by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, PMHNP | Sep 2, 2025 | Diagnosis/Assessment tips for treating mental disorders
In school as an NP student and later in clinical practice, I learned that prescribing benztropine (Cogentin) for extrapyramidal side effects was appropriate. What I didn’t realize was that there are times when prescribing benztropine—or any anticholinergic—can...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, PMHNP | Aug 12, 2025 | Diagnosis/Assessment tips for treating mental disorders
What’s one of the most misdiagnosed conditions in mental health? Despite being relatively rare, schizoaffective disorder diagnosis shows up surprisingly often on psychiatric charts—and it’s often incorrect. According to the DSM-5-TR, the lifetime prevalence of...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, PMHNP | Aug 7, 2025 | Diagnosis/Assessment tips for treating mental disorders
You’re in clinic with a 29-year-old twice-divorced man experiencing depressive symptoms. He’s never had a psychiatric diagnosis before, denies substance abuse, and reports no family history of depression or other psychiatric illnesses. This is his first major...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, PMHNP | Aug 5, 2025 | Diagnosis/Assessment tips for treating mental disorders
Raise your hand if you knew that bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder have significant similarities 🙋🏾♀️ Even after eight years of working as a psych NP, I recently realized how tough it can be to distinguish bipolar vs borderline personality...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, PMHNP | Jul 1, 2025 | Diagnosis/Assessment tips for treating mental disorders, Prescribing tips for treating mental disorders
Do You Know the Difference Between Bipolar I vs II? Let’s Test It. Understanding the difference between bipolar I vs II disorder is critical in clinical practice—especially when selecting appropriate treatments. This quick quiz will test your knowledge and help you...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, PMHNP | Aug 5, 2024 | Diagnosis/Assessment tips for treating mental disorders
Which of the following individuals may qualify for a mental disorder? A. Partner whose spouse dies and takes a several week leave-of-absence from work due to grief B. An individual who loses their job as a result of increasing mistakes related to executive functioning...