Interventional Approaches to Treatment-Resistant Mood Disorders

Joshua Berman, MD, PhD, discusses how careful evaluation, patient priorities, and risk-benefit tradeoffs guide the use of interventional treatments when conventional approaches fall short. Dr. Berman also explains how tools such as ketamine, TMS, ECT, and neurofeedback can be used strategically—sometimes in sequence or combination—to address different vulnerabilities within mood-related brain circuits.

Dr. Berman is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Interventional Psychiatry at NYU Langone Health.

▶️ Watch Insights on Psychiatry on YouTube

00:47 What Is Interventional Psychiatry?
02:33 Evaluating Treatment-Resistant Presentations
06:31 Precision, Patient Priorities, and Clinical Judgment
09:35 Sequencing and Combining Interventions
10:40 Limits of Treatment Guidelines
12:18 The Future of Interventional Psychiatry
13:23 Emerging Technologies: Neurofeedback and Focused Ultrasound
17:15 Building a Comprehensive Interventional Program
18:13 Tools vs. Understanding Brain Circuits

This episode is intended for psychiatrists, mental health clinicians, and others interested in interventional approaches to complex psychiatric disorders.

This discussion is for educational purposes and does not substitute for individual clinical judgment or patient care.

Senior Producer: Jon Earle