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Treatment Resistant Depression: Beyond the basics – exploring old and new treatment options

Facilitated by:
Primary Health Tasmania
Speaker:
Professor Malcolm Hopwood
Professor Saxby Pridmore
Professor David Castle
Dr Arnob Chakraborti
Dr Marzena Rybak
Dr Yvonne Turnier-Shea
Dr Anna Seth
Date and time:
Monday 8 September
Face to Face: 5:30pm for a 6:00pm start (light refreshments provided) to 8:00pm.
Online: 6:00 pm to 8:00pm
Location:
Face to Face: Menzies Institute for Medical Research, UTAS
or
Online: Livestream via Zoom
Audience:
GPs, pharmacists, psychiatrists and psychologists working in Tasmania
Register for In-person attendance

This event is a hybrid attendance event, please use the register button above to attend in person, or alternatively use the below link to attend online.

Registration for online attendance

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This event is currently pending RACGP CPD approval for EA and optional MO actvities.

Overview:

Many patients with depression require several treatment steps to achieve remission.

  • Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) is a common problem affecting up to 30% of people with depression with substantial individual and societal impacts.
  • There is no universally agreed definition but it is typically defined as an inadequate response to at least 2 antidepressants despite adequate trials and adherence.

Much of the management of depression occurs within General Practice, with access to multidisciplinary care and treatments limited by cost and availability. Treatment options have expanded with Medicare listing of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in 2021, and PBS listing of eskatemine in 2025 however both these options are available in the private sector only, and so an understanding of a broader array of options is required.

In this session leading experts will review the concept of TRD, outline key factors in assessment, and discuss locally available treatment options in this expanding field including adjunctive pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, esketamine nasal spray, TMS, and Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). Public and private referral pathways for treatment, including options for obtaining psychiatric advice and review, will be discussed by the panel. The use of the Tasmanian HealthPathways to support care and referrals will be highlighted. Questions can be pre-submitted or asked on the evening.

Learning outcomes:

  • Outline a clinical approach to the assessment and management of treatment resistant depression (TRD)
  • Compare available treatment options for TRD based on efficacy, adverse effects, accessibility, and cost
  • Identify available public and private sector referral pathways for advice and management of patients with TRD with reference to the Tasmanian HealthPathways