Laura Melaro, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC

Before any prescription is written, non-pharmacologic strategies and a structured framework guide the panel's approach to agitation, alongside a biological explanation for why redirection so often fails.

Agitation does not stay contained to the patient. The panel examines the data linking agitation to caregiver burden, and the communication gaps that complicate coordinating care across specialties.

Distinguishing agitation from depression, anxiety, and psychosis shapes everything that follows in treatment. The panel walks through the clinical differences and where formal screening scales genuinely fit into daily practice.

Agitation eventually affects nearly every patient with Alzheimer's disease, yet it rarely looks like simple aggression. The panel outlines how common it is, the many forms it takes, and why it so often goes unrecognized.

Why behavioral health integration still stalls: workforce shortages, cross-training wins, and collaborative care tips from frontline

Clinicians unpack integrated behavioral health: collaborative care, cross-training, and workforce gaps shaping better outcomes for severe mental illness.