The Carlat Psychiatry Podcast

Women clear some psychiatric medications more slowly, lose bone density at higher rates, and face greater medical consequences from alcohol and smoking than men. This final episode in a four-part series covers side effects, drug metabolism, drugs of abuse, urine incontinence, and what we do — and don't — know about prescribing for transgender patients.

CME: Take the CME Post-Test for this Episode
Published On: 07/13/2026
Duration: 17 minutes, 37 seconds

Chris Aiken, MD and Kellie Newsome, PMHNP have disclosed no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Estrogen shapes nearly every neurotransmitter system in the brain, and when it starts to fall, psychiatric disorders often follow. This episode walks through what psychiatrists need to know about the perimenopause: which conditions worsen, which treatments help, and when to call the OB-GYN about hormone replacement therapy.

CME: Take the CME Post-Test for this Episode
Published On: 07/06/2026
Duration: 18 minutes, 37 seconds

Chris Aiken, MD and Kellie Newsome, PMHNP have disclosed no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Premenstrual hormones can destabilize mood, worsen ADHD, trigger psychosis, and drive binge eating. This episode walks through the tools to manage hormonal fluctuations in female patients, from SSRIs to overlooked supplements to the lamotrigine-contraceptive drug interaction.

CME: Take the CME Post-Test for this Episode
Published On: 06/23/2026
Duration: 23 minutes, 32 seconds

Chris Aiken, MD and Kellie Newsome, PMHNP have disclosed no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Women and men respond to psychiatric medications differently. In this first of a four-part series, Chris Aiken and Kellie Newsome walk through why valproate is risky for women, and when it’s worth using; why the FDA cut the zolpidem dose in half for female patients, and why SSRIs outperform tricyclics in women with depression. Plus: a sneak preview of DSM-6.

CME: Take the CME Post-Test for this Episode
Published On: 06/22/2026
Duration: 27 minutes, 32 seconds

Chris Aiken, MD and Kellie Newsome, PMHNP have disclosed no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Psilocybin is going mainstream: Trump has signed an executive order opening psychedelics to patients with severe mental illness, and one in eight American adults has already tried it. But as we dig into the research, a more complicated picture emerges, one that separates the profound personal experience from the clinical evidence.

CME: Take the CME Post-Test for this Episode
Published On: 06/15/2026
Duration: 18 minutes, 34 seconds

Chris Aiken, MD, and Kellie Newsome, PMHNP, have disclosed no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.