Sharon Packer, MD

As physicians first, psychiatrists must consider the big picture, without reflexive and thoughtless prescriptions for psychotropics—even if many, including medical professionals, assume that is all we do.

As typically happens in the aftermath of suicide—years or even decades later—we wonder what we could have said or should have seen.

Social distancing and virtual happy hours may tempt you to reach for the alcohol. Dr Packer explains why tea is a better alternative.

Wordsworth showed us stress and anxiety can be combatted with simple joys, like flowers. Dr Packer elaborates further.

Refreshed sleep can be tough even during normal times. With up to 30% of Americans experiencing sleep problems, here are guidelines to a better night’s sleep.

Virtual happy hours abound, but this is also quite worrisome, especially for those struggling with alcohol and substance use. Alternative solutions are offered in this video.

At a time when preserving public health is our highest priority, why would we want to encourage excessive alcohol use among the vulnerable?

It’s been tornados, volcanoes, epidemics, and more. Now we have COVID-19; is the coronavirus here to stay?

We often hear about seasonal affective disorder, but we don’t talk much about “winter woes.” Amaryllis offers something for everyone, for it encourages celebrations on many occasions, over as many months.

Dysdiadochokinesia was a hard word to remember-and an impossible one to forget.

Doing a review of systems wasn’t “rocket science,” as they say-but it was a classic example of medical science and of why psychiatrists are physicians first.

A review of the video game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and implications for psychiatry.

Her mention of gardens got me to thinking, not just about fragrant flowers but also about “symptom substitution,” an old-time favorite of behavioral psychologists. Which activities most resemble hair-pulling? Weeding, for one.

How does a pituitary result in a psychiatric emergency? Read more clues to this clinical puzzle.

What does mandated electronic prescribing have to do with that old show, Twilight Zone?

Unrelenting belief in the goodness of humankind while confronting an uncommon disease.

Today’s psychiatrists rarely have the luxury of time enjoyed by our fin-de-siècle forebears. So a few quick questions for the right patients can offer a big payoff. Here's a case in point.

Psychiatrists increasingly recognize that not all treatments for depression are created equal-but in this case, an entirely different diagnosis came to light.

The patient did not just scream for more medication-he literally rolled on the floor, ranting and raving and demanding higher doses. Some may write him off as an "addict," but this case reaffirms the value of studying medicine before practicing psychiatry or psychopharmacology.

Is it possible to add creative twists to proven therapeutic techniques in order to encourage reluctant patients to try safe and effective treatments that we believe can benefit them? After reading the case, tell us what you think.

This film is a must-see for psychiatrists, not because it adds new information about the course of Alzheimer disease or its impact on families, but because it forces us to rethink issues that can affect our clinical practice.

The main character of Guardians of the Galaxy directly connects to psychiatry and comments on continuing controversies about patient care and health care delivery systems.

This sunflower at the 9/11 Memorial said that a ray of sunshine remains, and that life blooms anew, in spite of the losses.

Until I attended the recent Graphic Medicine conference at Johns Hopkins, I did not appreciate the skyrocketing popularity of “graphic novels” as “illness narratives,” writes this psychiatrist.

With regard to visual adverse effects in patients who take psychotropic medications, new is not always better or safer. More in this Brief Communication.

There has been a lot of publicity about hearing loss as a predisposing factor to depression and dementia. What about visual problems? These questions and more in this expert Q&A.

It seems ironic that the Oedipus myth about self-inflicted blindness is so central to psychiatry, but there are few guidelines on treating sensory loss. Here, the evolution of an APA workshop on treating patients with visual impairments.

What differentiates this film from other Holocaust documentaries is that it documents the bonds between 4 Israeli-born siblings, recently bereaved, as much as it documents details about the fate of their father at the hands of Hitler’s henchmen.

When Wordsworth rhapsodized about yellow flowers, it is doubtful that he expected his verse to translate into the mental health realm. Yet that is exactly what happened.