Developed by the APA to assist in clinical decision making, the Practice Guidelines series has become an invaluable resource to help benchmark care strategies for 11 common mental disorders.

     The APA makes Practice Guidelines available to help improve patient care and give members access to the latest information and research. Intended as a professional resource and not a "standard of care", the Practice Guidelines provide convenient summaries of what we know about key mental disorders and the effectiveness of specific treatments.

The eleven Practice Guidelines are:

• Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias of Late Life
   
• Bipolar Disorder, Second Edition
   
• Borderline Personality Disorder
   
• Delirium
   
• Eating Disorders, Second Edition
   
• HIV/AIDS
   
• Major Depressive Disorder, Second Edition
   
• Panic Disorder
   
• Psychiatric Evaluation Of Adults
   
• Schizophrenia, Second Edition
   
• Suicidal Behaviors

These guidelines help you:

• Understand clinical features and symptoms
   
• Make a confident differential diagnosis
   
• Evaluate interventions commonly used to treat specific disorders
   
• Select the appropriate site of service
   
• Educate the patient and family
   
• Assess the efficacy and risks of available medications
   
• Develop an individualized treatment plan

     Interactive continuing medical education programs for many of the individual practice guidelines are available on the APA's web site (www.psych.org/cme). Each program offers Category 1 CME credits that are accepted by the APA and the American Medical Association.

     The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) has reviewed the APA Practice Guidelines CME Program and has approved it as part of a comprehensive lifelong learning program, which is mandated by the American Board of Medical Specialties as a necessary component of maintenance of certification.