific Testing Performed in Patients with PANS and PANDAS
  • The Importance of Excluding Other Causes of Acute Neuropsychiatric Changes
the Four Vitals Areas That Must Be Addressed to Promote Long-Term Healing in PANS and PANDAS
  • Finding and eliminating Infections and Biofilms
  • Finding and Removing Toxins and Toxicants
  • Re-regulating the Immune System
  • Braking Neurologic Loops (OCD/Anxiety)
Valuable Treatment Adjuncts for Patients with PANS and PANDAS
  • Exposure Response Prevention/CBT
  • Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP)
  • Hypnosis
  • Family Counseling and Guidance
  • Resources to help at School, with Friends, and with Family
Future Treatment Directions
  • State Campaigns to Prevent Insurance Denials of IVIG
  • Physician and Other Healthcare Provider Education
  • Immune Modulars and Targeted Therapies
Sex Hormones and their Impact on Mental Health

What are the sex hormones?
  • Where are they produced?
  • How do they work?
  • What are their primary and secondary functions – include their connections to all organ system functions
Sex hormones as neurosteroids
  • What are the specific roles of sex steroids in the brain?
  • What are the specific roles of sex steroids in the autonomic nervous system?
  • How does the brain get sex hormones?
How do the sex steroids affect mood?
  • The role of neurotransmitters
  • The role of peptides
  • The role of the endocannabinoid system
The integrative approach to hormone optimization
  • How can the production and balance of sex hormones be optimized?
  • Summary of the integrative approach to hormone optimization: including nutrition, fitness, circadian rhythm alignment, relationships, toxicant avoidance, stress management
  • Acknowledge the current limitations of research in this growing field
Dementia Demystified: Reversing Cognitive Decline and Dementia with Functional Medicine

Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia
  • Neurodegenerative disorders
  • Not mysterious, untreatable brain disorders
  • Reversible multisystem illnesses
  • Evaluation and Testing
Root Causes
  • Toxins
  • Infections/Inflammation
  • Hormone Imbalances and Deficiencies
  • Metabolic (Lipids and Blood Sugar)
  • Diet and Lifestyle factors
  • Autoimmune Components
Preventing and Reversing Neurodegeneration – 3 R’s Dementia Program
  • REMOVE the factors weakening or hurting the body and brain
  • REPLACE nutrients and hormones
  • REGENERATE the brain to regrow damage neuronal connections
Dementia Research
  • Precision Medicine Dementia Clinical Trial
  • Limitations
  • Future Directions
The New Science of Calming Your Mind with Food (Nutritional Psychiatry: What It Is and How It Can Help Depression, Anxiety, Concentration, Memory, and More)

Nutrition Psychiatry
  • Definition
  • Role in integrative health care
Anxiety
  • Current stats and data on anxiety
  • Can food calm the mind?
Gut Brain Axis
  • Mechanisms of the gut brain axis
  • Food mood connection
Mood foods
  • The food-mood connection
  • Impact on depression, anxiety, concentration, brain fog and memory
  • Nutritional interventions
Ketamine, TMS, and Psychedelics and How These Fit in the Landscape of Integrative Treatments for Mental Health Disorders in Adolescents

Emerging psychiatric treatments for children and adolescents
  • Considering integrative approaches in mental health care
Use of CBD in Children and Adolescents
  • Prevalence of anxiety and insomnia in this age group
  • Studies on the use of CBD for anxiety and insomnia in children and adolescents
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Adolescent Major Depressive Disorder
  • Major Depressive Disorder in adolescents
  • TMS as a treatment
  • Effectiveness and safety of TMS in treating adolescent depression
Ketamine and Esketamine for Mental Health Disorders in Adolescents
  • Recent studies on the use of ketamine and esketamine in adolescents
Psychedelics and Emerging Applications
  • Cultural and societal perceptions of psychedelics
  • Applications of psychedelics in treating mental health conditions in adolescents
  • Unique considerations and risks in pediatric populations
  • Ethical considerations and informed consent
The Mind-Gut Connection

Overview of the microbiome
  • Significance of the gut-brain connection
  • Definition of the microbiome
  • Diversity of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract
  • Role of the microbiome in digestion and overall health
The Gut-Brain Axis
  • Introduction to the gut-brain axis
  • How the gut and brain communicate
  • Significance of this bi-directional communication
Mechanisms of Microbiome Influence on the Brain
  • Gut microbiome and neurotransmitter production
  • Inflammation and its impact on the brain
  • Microbiome’s role in the immune system and neuroinflammation
  • Gut microbiota and the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)
  • Influence of the microbiome on mood, behavioral, and mental health
The Gut-Brain Connection in Practice
  • Practical implications for maintaining a healthy microbiome
  • Dietary strategies to support a balanced gut-brain axis
  • Lifestyle factors that can positively impact the gut-brain connection
Emerging Research and Future Directions
  • Current studies and breakthroughs in microbiome research
  • Potential future therapies and treatments related to the gut-brain axis
The Effects of Toxins such as Molds, PFOAs, Metals and Pesticides on Mental Health

The Toxins
  • The most neurotoxic metals: mercury and lead
  • The neurotoxic PFOAs (for every chemical)
  • The neurotoxic organophosphates
Diagnosis
  • Blood, urine and challenge testing
Intervention
  • Toxin specific strategies
  • Systemic detoxification

MULTIPLE PRESENTERS

Continuing Education Credits Awarded for Completion of All Days, Full Attendance
[+] [-] 2-Day 2023 Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference


Continuing Education Credits Awarded for Completion of All Days, Full Attendance
[+] [-] 2-Day 2023 Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference


Breakdown for Continuing Education Credits by Event
[+] [-] The Impact of Trauma on Mental and Physical Health through the Lens of the Polyvagal Theory: Predictable Consequences of a Dysregulated Nervous System
[+] [-] Brains of Fire: Current State of Mental Health and Integrative Treatments for Anxiety and Depression
[+] [-] Functional Medicine Psychiatry for Depression, Anxiety, and other Mental Health Disorders
[+] [-] End of Autism: Exciting New Research and Future Directions - Part 1
[+] [-] The Role of Thyroid Hormones and Thyroid Autoimmunity in Mental Health
[+] [-] End of Autism: Exciting New Research and Future Directions - Part 2
[+] [-] Dopamine Fasting: An Early Intervention for Compulsive Overconsumption in the Digital Age
[+] [-] Mental Health is Metabolic Health of the Brain
[+] [-] The Next Frontier in Healing the Brain: Beyond Functional Medicine
[+] [-] Awareness is Not Enough: A New Look at the Staggering Statistics of Adolescent Mental Health
[+] [-] An Integrative Approach to Mental Health: Where the Body Meets the Mind
[+] [-] PANS/PANDAS: The Role of Infection and Toxin-Mediated Neuroinflammation in Mental Health Disorders
[+] [-] Sex Hormones and their Impact on Mental Health
[+] [-] Dementia Demystified: Reversing Cognitive Decline and Dementia with Functional Medicine
[+] [-] The New Science of Calming your Mind with Food (Nutritional Psychiatry: What It Is and How It Can Help Depression, Anxiety, Concentration, Memory, and More)
[+] [-] TMS, Ketamine, Psychedelics, and More: Emerging Treatments and their Applications in Integrative Pediatric Psychiatry
[+] [-] Gut-Brain Connection
[+] [-] The Effects of Toxins such as Molds, PFOAs, Metals, and Pesticides on Mental Health
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