Welcome to the Critical Care Psychiatry Special Interest Group!
Critical care psychiatry (CCP) focuses on the care of patients in critical care units as well as subsequent care for sequelae of critical illness and related interventions. The scope of critical care psychiatry is similar to general C-L psychiatry, but with higher focus on common issues in critical illness such as agitation, sedation, delirium, and many other complex neuropsychiatric syndromes.
For a more thorough introductory description, see this article from Psychiatric Times written by SIG members.
Want to hear from us?
Please join our listserv to get updates about SIG meetings, projects, and other discussions and opportunities. Joining the listserv also allows you to message the group.
How to join:
- From ACLP website, log in to your account
- Select Member Portal -> Edit Profile
- Scroll down to box labeled Special Interest Groups -> select Critical Care Psychiatry
- Scroll down and click UPDATE PROFILE
Leadership Team
Melissa P. Bui, M.D.
Chair
Dr. Bui completed medical school at the University of Virginia (2010), residency at the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Training Program (2014), and C-L fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (2015). She developed an embedded model of critical care psychiatry at BWH before relocating to Virginia and is now an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University where she leads a proactive model of psychiatric consultation in the medical respiratory intensive care unit. Publications:
Joseph D. Dragonetti, M.D.
Vice Chair
Dr. Dragonetti completed medical school at Penn State University School of Medicine (2014), residency at Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii (2018), and fellowship at The University of Texas at Austin, Dell Medical School (2023). He served as a psychiatrist in the U.S. Army from 2014-2022. He is currently the Associate Residency Director at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC.
Elisabeth A. Dietrich, M.D.
Secretary
Dr. Dietrich completed medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (2020), residency at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (2024), and fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (2025). She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at University of Virginia School of Medicine, where she serves as the Associate Medical Director of the Psychiatry Consult Service.
José Maldonado, M.D., F.A.C.L.P.
Chair Emeritus
Dr. Maldonado was the inaugural chair of the Critical Care Psychiatry SIG beginning in 2022. He has contributed innumerable works to the field of psychiatry and is currently co-editing the first textbook of critical care psychiatry. He is currently the John & Terry Levin Family Professor of Medicine and Associate Chair of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Recent Works by SIG Members
CCP SIG members are active in many scholarly publications and presentations. Here are some recent examples:
Psychiatric Annals 2025 issue with focus on critical care psychiatry. SIG member contributions include a guest editorial by Drs. Bui and Maldonado as well as articles about delirium, dyspnea, traumatic stress disorders, and post-intensive care syndrome. This is an excellent in-depth introduction to important topics in this field!
SIG members contributed to the APA Practice Guideline for the Prevention and Treatment of Delirium (available for purchase) and the APA Resource Document on Catatonia (also available from JACLP).
ACLP Webinars:
Dietrich EA, Bui, MP, Fipps DC. (May 2025). Take My Breath Away: Exploring the Benefits of Proactive Psychiatric Consultation for a Patient with Respiratory Depression after Parenteral Olanzapine and Lorazepam.
Li J, Dragonetti JD, Fipps DC. (July 2025). Is this NMS? Differentiating neuropsychiatric syndromes in critical illness.
Publications:
General Critical Care Psychiatry
- Bui MP. Critical Care Psychiatry. Chest
- Dietrich EA et al. C-L Case Conference: Proactive Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry in Critical Care. JACLP
- Matta SE et al. Facing intensive care: A guide for primary care providers. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord
- Sher Y et al. Dyspnea and Dyspnea-Associated Anxiety in the ICU Patient Population: A Narrative Review for CL Psychiatrists. JACLP
- Radhakrishnan V et al. An Analytic Review of Neuropsychiatric Syndromes in the Intensive Care Unit. J Intensive Care Med
- Matta SE et al. Serious suicide attempts: assessment and management. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord
- Praschan NC et al. C-L Case Conference: The Interaction Between Emotional Dysregulation and Chronic Critical Illness in a Patient With a Terminal Personality Disorder. JACLP
Delirium, Agitation, & Sedation
- Jiang S et al. A Critical Reappraisal of Haloperidol for Delirium Management in the Intensive Care Unit: Perspective from Psychiatry. J Clin Med
- Gunther MG et al. Mitigation of anxiety, agitation, and pain in critically ill patients. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord
- Rosen JH et al. Hypoactive Delirium: Differential Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord
- Gunther M et al. Stanford study of the validity of the pre-interventional preventive risk assessment (PIPRA) tool for at-risk elderly patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery. J Psychosom Res
- Johnson RJ et al. Diagnosis and Management of Medetomidine Withdrawal: Clinical Implications of the Shifting Illicit Opioid Landscape. J Acad Consult Liaison Psychiatry
Pharmacology & Toxicology
- Dragonetti JD et al. Safety of Intravenous Olanzapine in a General Hospital Population. J Clin Psychopharmacol
- Gunther M et al. Isoniazid-Associated Serotonin Toxicity in the Critical Care Setting: A Case Report. Cureus
Post-Intensive Care Syndrome and Other Sequelae
- Sayde GE. The evolving field of ICU survivorship(s). Chest
- Bienvenu OJ, Batwara S. Predictors of ICU Surrogates' States of Concurrent Prolonged Grief, PostTraumatic Stress, and Depression Symptoms. Crit Care Med
- Bienvenu OJ. A Promising New Intervention to Improve the Mental Health of Family Caregivers of Critically Ill Patients. Crit Care Med
- Fernando SM et al. Long-Term Mental Health Morbidity in Adult Survivors of COVID-19 Critical Illness: A Population-Based Cohort Study. Chest
- Drop DLQ et al. Effect of an intensive care unit virtual reality intervention on relatives´ mental health distress: a multicenter, randomized controlled trial. Crit Care
Other Important Works in Critical Care Psychiatry
- Sadlonova et al. Risk Stratification of QTc prolongation in Critically Ill Patients Receiving Antipsychotics for the Management of Delirium Symptoms. J Intensive Care Medicine
- Bui MP et al. Hospital Length of Stay With a Proactive Psychiatric Consultation Model in the Medical Intensive Care Unit: A Prospective Cohort Analysis. Psychosomatics
- Bienvenu OJ et al. Treatment of four psychiatric emergencies in the ICU. Crit Care Med
- Beach SR et al. Intravenous haloperidol: A systematic review of side effects and recommendations for clinical use. Gen Hosp Psychiatry
- Bienvenu OJ, Gerstenblith TA. Posttraumatic stress disorder phenomena after critical illness. Crit Care Clin
Relevant Seminal Works in Critical Care
- IBS Center: Monitoring Delirium in the ICU (Confusion Assessment Method, etc.)
- CIBS Center ABCDEF (“A to F”) Bundle Overview
- Society of Critical Care Medicine’s 2025 PADIS Guidelines (Lewis et al. A Focused Update to the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Pain, Anxiety, Agitation/Sedation, Delirium, Immobility, and Sleep Disruption in Adult Patients in the ICU)
- Duggan MC et al. The relationship between executive dysfunction, depression, and mental healthrelated quality of life in survivors of critical illness: Results from the BRAIN-ICU investigation. J Crit Care
- Herridge MS, Azoulay E. Outcomes after critical illness. NEJM
- Reade MC, Finfer S. Sedation and delirium in the intensive care unit NEJM
- Martyn JAJ et al. Opioid Tolerance in Critical Illness NEJM
- Smith BS et al. Introduction to drug pharmacokinetics in the critically ill patient. Chest
- Girard TD et al. Efficacy and safety of a paired sedation and ventilator weaning protocol for mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care (Awakening and Breathing Controlled trial): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet
- Devlin JW, Roberts RJ. Pharmacology of Commonly Used Analgesics and Sedatives in the ICU: Benzodiazepines, Propofol, and Opioids. Crit Care Clin
- Mart MF et al. Prevention and management of delirium in the ICU. Semin Respir Crit Care Med
- Cameron S et al. Early mobilization in the critical care unit: a review of adult and pediatric literature. J Crit Care
- Dubb R et al. Barriers and strategies for early mobilization of patients in intensive care units. Ann Am Thorac Soc