About The Course
Schizophrenia Management Guidelines introduces the 2026 ANZJP GRADE recommendations through a practical, clinician-focused lens. Led by Professors Dan Siskind and Shuichi Suetani, this course helps clinicians interpret graded evidence, apply recommendations to real-world care, and approach antipsychotic selection, physical health monitoring, psychosocial interventions and shared decision-making with greater clarity across different stages of schizophrenia 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.
- On completion of this course, participants will receive a course completion certificate and 1.5 CPD hours.
What You'll Learn
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the architecture of the 2026 ANZJP GRADE guidelines and how strong and conditional recommendations apply in clinical practice.
- Review first-episode psychosis assessment, including organic differentials, baseline investigations and longitudinal physical health monitoring.
- Apply principles of antipsychotic selection, balancing efficacy, tolerability, side-effect burden and patient priorities across different stages of care.
- Summarise evidence for psychological and psychosocial interventions, including options when medication is declined.
- Consider key domains in schizophrenia care, including comorbidity, substance use, lifestyle and physical health, family/whānau/carer involvement and special populations.
Course Programme
5 Modules | Guideline-Based Clinical Update | 1.5 hours total length
- Why updated schizophrenia guidelines are needed in contemporary practice
- How the ANZJP GRADE guidelines were developed
- Lived experience and consumer consultation in guideline development
- Understanding strong, weak and conditional recommendations
- Comprehensive assessment in first-episode psychosis
- Organic and secondary causes of psychosis
- Baseline investigations, physical examination and clinical red flags
- Indications for MRI, neuronal antibody testing and targeted investigations
- Longitudinal cardiometabolic monitoring and modifiable risk factors
- First-line antipsychotic choices and “start low, go slow” prescribing
- Balancing efficacy, tolerability, side-effect burden and patient priorities
- Switching antipsychotics and identifying treatment-resistant schizophrenia
- Clozapine, long-acting injectables and augmentation strategies
- Managing cardiometabolic, prolactin-related and extrapyramidal side effects
- Medication discontinuation, relapse risk and follow-up planning
- Psychoeducation, CBT for psychosis and relapse prevention
- Cognitive remediation and metacognitive therapy
- Clinical options when medication is declined
- Family, whānau and carer involvement in collaborative schizophrenia care
- Psychiatric comorbidity, including depression, anxiety, trauma and substance use
- Lifestyle interventions, including physical activity, diet, sleep, smoking and oral health
- Cultural safety, rural and regional care, and special population considerations
- Workforce issues, system barriers and coordinated care across clinical settings
- Clinician Q&A on prescribing, clozapine, metformin, GLP-1 agents and primary care roles
Course Description
The ANZJP GRADE Guidelines for the Management of Schizophrenia 2026
This on-demand webinar on Schizophrenia Management Guidelines is led by Professor Dan Siskind and Professor Shuichi Suetani, providing a clinically grounded overview of the 2026 ANZJP GRADE recommendations. Designed for psychiatrists, GPs, mental health nurse practitioners, psychologists and clinicians involved in schizophrenia care, the course focuses on how guideline recommendations can be interpreted and applied in real-world practice.
Guideline Architecture and Clinical Application
The course begins by exploring the architecture of Schizophrenia Management Guidelines, including how the ANZJP GRADE framework was developed, the role of lived experience and consumer consultation, and how strong, weak and conditional recommendations should inform clinical decision-making. Rather than presenting guidelines as a fixed algorithm, the course emphasises applying evidence alongside patient priorities, clinical context, feasibility and risk–benefit considerations.
Assessment, Monitoring and Treatment Sequencing
The next section applies Schizophrenia Management Guidelines to first-episode psychosis assessment and physical health monitoring. Participants review comprehensive assessment, organic and secondary causes of psychosis, baseline investigations, physical examination, clinical red flags, targeted use of MRI and neuronal antibody testing, and longitudinal cardiometabolic monitoring.
The course then examines antipsychotic selection and treatment sequencing across different stages of care, including first-line antipsychotic choices, “start low, go slow” prescribing, switching strategies, treatment resistance, clozapine, long-acting injectables, augmentation approaches, side-effect management and medication discontinuation.
Assessment, Monitoring and Treatment Sequencing
The next section applies Schizophrenia Management Guidelines to first-episode psychosis assessment and physical health monitoring. Participants review comprehensive assessment, organic and secondary causes of psychosis, baseline investigations, physical examination, clinical red flags, targeted use of MRI and neuronal antibody testing, and longitudinal cardiometabolic monitoring.
The course then examines antipsychotic selection and treatment sequencing across different stages of care, including first-line antipsychotic choices, “start low, go slow” prescribing, switching strategies, treatment resistance, clozapine, long-acting injectables, augmentation approaches, side-effect management and medication discontinuation.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Interpret the architecture of the 2026 ANZJP GRADE guidelines and apply strong and conditional recommendations in clinical practice
- Review first-episode psychosis assessment, including organic differentials, baseline investigations and longitudinal physical health monitoring
- Apply principles of antipsychotic selection, balancing efficacy, tolerability, side-effect burden and patient priorities across different stages of care
- Summarise evidence for psychological and psychosocial interventions, including options when medication is declined
- Integrate comorbidity, physical health, family/carer involvement and special population considerations into schizophrenia care
This on-demand webinar supports clinicians to move beyond awareness of updated guidelines toward practical application in assessment, prescribing, psychosocial care and long-term management. It is designed to help participants use contemporary schizophrenia guidance with greater clarity, flexibility and confidence in everyday clinical practice.
Related Courses:
- Schizophrenia: Advanced Clinical Approaches & Training for Psychiatrists – To build on the guideline-focused learning in this on-demand webinar, clinicians may find this course particularly valuable for strengthening their broader understanding of schizophrenia diagnosis, staging, aetiology, and pharmacological and non-pharmacological management.
- Antipsychotic Induced Weight Gain and Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) – Clinicians interested in the physical health and cardiometabolic monitoring aspects of schizophrenia care may find this course highly relevant. It provides a deeper exploration of antipsychotic-associated weight gain, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, monitoring algorithms, and pharmacological and non-pharmacological management strategies.
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 ANZJP GRADE Guidelines for the Management of Schizophrenia 2026.
This on-demand course, The ANZJP GRADE Guidelines for the Management of Schizophrenia 2026 with Prof Dan Siskind and Prof Shuichi Suetani, is offered in both video and audio formats. Participants receive a completion certificate and 1.5 CPD hours upon completion.
Strengthen clinical decision-making in schizophrenia care through evidence-based guidance on assessment, antipsychotic selection, physical health, psychosocial interventions and collaborative long-term management.
Course Information
- 1.5 hours
- 1.5 CPD
Inclusions
- Over 1.5 Hours of Video Lecture
- Course Completion Certificate
Material Downloads
- certificate
Instructors
Professor Shuichi Suetani Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Public Health, UQ | Community Psychiatrist
Professor Shuichi Suetani is a community psychiatrist in Queensland. Alongside his psychiatry training, Shuichi completed a PhD exploring the epidemiological relationships between physical activity and mental disorders. Shuichi has numerous publications in high-impact journals, including The Lancet Psychiatry and JAMA Psychiatry. He is Associate Editor for Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology and the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, and also sits on the Editorial Board of the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Professor Dan Siskind Professor of Psychiatry | Clinical Academic Psychiatrist | Schizophrenia Researcher
Professor Siskind trained as a psychiatrist in Australia and the United States. He works clinically as a psychiatrist in Brisbane, Australia, with people with treatment-refractory schizophrenia. His research interests include treatment-refractory schizophrenia, clozapine and the physical health comorbidities associated with schizophrenia. He has over 300 publications and AU$60 million in competitive research grants, with over AU$7 million as Chief Investigator.
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.
