Claire Ginther

The benefits of psychotherapy in treating the chronically suicidal patient, as well as strategies that can help the potential suicide patient imagine and reflect others' reactions to this most final of acts, was the subject of a conference by Glen O. Gabbard, M.D., at the 11th Annual U.S. Psychiatric & Mental Health Congress. Gabbard is the Bessie Callaway Distinguished Professor of Psychoanalysis and Education at the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry and Mental Health Sciences.

Marc Schuckit, M.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, examined recent developments in the treatments for alcohol and drug dependence, and examined important changes in DSM-IV's classification of substance use disorder at the 11th Annual U.S. Psychiatric & Mental Health Congress.

When treating agitation in the elderly, the optimization of certain behavioral techniques may enhance medication therapies or sometimes eliminate the need for them. Clinicians should look more closely at the behavioral causes behind a demented older person's problem behavior.

This month establishes a milestone for CME LLC Not only is it the company's 11th annual U.S. Psychiatric & Mental Health Congress, it also marks the 20th anniversary of the company's first conference. CME LLC grew out of a desire to reach and educate more people regarding psychiatric issues. One way to do this was by developing high-quality continuing education opportunities.

Day in and day out, psychiatrists-especially those involved with couples therapy-counsel and treat patients experiencing relationship problems with their spouses or partners. But what about the psychiatrist having a similar problem in his or her own life? Who does a doctor turn to for guidance and insight regarding such intimate matters?

For reasons researchers are still trying to understand, clinical depression appears to be almost twice as common in women as in men. Why females are more prone to this debilitating disease than their male counterparts is still under investigation, although significant progress has been made.

The findings are disturbing. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in an effort to measure substance use and abuse among women, compiled data from its National Household Survey on Drug Abuse into a new report, Substance Use Among Women in the United States, which was released in September 1997. What they found is a worrisome indicator that substance use in this country is a significant problem for women, particularly among young girls ages 10 to 14.

The program, Strong STARTS (Schools Taking Action to Reach Troubled Students), is a model initiative targeting the growing number of adolescents suffering from untreated emotional disorders that impact academic performance, social achievement and positive lifestyle choices. The program's fall kickoff seminar began with a keynote address by Alvin Poussaint, M.D., clinical professor and faculty associate dean for student affairs at Harvard Medical School, and featured focus sessions and panel discussions by national and local experts.

This year at the 10th Annual U.S. Psychiatric & Mental Congress, CME LLC honored deserving recipients with the prestigious "Lifetime Achievement Award." The award winners for 1997 were recognized during a presentation ceremony in Orlando, Fla., in November.

Proponents of SB 694 argue that the doctoral-level training undertaken by psychologists qualifies them to deal with mental illness more so than most physicians. More than 75% of mental health prescriptions are written by general practitioners who have limited training in treating mental illness. They say it makes good sense to set up a system in which psychologists who meet additional educational requirements would be given the authority to prescribe medication. Opponents contend that the training provided for in the bill is inadequate. Many feel that as time brings new and significantly more powerful drugs for the treatment of mental disorders to the market, the arguments against psychologists prescribing will increase.

Annick Hollister has always loved to paint. Her parents, Hal and Patsy, remember that ever since the age of 3, art was a way for her to express herself when she couldn't convey her feelings in words.

How can the simple act of forgetting become the impetus for a psychiatrist to develop his own series of self-administered psychotherapy computer programs? According to John Greist, M.D., it began when he forgot to ask his patients important information during the interview process. He also became aware that the very way he formed the question would lead to different responses from the patient, depending on the person he was speaking with or their frame of mind.

When Natalie Rogers was very young, she would enter the living room of her home where her parents, renowned psychotherapist Carl Rogers and artist Helen Elliott Rogers, sat reading. She'd turn on some music, look over at them and say, "Please don't watch me." Then she would begin to dance, describing this blissful experience as "the music flowing through me." Little did she know these impromptu rituals would set the stage for her own important work that would expand on the humanistic principles of her father, yet encompass elements of the creative process itself.