by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, PMHNP | Oct 2, 2025 | Diagnosis/Assessment tips for treating mental disorders
Complex PTSD is increasingly recognized as distinct from traditional PTSD, especially in the World Health Organization’s ICD-11 diagnostic criteria. While both disorders share many symptoms, complex PTSD ICD-11 includes additional disturbances in self-organization...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, PMHNP | Sep 30, 2025 | Diagnosis/Assessment tips for treating mental disorders
Did you know that up to 60% of patients with bipolar disorder are initially misdiagnosed with unipolar depression? Distinguishing bipolar vs unipolar depression is one of the toughest diagnostic challenges because their symptoms can overlap, especially early in the...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, PMHNP | Sep 25, 2025 | Prescribing tips for treating mental disorders
Have you ever wondered which medication combos put your patients at a significant serotonin syndrome risk? Serotonin syndrome is a potentially life-threatening condition caused by excessive serotonin accumulation in the body. It’s most often linked to psychotropic...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, PMHNP | Sep 23, 2025 | Prescribing tips for treating mental disorders
Have you ever had a patient show up on ten different psych medications—and none of them seem to be working? They’re struggling. You know psychiatric deprescribing needs to happen, but the problem is: Where do you even begin? Adjust One Medication at a Time I had a...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, PMHNP | Sep 18, 2025 | Diagnosis/Assessment tips for treating mental disorders
Post acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) refers to a group of lingering psychological and mood-related symptoms that may continue for months—or even years—after the acute withdrawal phase ends. Although it’s not recognized as an official diagnosis in the DSM-5, PAWS is...