31.1 Functional Psychiatry with James Greenblatt, MD

Join me as I sit down with Dr. James Greenblatt, MD, to discuss his work within the field of what's called functional, or integrative psychiatry.  Dr. Greenblatt uses many of the tools he learned in medical school paired with an integrative critical thinking approach.  He tests for mineral and vitamin deficiencies, indirect markers of neurotransmitter abnormalities, AND ensures every patient gets a full medical workup to rule out medical causes of depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism, bipolar, schizophrenia, and many more psychiatric diagnoses.  Dr. Greenblatt is anti-DSM due to its' primary focus on subjective symptom reports, which oftentimes substantially overlap between so-called 'distinct' psychiatric disorders, and instead tries to gather as much objective information and data as possible in order to help treat his patients.  We talk about the role of, not just high doses of lithium in bipolar disorder but also, low doses of lithium for irritability, impulsivity, and cognitive rigidity, with underrecognized (and sometimes incredible) results in ADHD and autism, as well as any suicidal patient. While some view Dr. Greenblatt's approach as 'quackery,' I'm here to tell you I've started to test for some of the same things and am finding abnormalities in lab work that guide my treatment, and now I'm starting to see results in my patients.  It's so much more exciting than the machine-gun-full-of-SSRIs traditional approach to practicing psychiatry, where 75% of the algorithms dictate that I prescribe an SSRI for everything from depression to anxiety to autism to post partum symptoms to eating disorders and OCD, etc. etc.  Practicing 'idiot' medicine is not why I went into medicine and Dr. Greenblatt offers a unique and holistic approach that combines techniques of traditional psychiatry with this new wave of a more functional approach. If you're passionate about what we do here at Renegade Psych, we're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support our work, you can! Or not... I'll continue putting out content as long as my other jobs pay the bills.  Other things you can do: liking, commenting, and sharing our posts also go a long way! https://patreon.com/RenegadePsych. Thanks for listening to the audio podcast... You should check out our posted video podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaZ1bds1MGMM4tSbY7ISqug) as there are graphics overlaying the video to make it all more interactive and educational.  For more social media content, check us out on all social media platforms @RenegadePsych. If you have any comments, questions or challenges to the information we've presented here, if you'd like to be a guest to the show, or if you have general comments, questions, or suggestions, email us at [email protected] and follow the link https://renegade-psych.podcastpage.io/  to our website for source material, transcripts, and additional links for my guests. If you feel passionate about our message and what we're trying to do, and you'd like to donate, you can also follow the link in the show notes to our website. Disclaimer, this podcast is for informational purposes only. The information provided in this podcast and related materials are meant only to educate.  This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. While I am a medical doctor and many of my guests have extensive medical training and experience, nothing stated in this podcast nor materials related to this podcast, including recommended websites, texts, graphics, images, or any other materials should be treated as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. All listeners should consult with a medical professional, licensed mental health provider or other healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment