Creative Collaboration

The previous section provided a solid foundation in the content of psychopharmacology and a basic overview of how medications work to expand our readers understanding of the range of medication options for a variety of presenting problems and populations. 

As most therapists know, a single intervention is only part of the therapeutic process. In the case of starting medication it is equally, if not more, important to understand how to talk with your patients about medication, how to engage and collaborate with the medical professionals who prescribe your patients medication, and how to support your patients and their family members after your patient has started medication. We review these process issues in the following chapters. 

When our patients are taking medication, our mission is to form a multidisciplinary healthcare team that will work collabor-atively with each other, the patient, and the patient s family members. Forming this kind of team is easiest when the professionals are working in the same location. However, we recognize that most therapists do not work in settings that include primary care physicians and psychiatrists. When professionals who care for the same patient work in distant locations, it is often incumbent on the ther- 

Perhaps a physician started a patient on medication and simultaneously sent the patient to a therapist. In these situations, the patient can view therapy as the requirement to receive the psychotropic medication. Regardless of who suggested medication, it is important to understand the meaning the patient attaches to the suggestion. The following questions are helpful when medication is being considered. 

At what point in therapy was the idea of medication first discussed If the patient is already on medication at the first visit, starts medication shortly after the first visit, or starts medication midtherapy, the significance to the patient of the medication may vary. For example, if medication begins midtherapy, the patient may believe that medication is being tried because psychotherapy is not working. If the therapy begins at the same time the medication is started, the patient may credit any positive changes to only the medication or only the therapy. 

---

The positive one is that the uncertainties help build a more creative collaboration as team members work together on solving problems as they emerge. 

Chemical corporations and LBO firms may move toward a best of breed model in which the complementary skills and resources of these two types of players are effectively leveraged to benefit both. In this natural, not necessarily inevitable, convergence, those who move first to reach across their respective cognitive barriers for creative collaboration stand to gain the most... 

The evolution of the management of transvenous leads has been born out of the furnace of clinical care and the pathophysiology of lead dysfunction. Transvenous lead extraction is only one tool in the management tool chest. At first it wasn t much of a tool, just a rag tag group of ideas used by a few people trying to solve problems for patients without a solution. However, over the last 25 years and particularly with the visionary efforts of Dr. Charles Byrd and his creative collaboration with Cook Pacemaker Inc. (now Cook Vascular Inc.), transvenous lead extraction is not only a tool but an armory of techniques. 

Schrage M (1995) No more teams mastering the dynamics of creative collaboration. Currency Doubleday, New York... 

The effectiveness of PBL can be determined in terms of five components ownership, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and fun. The measure of these components is reflected in assessment rabrics. This PBL experience has encouraged the students in participation of project competitions to showcase the work carried out at various levels. These project competitions include various state and national levels like Impress-IT, JED-I, etc. 

Design engineering involves creativity, collaboration, and awareness, among other aspects. The practice of mindfulness helps direct the mind s attention to the assigned tasks and other variables that may affect the project. The engineering educator can remind the students about the importance of mindfulness in design, listening to the team members contfibutions for the benefit of the project and the people... 

---