Treatment Of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms

By Lynn L. West, PhDc, BCETS, LCPC

Lynn L. West & Associates, LLC

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Treatment Of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms

Optimal health requires balanced neural, endocrine and immune system functioning. Disturbances in any of the three systems create imbalances that underlie all neuropsychiatric and medical conditions. All three systems have neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, hormones, chemokines, and cytokines. Deficiencies or imbalances in any of the three systems impacts the other systems and result in symptomatic expression. Thus, similar clinical presentations can stem from multiple root causes. Urinary and salivary neurotransmitter and hormone biomarkers serve as clinical correlates to a host of neuropsychiatric conditions. Therefore, neuro-endocrine-immune system laboratory testing to assess the chemical messengers associated with the three systems helps elucidate the different root causes of the same clinical presentation and focuses treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms more precisely. NEI profile testing rapidly assesses neuroendocrine imbalances and screens for immune system involvement. The profile guides treatment and further treatment decisions in complex cases by indicating what stressors are present, how the stressors are affecting the three systems, and providing information about whether the neural biomarkers are suggestive of underlying immune issues or are they primarily suggestive of psychoneurobiological issues. Treatment involves solving the immune issues first, before the most difficult psychoneurological issues can be resolved. Psychoneurological symptoms that may have an endocrine system or immune system component include problems involving namely anxiety; low mood; irritability; fatigue; impaired cognitive functioning involving attention, concentration, focus, memory and recall, communication, lack of motivation, inability to focus and sustain attention as well as ADHD; “Brain Fog”; complex trauma response including food and sexual addictions, dissociation, caffeine, alcohol, and/or CDS consumption; childhood behavioral issues; chronic sleep difficulties and disrupted sleep patterns; psychiatric disorders; anger discharges; and depression.
Under optimal circumstances, the nervous system is responsible maintaining homeostasis. As such, the nervous system regulates all other systems and processes involving emotion, metabolism, mood, cognitive functioning, and sleep. When the immune system is up-regulated both physical and psycho-neurological symptoms are produced. Psychoneurological symptoms can result from imbalances in the neurotransmitter, immune, and/or endocrine systems or from psychological, emotional, and physical insults and environmental stressors. Before the psychoneuropsychiatric symptoms can be treated, imbalances in the immune and endocrine systems have to be identified and treated first. Common physical symptoms seen in patients with psychoneuropsychiatric symptoms indicating a possible neuro-endocrine-immune imbalance include namely depression, chronic infections, chronic inflammatory disorders, autoimmune diseases, food sensitivities and environmental allergies, fibromyalgia, gastrointestinal problems, contact dermatitis, neuralgia, arthralgia, Paresthesias, Autism, frequent headaches, fatigue, aching, H-P-A axis disturbances, Restless Leg Syndrome, Sleep Apnea, and neurological diseases among others.
Psychoneuroimmunology is the practice of integrating biophysiology into the psychotherapeutic treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms, by examining the neuroedoimmune systems to rule/out immune system and hormone imbalances likely to be contributing to the neuropsychiatric symptoms. Neuro-endocrine-immune system urinary and salivary laboratory testing can quickly assess the biomarkers of all three systems and detect imbalances that can be used to guide intervention and clinical treatment decisions. NEI Laboratory testing is covered under most insurance companies and Medicare, with the exception of a couple of HMOs and Medicaid that do not cover the cost of the testing.