Finding Something in Nothing: Patient-Centered Approaches to Resolve Emotional Blunting in Major Depressive Disorder -- An Integrated Educational Initiative

TARGET AUDIENCE:
This activity is designed to meet the needs of psychiatrists, primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, registered nurses, and other healthcare professionals involved in the diagnosis and long-term management of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
Emotional blunting (EB) is one of the most highly reported and subjectively disruptive symptoms in patients with MDD. As EB can inhibit the ability to achieve full functional recovery in affected patients, proactive screening for and monitoring of this symptom are critical in helping patients achieve complete and sustained improvement in MDD. This CME initiative utilizes expert-led discussion to tackle common challenges and misconceptions in recognizing and resolving EB. To provide context for the reasoning behind and feasibility of recommended faculty strategies, verbatims from interviews with real patients are integrated throughout.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:
• Appraise the utility and practicality of available tools and strategies (e.g., Oxford Depression Questionnaire) to screen for and evaluate EB in MDD to select the most appropriate assessments to incorporate into routine practice.
• Evaluate published research and expert experience with pharmacological strategies (e.g., vortioxetine, bupropion) in the mitigation and/or resolution of EB to better facilitate complete recovery for patients with MDD.
• Discuss candidacy and expectations for antidepressant treatment and/or incorporation of non-pharmacologic approaches (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy) in patients with emotional blunting in order to effectively counsel patients about available treatment options and optimize therapy based on individual patient needs.