Description
Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Discuss the biological basis of light and dark exposure including the role of the SCN and Melatonin on the brain.
2. Guide patients toward correct timing and positioning of light therapy.
3. Guide patients toward correct timing and use of dark therapy.
4. Identify disorders that respond to light therapy.
5. Identify disorders that respond to dark therapy.
6. Troubleshoot common problems that arise during light and dark therapy.
Description:
In this webinar we’ll be exploring the targeted, cutting-edge clinical applications of light and dark therapy. This session will move beyond the basics of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) to delve into the profound impact of circadian rhythms on complex mood disorders. You will gain practical, actionable insights into how structured light exposure and dark therapy (including blue-blocking protocols) can rapidly stabilize circadian biology, accelerate treatment response times, and offer non-pharmacological strategies for managing treatment-resistant depression, bipolar mania, and severe sleep-wake disturbances.
When light and dark therapy are used strategically, they can improve brain function, neurotransmitter regulation, and hormone production serve as powerful, low-risk, non-pharmacological interventions for several major mental health conditions.
Who Should Attend?:
• Physicians, Psychologists, Mental Health Nurses, Therapists
• Social Workers & Allied Professional Staff in Psychiatric settings
• Primary Care Physicians & Nurses; MH Staff in Community Settings
• Intake & Front-line Staff; Mental Health Managers and Educators
• Mental Health Nurses and Staff in Correctional & Forensic Settings
• Nurses in Pediatric Mental Health and Psycho-geriatric Settings
Chris Aiken, MD
Chris Aiken is the Editor-in-Chief of the Carlat Psychiatry Report, Mood Disorders Section Editor of Psychiatric Times, and an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry at New York University and Wake Forest Schools of Medicine. He has authored numerous books and peer-reviewed articles in psychiatry, most recently “Difficult to Treat Depression” in 2025. He began his career as a research assistant at the National Institute of Mental Health and went on to complete medical school at Yale and residency at Cornell and Duke Medical Centres. He remains active in research, and his work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals and books. He hosts the weekly Carlat Psychiatry Podcast with Kellie Newsome, PMH-NP, where the duo gives clear, engaging, and practical updates on clinical psychiatry.
