HVVMS Webinar: Psychopharmacology for the Fearful and Anxious Patient
Event Details
Presented by: Andrea Tu, DVM
These lectures will review pharmacological treatments for the most common behavior condition: the fearful and anxious patient. We will review both fast-acting medications that can help to quickly get behavior concerns under control in the short term, as well as longer-to-act medications for long term management of behavior cases. We will also briefly cover supplements for those patients whose conditions are milder and may not need true medication, or for those clients who are psychopharmacologically hesitant.
Learning Objectives:
1. The drug mechanisms, doses, time to effect, and potential side effects of commonly used fast-acting and longer-to-act behavior medications, as well as a brief review of new and emerging behavior therapies.
2. What contraindications and drug interactions to monitor for, and how to best select a drug for patients with comorbid conditions such as seizure disorders or other metabolic conditions.
3. How to combine medications to best treat individual patients’ conditions and clients’ needs.
4. What steps to take when your psychopharmacological treatment does not achieve the desired results
5. The mechanism of action, doses, and time to effect of commonly used behavior supplements, and how to use them either as the only therapy or in combination with behavior medications.
For More Information:
Dr. Andrea Y. Tu, D.V.M., who grew up in Taipei, Taiwan and Lexington, Massachusetts, received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biopsychology from Barnard College of Columbia University in 2000. Afterwards, she spent 6 years researching developmental behavior at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and volunteering with human-animal bond outreach groups. Dr. Tu received her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2010, completed a Small Animal Medical and Surgical Rotating Internship at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls, New Jersey in 2011, then worked as a general practice and ER veterinarian in New York City for 6.5 years.
Presently, Dr. Tu is the Medical Director for Behavior Vets of New York, the only practice offering veterinary behavior services in New York City. She also serves as a board member and veterinary consultant with PAWS NY, an outreach group working to preserve, support, and nurture the human-animal bond for New York City’s most vulnerable residents. Dr. Tu’s primary professional interests include behavior, surgery and promoting the human-animal bond. She is currently researching feline welfare in single and multi-species homes. Dr. Tu has lectured nationally and internationally, published numerous research journal articles, has been interviewed by various print and video media, and is working towards becoming a board-certified veterinary behaviorist with the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists.
In her spare time, Dr. Tu, who is fluent in Chinese, enjoys fostering kittens for rescue groups as well as sampling various culinary offerings both in her hometown and internationally. She shares her home with a clicker savvy, training obsessed cat named Kahlua and her not-as-well-trained husband, Mark.