Clinical Practice Guidelines

APA practice guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for the assessment and treatment of psychiatric disorders and are intended to assist in clinical decision making by presenting systematically developed patient care strategies in a standardized format.

APA makes the practice guidelines freely available to promote their dissemination and use; however, copyright protections are enforced in full. No part of these guidelines may be reproduced except as permitted under Sections 107 and 108 of the United States Copyright Act. For permission for reuse, visit our Permissions and Licensing Center. Also, visit PsychiatryOnline to access the guidelines and purchase the complete collection of guidelines and watches.

Other Practice Guidelines

• The Committee on Practice Guidelines has specifically reviewed the following practice guidelines and makes them available as additional information for psychiatrists:
  • ASAM Clinical Practice Guideline on Alcohol Withdrawal Management – 2020
  • VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline on the Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide - 2019
  • VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline on the Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Reaction - 2017
• APA guidelines generally describe treatment of adult patients. For the treatment of children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders, practice guidelines, updates, and parameters are available from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
• The VA/DOD provides clinical practice guidelines on a variety of major medical health issues, but also guidelines addressing mental health topics. They also provide summaries, pocket guides and patient/family tools.
• The ECRI Guidelines Trust™ is a database of clinical practice guidelines from around the world that is maintained by the ECRI Institute and publicly available. Guidelines must meet certain minimum criteria to be listed on the web page; however, those that meet IOM standards receive a TRUST Scorecard. This site is similar to the now-closed National Guideline Clearinghouse but is not affiliated with a governmental agency.

Other Practice Materials

• The Committee on Practice Guidelines has specifically reviewed the following documents and makes them available as additional information for psychiatrists:
  • QTc Prolongation and Psychotropic Medications - 2018 (APA Resource Document)
  • Psychiatric Aspects of Infertility - 2019 (APA Resource Document)
  • Practice Resource for Prescribing in Corrections - 2018 (American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law)
  • Guidelines for the Administration of Electroconvulsive Therapy - 2019 (Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists)
• APA Resource documents are collections of information, data, and reviews of the literature developed by APA components and staff. Like task force reports, they do not represent APA policy.
• For information on using telepsychiatry in your practice, please check out APA's Telepsychiatry Toolkit, which includes a tool kit, blog, videos, and a guide on best practices in videoconferencing-based telemental health.