About The Course
Marginal Gains in Psychiatry offers clinicians a fresh perspective on improving outcomes in complex mental health care. Drawing on evidence and clinical experience, Professor Michael Berk demonstrates how small, incremental changes across biological, psychological, lifestyle, and systems factors can compound into meaningful recovery. This on-demand course provides a practical framework for integrating marginal gains into clinical formulation, empowering practitioners to deliver more effective and personalised patient care.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is suitable for:
- Psychiatrists
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (MHNPs)
- Psychologists
- Mental health professionals
- Clinicians working in or expanding into psychiatry and mental health care
Accreditation Information:
- Psychiatry Accreditation: This course is available for self-accreditation with the RANZCP and other relevant psychiatric and mental health organisations.
- GP Accreditation: This course is available for self-accreditation with RACGP for general practitioners.
What You'll Learn
- How to integrate the philosophy of marginal gains with clinical formulation to better understand patients’ risk pathways.
- Practical ways to apply small, evidence-based improvements across biological, psychological, lifestyle, and systems factors.
- How to combine treatment strategies into a personalised, holistic management plan.
- Why multidisciplinary, incremental changes can significantly improve long-term recovery and patient outcomes.
Course Programme
5 Units | 19 Modules | 1.5 hours total length
- Introduction to Marginal Gains Concept
- Complexity of Mental Health Disorders
- Limitations of Single-Intervention Approaches
- Lifestyle Interventions
- Exercise and Mental Health
- Nutrition and Diet
- Smoking Cessation
- Optimising Sleep
- Pharmacological Approaches
- Combination Therapies
- Psychotherapy Integration
- Holistic Treatment Planning
- Therapeutic Alliance
- Building Social Support
- Meaning and Purpose
- Caregiver Interventions
- Precision Psychiatry & Clinical Formulation
- Continuity of Care
- Emerging Treatments and Research
Course Description
Marginal Gains in Psychiatry: A Framework for Clinical Care
Marginal Gains in Psychiatry offers a fresh lens on complex mental health care, showing how incremental improvements across multiple domains can transform patient outcomes. In this on-demand course, Professor Michael Berk introduces clinicians to a systematic, evidence-based framework that combines performance science with psychiatric practice.
Tailored for psychiatrists, general practitioners, psychologists, and other mental health professionals, the course blends scientific depth with practical clinical relevance. Participants will learn to integrate clinical formulation in psychiatry with marginal gains to create personalised care strategies.
Core Principles and Modifiable Risk Factors
The course begins with the foundations of marginal gains and the limitations of single-intervention approaches. Professor Berk examines the complexity of psychiatric disorders and highlights modifiable risk factors such as sleep, exercise, diet, smoking cessation, and lifestyle change, that can be strategically targeted for lasting benefit.
Treatment Strategies and Integrated Care
Building on these foundations, the course explores evidence-based treatment strategies across pharmacological, psychotherapeutic, and lifestyle domains. Professor Berk demonstrates how clinical formulation in psychiatry provides the framework to combine these interventions into cohesive, personalised plans. Multidisciplinary care, therapeutic alliance, social support, and caregiver involvement are emphasised as critical drivers of sustainable recovery.
Advanced Approaches and Emerging Insights
The final unit introduces advanced clinical perspectives, including precision psychiatry, continuity of care, and the role of emerging treatments. With real-world examples and practical applications, participants will see how small, evidence-based adjustments can accumulate into substantial, measurable gains in patient outcomes.
Each unit includes lecture content with clinical examples and practical applications to support implementation of the marginal gains approach in practice.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Apply the philosophy of Marginal Gains in Psychiatry by integrating it with clinical formulation to map individual risk pathways.
- Identify multiple leverage points for intervention across biological, psychological, lifestyle, and systems-based domains.
- Combine incremental, evidence-based treatment strategies into a cohesive and personalised management plan.
- Evaluate the role of multidisciplinary, small-scale improvements in driving sustainable patient recovery and improved outcomes.
Advance your practice with this on-demand course led by Professor Michael Berk. Enrol today to apply marginal gains and transform psychiatric care.
While our Academy members enjoy exclusive access to a range of courses and webinars (including this course) with their annual membership, we’re pleased to offer you the opportunity to purchase it individually! Click here – The Aggregation of Marginal Gains as a Philosophy of Clinical Care.
This on-demand course, The Aggregation of Marginal Gains as a Philosophy of Clinical Care with Prof Michael Berk, is offered in both video and audio formats. Participants receive a completion certificate and 1.5 CPD hours upon completion.
Related Courses
Advanced Psychiatric Formulation and Strategic Management – A 2 Part Series: This masterclass provides clinicians with a structured framework for developing multidimensional, mechanism-informed formulations that integrate biological, psychological, developmental, and sociocultural factors. It supports more precise, personalised treatment planning—an approach closely aligned with the incremental, systems-based philosophy underpinning marginal gains in clinical care.
Sleep and Psychiatry: Neuropsychiatric and Precision Approaches: This course examines the neurobiology of sleep and its influence on mood, cognition, and psychiatric symptomatology, providing clinicians with practical tools to recognise and manage sleep-wake disturbances. It aligns closely with the marginal gains philosophy by highlighting a high-impact, modifiable domain where small, targeted interventions can meaningfully improve patient outcomes.
Advanced ADHD Psychopharmacology: Medications, Neuroscience & Prescribing Guidelines for Clinicians: This course offers a clear, mechanism-informed understanding of ADHD neurobiology and the pharmacological differences between stimulant and non-stimulant treatments. It supports clinicians in optimising medication strategies through precise, evidence-based adjustments, an approach consistent with the incremental, high-impact principles underpinning marginal gains in clinical care.
Gain practical insights into clinical formulation in psychiatry, applying incremental, evidence-based strategies to create personalised, multidisciplinary treatment plans that improve patient outcomes and support sustainable recovery in mental health care.
Course Information
- 1.5 hours
- 1.5 CPD
Inclusions
- 1 Hour of Video Lecture
- Course Completion Certificate
Material Downloads
- certificate
Instructors
Prof Michael Berk Guest Speaker - MBBCH MMed FF(Psych)SA FRANZCP PhD FAAHMS FASSA Professor at Deakin University
Professor Michael Berk is currently an NHMRC L3 research Fellow and is Alfred Deakin Chair of Psychiatry at Deakin University and Barwon Health, where he heads the Institute for Innovation in Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT). He is also an Honorary Professorial Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, the Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health and Orygen Youth Health at Melbourne University, as well as in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. He has published over 1600 papers and is listed by Thompson Reuters ISI as highly cited (2015-2023). His major interests are in the discovery and implementation of novel therapies.
Dr. Sanil Rege Host - MBBS, MRCPsych, FRANZCP
With extensive teaching experience through psychiatry education initiatives, Sanil is recognised as a motivational training facilitator and educator who promotes insightful collaboration and discussion
As the Academic Lead of Psych Scene and Chief Editor of Psych Scene Hub, he aspires to make a difference in mental health by empowering Healthcare Professionals to advance their skills and career through the provision of specialised education and training
Sanil is also founder of Vita Healthcare, a private clinic in Mount Eliza specialising in adult mental healthcare, with over 20 years of clinical experience and 13 years of private practice experience treating disorders across the spectrum. He currently works in the community, across in-patient, consultation-liaison and addiction psychiatry spaces.
