Authors
Latest:
Late-Life Depression, Dementias- Top Educational Priorities for AAGPLack of energy, recurrent thoughts of death and difficulty with concentration are viewed by more than half of medical decision-makers in families as natural components of aging rather than as symptoms of clinical depression, according to a Louis Harris and Associates survey. Additionally, 93% of all adults polled said they believe depression is a normal side effect for those suffering from a medical condition.
Latest:
Childhood Adversities Associated With Risk for Suicidal BehaviorChildhood adversities associated with suicide risk include childhood maltreatment, problematic family relationships, socioeconomic hardship, and difficult relationships with peers. Acute suicide prevention strategies should focus on the treatment of contributory psychiatric disorders and on the crises that may precipitate suicidal behavior.
Latest:
Introduction: Navigating the Waters of Digital TechnologyModern communication capacities have the potential to decrease or to increase stigma and the isolation of persons with serious mental illness. Psychiatrists especially need to know how to navigate these largely uncharted waters.
Latest:
To Supplement or Not to Supplement: That Is the Bipolar Depression QuestionWith the multitude of nutritional products available to patients via the Internet and health-food stores, psychiatrists need to be prepared to respond to questions from patients about the value of these supplements.
Latest:
Family Involvement in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Children’s Anxiety DisordersCognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for children with anxiety disorders may be especially effective when the family is included in treatment.
Latest:
Shooting for What I Want, Part 2How time flies! It has been more than a year since my last column, when I staked my claim in psychiatry. I planned to eschew the medical rat race and find my own little piece of medicine as it used to be, when doctors were doctors, nurses were nurses, and insurance salespeople were . . . salespeople. Should one read anything into the long delay between that column and this one? Absolutely! But I'll get to that.
Latest:
Evolving Issues in Correctional PsychiatryThere is no disputing that the rapidly escalating rate of incarceration during the past decade in the United States has been associated with an increasing number of imprisoned individuals with a mental illness. Research indicates that as many as 20% of inmates in jail or prison are in need of psychiatric care, frequently because of a serious mental disorder.
Latest:
Dopamine Receptors in the Human BrainDopamine plays an important role in controlling movement, emotion and cognition. Dopaminergic dysfunction has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, mood disorders, attention-deficit disorder, Tourette's syndrome, substance dependency, tardive dyskinesia, Parkinson's disease and other disorders.
Latest:
Can We Predict Response to Antidepressants?In this article, we use the example of major depressive disorder (MDD) to review research efforts to identify predictors of treatment response, both to antidepressant medications and to psychotherapy. We describe the promises and limitations of this research, with some emphasis on brain imaging studies, and then discuss how this work may be integrated into clinical practice in the future.
Latest:
Consumer Advertisements for Psychostimulants in the United States: A Long History of Misleading PromotionThe prescription of psychotropic medications for children continues to be a controversial area of medical practice. In the United States, academic medical centers, medical researchers, prescribers, and the FDA are all ostensibly committed to the common goal of disseminating accurate information and promoting treatment based on scientific evidence. In the United States, however, medical treatment takes place in the context of legal and pervasive direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). There are concerns about the potential for DTCA to affect public health negatively and to increase health care costs.
Latest:
Psychiatry on the EdgeAt a time when our field is under attack from many quarters, it is critically important to be able to discuss what it is that we do as psychiatrists in a non-defensive and intellectually rigorous manner. Help here.
Latest:
Lessons in Mitigating ViolenceStrategies to reduce aggression in psychiatric treatment settings.
Latest:
Commentary Alcoholism and Free WillPsychiatrists, like the rest of America, continue to have trouble with alcoholic and other addicted patients. We are comfortable when patients want to get better, tell us the truth and come to treatment of their own free will, but alcoholics often don't fit this profile. We respond angrily when patients manipulate us. We are surprised when their sincere desire for help evaporates after we suggest a plan that will bring about real change.
Latest:
Genetic Testing for Psychiatric Disorders: Its Current Role in Clinical Psychiatric PracticeGenetics seems to be a subject of particular interest for everyone. This article explores how the current state of knowledge regarding genetics might be used to help psychiatrists diagnose psychiatric disorders or predict their onset.
Latest:
Treating Adolescent Depression With Psychotherapy: The Three TsDespite the high prevalence of depression among youths, there are empirically supported treatments that have been shown to reduce depressogenic symptoms, including the 3 therapies outlined in this article.
Latest:
6 Challenges in Assessing ADHD in Adult PatientsThe clinical presentation and functional impacts of ADHD in adults vary greatly from their child and adolescent counterparts.
Latest:
Inflammation and Treatment Resistance in Major Depression: The Perfect StormNew findings provide powerful evidence that inhibition of inflammation or its downstream effects on mood may open up a host of new approaches to treatment for depression, especially for patients with treatment-resistant depression.
Latest:
Transition Issues for Patients With Eating DisordersStrategies to decrease the chances that individuals will fall through the cracks in the college years.
Latest:
Mini Quiz: Micronutrients and DepressionMicronutrient deficiencies can bring about a range of mental health complications. Take the quiz and learn more.
Latest:
Autism Spectrum Disorders and Psychiatry: Update on Diagnostic and Treatment ConsiderationsWhat are the most effective assessment practices for ASD during the developmental stages of early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, and adulthood?
Latest:
Sudden Onset of Tics, Tantrums, Hyperactivity, and Emotional Lability: Update on PANS and PANDASIn the neuropsychiatric disorders PANS and PANDAS, we observe childhood illness with relationships between psychiatric symptoms, infection, and inflammation. Here are keys to early identification and treatment.
Latest:
Ethics and Virtues in Clinical PsychiatryCase-based dialogues illustrate some virtues required in psychiatric practice.
Latest:
Mini Quiz: Psychiatric Emergency Assessment of YouthsNearly half of children who present to emergency departments with self-harm receive no mental health assessment. What are the essential elements needed to interview children and adolescents in the context of a psychiatric emergency?
Latest:
Sexual Orientation: Neuroendocrine and Psychodynamic InfluencesIn this article we discuss psychoneuroendocrine influences on sexual orientation and the psychodynamics of internalized homophobia. Because of space limitations, we focus on homosexual orientation, although research in this area sheds light on heterosexual and bisexual orientation as well.
Latest:
Disparities and Opportunities in Mental Health Care for Women"There is an urgency for competent, thoughtful mental health care for women—not only because the differences have been ignored in the past, but because women’s mental health so often affects health and mental health outcomes for their children."
Latest:
Underdiagnosing and Overdiagnosing Psychiatric ComorbiditiesDiagnostic assessment of psychiatric disorders and their comorbidities is a challenge for many clinicians. In emergency settings, there is no time to conduct lengthy interviews, and collateralinformation is often unavailable.
Latest:
Apps for Suicide Prevention: What the Research SaysA review of smartphone tools for suicide prevention and recommendations for clinicians.
Latest:
Mental Health Disability: A Resident’s Perspective of Problems and SolutionsThe case for training residents to conduct evaluations of impairments in patients with chronic mental health issues.
Latest:
The Use of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Treatment of DepressionThis review provides an overview of the efficacy, safety, and mechanisms of action in the treatment of depression.
Latest:
Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can DoGrand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do is a controversial, opinionated book that discusses the effects of computer gaming on children.
