Dr. David Feifel, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at UC San Diego and founding president of the Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute, joins the JCP Podcast to kick off the new "Psychedelics in Psychiatry" theme. A pioneer in the field who established the world’s first ketamine infusion program for depression, Dr. Feifel sits down to discuss the paradigm shift currently reshaping mental health care.

In this installment of the Behind the Manuscript series, Dr. Feifel breaks down the findings of his recent JCP paper: “Results From a Long-Term Observational Follow-Up Study of a Single Dose of Psilocybin for a Treatment-Resistant Depression”. He explains the significance of the 25mg dose in preventing relapse over 52 weeks and offers a critical look at why traditional SSRIs are no longer enough. Beyond the data, the conversation delves into the nuances of "set and setting," the controversy of microdosing versus "heroic" doses, and the practical challenges clinicians face as the field moves toward interventional psychiatry. Dr. Feifel also challenges the traditional medical view of the placebo effect, arguing that harnessing expectation may be the key to the next generation of healing.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 - Dr. David Feifel and His Breakthrough Career

02:13 - How Early Curiosity Led to Psychiatry Instead of Neurology

07:33 - Balancing Clinical Practice With Research Innovation

11:41 - Psychiatry Entering a Transformational New Era

13:51 - Why SSRIs Fall Short and TRD Demands Better Solutions

17:27 - What Makes Psilocybin the Leading Psychedelic Candidate

20:25 - Why the Psychedelic Renaissance Is Surging Now

25:42 - Microdosing Myths and the Power of Expectancy

33:55 - How Set and Setting Shape Psychedelic Treatment Outcomes

39:51 - Do Psychedelics Really Need Psychotherapy to Work

48:58 - Inside the Phase 2 Study and How TRD Patients Were Enrolled

56:04 - Why 25mg Psilocybin Delivered the Strongest Clinical Results

1:05:39 - What Long-Term Follow Up Reveals About Relapse and Durability

1:11:38 - How Clinicians Can Prepare for Psychedelic Medicine Adoption

1:16:53 - Why the Future of Psychiatry May Rely on Harnessing Placebo Power

Key Takeaways:

"Psychiatry is in the midst of a golden age revolution... I feel like every day I was going to war with Godzilla with a peashooter. Now I feel like we've got some real tools."

"We’re in the midst of what I call the Cambrian explosion of treatments... a massive explosion of life forms after a long time of stagnation."

"The concept of 'one and done' with psychedelics is dead. We aren't going to have patients come in one time and say, 'You're good for life.'"

"Doing ketamine is like doing psychotherapy, but you're both the psychotherapist and the patient at the same time."

Links:

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry: psychiatrist.com/jcp/

Dr. David Feifel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfeifel/

Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute: https://www.kadimanp.com/

“Results From a Long-Term Observational Follow-Up Study of a Single Dose of Psilocybin for a Treatment-Resistant Episode of Major Depressive Disorder”:

Dr. Michael Asbach, Associate Director of Interventional Psychiatry at the DENT Neurological Institute and a nationally recognized educator, joins The JCP Podcast to discuss the critical and expanding role of Advanced Practice Practitioners (APPs) in behavioral health. With a background that spans from sports medicine to leading interventional psychiatric programs, Dr. Asbach offers a unique perspective on how the medical model training of Physician Assistants (PAs) uniquely positions them to address the growing psychiatric workforce shortage.

In a nuanced discussion, Dr. Asbach tackles the headlines and controversies surrounding the profession, including the recent British Medical Journal rapid review and the UK’s "Leng Report." He dismantles the concept of "scope creep," arguing instead for a model of "autonomous collaboration" that respects physician expertise while maximizing patient access. From the history of PAs emerging after the Vietnam War to the modern "Build, Baby, Build" approach to healthcare staffing, this episode provides a roadmap for how interdisciplinary teams can alleviate burnout and improve outcomes in the golden age of biologic psychiatry.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 – JCP Podcast Kickoff and Introduction to Dr. Asbach

01:34 – Expanding PA Engagement and Education in Psychiatry

03:22 – Career Origins and Choosing the PA Path Over Medicine

05:11 – Discovering Psychiatry and the Appeal of Interventional Innovation

08:46 – Mentorship, Research Culture, and Advancing Psychiatric Treatment

12:28 – Understanding PA Training Models and Evolving Clinical Competency

16:44 – Addressing Psychiatry Workforce Shortages Through Advanced Practitioners

20:36 – Evaluating PA Outcomes and Challenges in Measuring Quality of Care

29:24 – Rethinking Workforce Assumptions and Challenging Medical Dogma

32:37 – Regulation, Role Clarity, and Key Takeaways from the Leng Report

41:25 – Navigating Scope Creep Concerns and Physician Training Protection

47:51 – Building Effective Interdisciplinary Psychiatric Care Teams

56:44 – Supervision Ratios, Access Disruption, and Real-World Patient Impact

1:00:04 – Burnout, Non-Clinical Career Paths, and Retaining Expert Clinicians

1:08:09 – Future of Advanced Practice Providers and Closing Reflections

Key Takeaways:

"I think the future of advanced practice providers is going to be one that is collaborative, autonomous, and interdisciplinary."

"We are blessed to be able to play such an important role in people's lives... and have this front row seat to their life longitudinally."

"I’m very much a ‘build, baby, build’ approach to housing... Healthcare is very similar where the more people that we bring in as helpers, the better."

"Psychiatry is... in this golden era of kind of firmly returning back to biologic origin... and the PA medical model means that PAs have taken pathophysiology, gross anatomy, fundamentals of medicine."

"The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence."

"It’s not about replacing physicians... but rather adjusting regulations to reflect the modern healthcare environment."

Links:

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry: psychiatrist.com/jcp/

Michael Asbach: https://www.dentinstitute.com/michael-asbach/

White Coats of the Round Table:

Fluctuating ADHD Across the Lifespan with Margaret Sibley, PhD

Dr. Margaret Sibley, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital, joins The JCP Podcast to discuss the evolving understanding of the trajectory of ADHD across the lifespan. The recipient of the 2024 Paul Wender Best Paper Award, Dr. Sibley shares her journey from political science to clinical psychology and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the landmark Multimodal Treatment of ADHD (MTA) study.

Challenging the traditional binary view of ADHD persistence versus remission, Dr. Sibley details the findings of her award-winning paper, revealing that for the majority of patients, ADHD follows a fluctuating course into adulthood rather than a static one. The conversation explores the critical role of "environmental fit," the complex interplay between anxiety and symptom management, and the distinct clinical profiles of those with persistent versus fluctuating ADHD. Today’s thoroughly enlightening episode offers vital nuances on how patient environments and comorbidities shape long-term outcomes beyond childhood diagnosis.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 – Introducing Dr. Margaret Sibley and the Paul Wender Best Paper Award

02:41 – From Political Science to Psychology: A path to public health

04:55 – The importance of engaging with patient advocacy groups like CHADD

08:06 – A historical look at the Multimodal Treatment of ADHD (MTA) study

11:59 – Why childhood treatment doesn't always predict adult outcomes

20:17 – Challenging the myth of permanent remission vs. persistence

24:53 – Defining the "Fluctuator": The most common ADHD profile

28:15 – The "Gas and Brakes" analogy: The role of comorbid anxiety

29:48 – Understanding comorbidities in severe, persistent ADHD

31:45 – Clinical Pearls: Environmental fit and rising to the occasion

34:09 – What’s next for the MTA study

Key Takeaways:

"The fluctuators are really kind of like your bread and butter people with ADHD."

"We should be thinking about environmental fit as a potential way to help people manage their ADHD better.”

"Make sure that you read the Reddit threads about what people are saying that have a condition that you're working with."

"Most people were looking at persistence as a finality, a single outcome... But it seems very dynamic."

"The persistent ADHD group have many more comorbidities... and are much more impaired in their daily lives. And so this is sort of our severe ADHD profile.”

"People do better in behavior therapy for ADHD if they have comorbid anxiety."

"Parental psychopathology was a strong predictor of being in that 10% stable ADHD group."

"When environmental demands were higher, people were more likely to be experiencing remission."

“Make sure that you go out there and try to be non-judgmental about the lenses people see aspects of mental health through, even if it's different than what you were trained in or even what the science says.”

Links:

• Journal of Clinical Psychiatry: psychiatrist.com/jcp/
• Dr. Margaret Sibley: https://www.margaretsibley.com/
• Dr. Sibley’s Award-Winning Paper: https://www.psychiatrist.com/jcp/fluctuating-adhd-multimodal-treatment-of-adhd-mta-study/

Dr. Stephen Brannan brings decades of experience from both academic psychiatry and leadership roles at top pharmaceutical companies to the JCP Podcast today. He details his transition from university research to industry, offering a candid look at the forces that drive innovation in mental health care.

Dr. Brannan unpacks the complex process of bringing a new drug to market, using his work on treatments like Cobenfy (xanomeline-trospium) as a case study. The discussion covers the critical decisions in clinical trial design, from selecting the right patient populations to establishing meaningful endpoints that satisfy both regulatory bodies and clinical needs. He also addresses some of the most persistent hurdles in psychiatric research including the high placebo response rates that can obscure a drug's true efficacy and the operational complexities of running large, multinational studies. For clinicians seeking to better understand the evidence behind new medications, Dr. Brannan’s insights provide a unique level of enlightenment in the pragmatism, science, and collaboration required to advance patient care.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 - Introducing Dr. Stephen Brannan

01:56 - From Pre-Med Doubts to a Career in Psychiatry

06:51 - The "Push and Pull" from Academia to Industry

08:50 - Advice for Young Psychiatrists Considering Industry

10:56 - Pitfalls and Misconceptions of Pharmaceutical Work

14:37 - Balancing Real-World Applicability and Regulatory Realities

20:40 - The Science and Strategy Behind Cobenfy

22:10 - Understanding and Mitigating the Placebo Effect

28:57 - The Role of Expert Steering Committees

32:38 - Designing Trials

42:37 - The Nuances of Safety Surveillance in Clinical Trials

53:27 - Reflections on the Future of Psychiatric Treatment

Key Takeaways:

"I will not sacrifice quality for the sake of speed."

"I've learned how to talk with people rather than just sort of barking an order."

"We're a hell of a lot more alike than we're different."

"The better we understand that and we're able to pick treatments based on biomarkers...that's going to make a huge impact."

"That's extremely useful in psychiatry because it's rare when you first see somebody...you absolutely know what's going on. It usually takes time and patience and a tolerance for ambiguity."

"You also want to be able to talk to people who will tell you what's wrong with your thinking."

"You want your beachhead. And your beachhead is...what's the best segment of patients?"

Links:

• Full transcript and show notes: https://www.psychiatrist.com/jcp/ep3-academia-to-pharma-stephen-brannan
• Journal of Clinical Psychiatry: psychiatrist.com/jcp/
• Dr. Stephen Brannan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-brannan-b7376019/

Dr. Joseph Goldberg, Clinical Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and immediate past president of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP), shares insights from his remarkable career, from his beginnings in neuroscience to his influential leadership roles. Along the way, he explores the future of mental health, focusing on mentorship, innovative education, and translating research into patient-centered care.

Throughout the episode, Dr. Goldberg recounts his unique journey into psychiatry, which began with studying frogs and led to a focus on bipolar disorder. He offers an insider’s view of the ASCP, detailing initiatives from his presidency, including task forces on ketamine and de-prescribing. A key highlight is ASCP’s revolutionary AI-enhanced "living textbook," a new approach to medical education designed to transform how clinicians learn about psychopharmacology, ensuring the latest knowledge is always accessible.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 - Introducing Dr. Joseph Goldberg, MD

01:13 - From Frogs to Psychiatry: A Scientist’s Origin Story

02:51 - Why Bipolar Became the Focus: Early Pharmacology Momentum

04:20 - ASCP’s Patient-Centered Mission & Why It Became “Home”

05:08 - Mentorship Pipeline: NCDEU Roots and Career Breaks

08:10 - Leadership Model in Action & New President Anita Clayton

11:17 - ASCP Task Forces: Ketamine/Esketamine and Deprescribing Guidance

14:13 - CME 2.0 & AI “Living Textbook” (edYOU) for Psychopharm Education

18:43 - Limbic Learning & Nasrallah Award: Make Education Stick

20:18 - Early-Career Lift: Posters, Committees, New Investigator Awards

23:18 - What’s Next in Psychopharm: Tangible Advances for Patients

25:44 - ASCP × JCP Synergy & Membership Call to Action

27:40 - Looking Ahead: Bridging Bench to Bedside with Future Guests

Key Takeaways:

"The frogs brought me to med school, brought me to research in psychiatry and psychopharmacology, and, well, here I am today."

"ASCP has always been my professional home, intellectually, scientifically, even socially."

"It's really about the pragmatic translation of findings into clinical care, which just really spoke to my interest in the kind of 'so what' factor of what it is we do."

"It's a living textbook in psychopharmacology, so it can be continually updated. We hope it's going to revolutionize the way we teach psychopharmacology."

"Steve and I both call this 'limbic learning.' You remember things when they're presented in an impactful kind of way. It's almost like PTSD in reverse."

"We live in a time and an era of true advances. We have things in our pharmacopeia now that did not exist 5 years ago."

"This is a home. This is a place where I think you will find like-minded people. You'll make friends for life."

"If you interact with ASCP or JCP, you will not ask the question, 'What does this have to do with my patients?'"

Links:

• Full transcript and show notes: https://www.psychiatrist.com/jcp/ep2-clinical-psychopharmacology-joe-goldberg/
• Journal of Clinical Psychiatry: psychiatrist.com/jcp/
• Dr. Joseph Goldberg, MD: https://www.josephgoldbergmd.com/
• American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology: https://ascpp.org/

In its inaugural episode, the JCP Podcast features a foundational conversation with Dr. Marlene Freeman, Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, in which she discusses the journal's core mission to empower busy mental health professionals with cutting-edge, evidence-based research. Providing insights into academic publishing, from the peer review process to the journal's vision for psychiatric education, today’s discussion offers essential listening for those at the intersection of clinical practice and scientific discovery.

Dr. Freeman details her professional journey into women's mental health and perinatal psychiatry, and goes on to explore how the journal balances scientific rigor with clinical relevance to support shared decision-making in patient care. Navigating the complex publication landscape, the episode addresses industry-sponsored studies, the importance of diverse voices, and emerging trends like digital therapeutics, biomarkers, and the potential impact of artificial intelligence on psychiatric research.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 - JCP Podcast Mission for Busy Clinicians

00:37 - Introducing Dr. Marlene Freeman, Editor-in-Chief

02:36 - Choosing Psychiatry for Patient-Centered Impact

04:19 - JCP’s Purpose: Clinician-Ready, Evidence-Based Guidance

08:03 - Faster Access to Research: Summaries, Email TOCs, Podcasts, Specialty Sections

11:33 - Shared Decision-Making in Practice & ASCP Corner Quick Reviews

15:11 - What JCP Publishes & How Peer Review Ensures Clinical Quality

25:11 - Promoting Diversity, Inclusion, and Ethical Publication Standards

27:00 - Emerging Priorities: Novel Treatments, TRD, and Real-World Effectiveness

30:24 - Digital Therapeutics & Biomarkers Must Prove Clinical Utility

36:02 - AI in Publishing: Verify References and Read Full Papers

40:00 - Clinician-First Perspective: Practice Informs Editing & Research

42:03 - Editorial Impact and Evolving Ethical Responsibilities

45:18 - Reflections on Leadership, Legacy, and Lifelong Learning

Key Takeaways:

"I really want to emphasize that a rejection of a paper doesn't mean it isn't high quality."

"We want to be user-friendly to authors. We want to save them time. So if we're not a good fit for their paper, I'm very comfortable looking at whatever people want to send me in advance."

"We want to make sure that we're making collaborative decisions with patients, but we have to make sure that we're offering good choices."

"The work could not be done without peer reviewers."

"You get so much out of reading the full paper. The introduction section is like a mini review of that topic and gives you so much more information."

"We want to make sure that what we're putting out there is not a result of the financial investment that a company has made. We want it to be based purely on the research and what it has to add for patients."

"We want to make sure that we are providing treatments that everyone can access."

"I think that all the roles inform each other, but at the heart of it, I'm a clinician."

Links:

• Full transcript and show notes: psychiatrist.com/jcp/ep1-mission-jcp-marlene-freeman
• Journal of Clinical Psychiatry: psychiatrist.com/jcp/
• Interested in becoming a peer reviewer? psychiatrist.com/jcp/reviewers/

The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry Podcast explores the science, practice, and human side of mental health care. Hosted by Dr. Ben Everett, Senior Scientific Director at Physicians Postgraduate Press, the series brings together leading voices in psychiatry, neuroscience, and behavioral medicine to discuss the evidence shaping clinical care today.

Each episode features thoughtful conversations with JCP authors, academic experts, and frontline clinicians exploring disorders across the mental health continuum, from schizophrenia and mood disorders to anxiety, depression, and sleep-related conditions. By bridging research and real-world practice, the podcast delivers insights that empower psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician associates, and primary care clinicians to deliver better care for patients with mental illness.

Insightful. Evidence-based. Human-centered.