Women are peri and postmenopausal for a third of their lives. The perimenopause is associated with relapses or emergence of mental disorder and is a risky period, with increased and rising suicide rates and a increased morbidity and psychosocial consequences (e.g. relationship breakdown and job loss). The understanding of menopause is of growing public interest but historically has been ignored or minimised in mental health services; this is beginning to change. Dr Louise Newson’s session at last year’s congress piqued interest and we want to continue the conversation about how menopause should be managed in mental health services.
This session will be an essential for any psychiatrist treating peri and post-menopausal patients. The session is coproduced with experts by experience and we will bring together personal accounts, research evidence and share good practice strategies. We will present new evidence around the endocrinological and neurological changes seen in the menopause. We will examine the phenotype of perimenopausal depression, discuss assessment and treatment of perimenopausal mood disorder and consider the need for it to be a separate diagnostic entity. We will close with a panel discussion with experts by experience and clinicians discussing good clinical practice strategies.
This session will enable you to:
- Understand the basic endocrinological changes seen at menopause.
- List common psychological symptoms associated with the perimenopause.
- Describe the impact of the perimenopause on the presentation and management of comorbid mental disorder.
- Recognise perimenopausal low mood and depression and discuss management strategies.
- Consider the potential pros and cons of and indications for hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
- Consider strategies to improve mental health services for perimenopausal patients.
Chair: Devika Patel, Black Country NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley, United Kingdom
Jayashri Kulkarni, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Arianna Di Florio, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
Dr Sophie Behrman, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
Katherine Cannon, expert by experience
Nadira Awal
Suzy Crowe
