I would say definitely. But we always start with questions about the environment first. What is the environment around that person? What are the triggers for bad behaviors? Can we change the environment? Can we change the triggers? Thinking very carefully with a family about the environment of their loved one when you think about non-medicine based approaches, is incredibly important.
Absolutely, start with what you can do non-medically. And the truth is, the medicines we have for this are far from satisfactory. One of the things I always tell a loved one when I start working around a behavior is: I’m going to try some things, and first try non-medical—and then I think about medicines that might be helpful. But I always point out that none of these medicines may help the behavior.
This is an area we really need new solutions. I’m excited to hear about CBD. We hear it from patients. This is something that really needs a study. And my guess is, there will be select people who are exquisitely sensitive—in a good way—to this approach, and others where it might be deleterious. Sorting that out is really important so that we can make sure we put the right people on the right medicine.