Arline Kaplan

A major participant in outreach efforts to Latino populations is the New Jersey Mental Health Institute, Inc (NJMHI), which recently launched the National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health.

Early findings from a national study are shedding light on differences in the type and prevalence of mental disorders in US-born and immigrant Latinos, as well as differences among Latinos from various countries of origin.

New Act by Congress Gives Boost to Autism Research

Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) is not yet on the radar screens of many psychiatrists, but it is more prevalent than panic disorder and warrants extensive research and attention, 2 experts on IED said recently.

While the ban on same-sex marriage is hotly debated between conservative groups and lesbians and gay men, several psychiatrists are researching and discussing how denial of same-sex marriage impacts mental health.

Although psychiatrists and other mental health professionals are more likely to be stalked than the average person, they receive little training regarding stalking.

BasicNeeds is a program in developing countries that works with individuals with mental illness or epilepsy, their families, and their communities to establish accessible treatment programs, satisfy basic needs, and reduce social marginalization and stigma.

Trichotillomania (hair-pulling) was once thought to be rare, but recent estimates indicate that it affects 2% of people.

As the new science content editor of Psychiatric Times, long-time contributor and editorial board member Ronald Pies, M.D., will collaborate with editors to expand the depth, breadth and credibility of the publication.

The U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have developed protocols for assessing soldiers returning from combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. With data showing that many veterans do not show psychiatric symptoms until three to six months after returning home, a new post-deployment assessment was created and is ready to roll out. In the meantime, a jump in PTSD cases led to an internal review at the VA.

Are all treatments for schizophrenia created equal? With Phase I of the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) study completed, five pharmacological options have been compared in an attempt to answer this question. Results from this portion of the trial have been released and are discussed.

How did the author of the controversial book Listening to Prozac become a psychiatrist instead of a writer as he had planned, and how did he manage to fulfill both career goals?

With one in six Iraqi War veterans exhibiting mental health problems, psychiatrists are faced with the challenge of reducing or averting the psychological wounds of war and preventing long-term, service-connected disabilities. At the 13th Annual Medicine Meets Virtual Reality Conference, new therapies using virtual reality were put to the test.

In Illinois, the Department of Public Health and a nursing home facility came under fire after two mentally ill residents were charged with murder. Two recent federal government reports look into the nature of nursing homes and their role as long-term care mental health facilities. Are nursing homes providing appropriate care for mentally ill patients or are these facilities merely being used as warehouses for mentally ill patients?

Methods for detecting possible abuse and how to help victims (even if they are unable to help themselves or leave their abuser).

Intrigued by preliminary research indicating that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish, fish oil and flaxseed may ameliorate symptoms in bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders, investigators have launched a series of double-blind trials evaluating fatty acids as adjunctive treatment. This article will discuss studies on bipolar disorder.

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), the primary source of statistical information on Americans' use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs, will be expanded in upcoming years to include substantial information on mental illness and state-level data on drug abuse, according to Nelba Chavez, Ph.D., administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

While managed care generally has limited inpatient care and contained short-term costs for mental health and substance abuse services, significant questions remain about how these changes in health care delivery affect the quality of care patients receive.

The passage of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which took effect Jan. 1, 1998, came amid dire warnings from edgy business groups that it would cause exorbitant cost increases in health insurance premiums or prompt a dramatic reduction of medical and surgical benefits. But a recently released report emphasized the affordability of mental health insurance coverage.

Urging psychiatrists and other physicians to stay abreast of "what's going on in the youth culture," social psychologist Lloyd Johnston, Ph.D., explained that one of every 16 students entering high school has tried the potentially neurotoxic MDMA (Ecstasy) and among high school seniors, one-quarter are daily cigarette smokers and nearly one-third are frequent binge drinkers.

After a teenager's suicide attempt, her desperate and bewildered parents dragged her to a mental health clinic. The 16-year-old admitted to drinking nearly every day and using an assortment of other illicit drugs. Only after a month in treatment did the clinician learn that the teenager had been molested when she was 8 years old by an uncle and threatened with death if she ever told her parents.

There is an increasing body of data that suggests there may be relationship between certain forms of childhood-onset OCD and previous Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal infections. They seem to have early-onset OCD, tic disorder, Sydenham's chorea and family history of tics. Sydenham's chorea, a major manifestation of rheumatic fever and a disorder generally limited to prepubertal children, is thought to be disease of basal ganglia, and the basal ganglia is thought to be involved in both Sydenham's chorea and OCD. Children with Sydenham's chorea frequently present with OCD symptoms.

Only eight weeks after beginning treatment for trichotillomania (hair pulling) at Stanford University Medical Center, Christina Pearson found herself being invited to appear on a local television show in Seattle to discuss the disorder.

Only eight weeks after beginning treatment for trichotillomania (hair pulling) at Stanford University Medical Center, Christina Pearson found herself being invited to appear on a local television show in Seattle to discuss the disorder.