Couch in Crisis

We listen carefully and use our empathic ability to both understand and provide support to our patients. This work is often at the heart of helping them become more reflective and gain the capacity to make adaptive changes in their internal realities.

"I walk back to her bedside and take her hand. I kiss her gently, hoping it won’t be the last. 'I’ll be back soon. You know I will always find you,'” writes the author in a personal account of life with her aging mother.

The typical trials of an teen working to understand sex and intimacy is compromised by an inappropriate power dynamic in this film, according to the authors.

The authors discuss two fundamental misconceptions: the myth of the patient’s autonomy, and the myth of the incurability of the patient’s illness.

In psychiatry, a “prosumer” is a mental health professional who has personally experienced mental illness. The prosumer can self-disclose that connection or not-Frederick Frese, PhD self-disclosed often, loudly, and clearly.

In this podcast, author Mark Lukach shares his experiences as the loved one of someone with new onset symptoms of mania, depression, suicidality, and psychosis.

Like the song New York, New York, if we can succeed in reducing suicide in physicians, we can do it anywhere.

Upon Charles Krauthammer's death, his friend George F. Will wrote that when asked about how he became a columnist, he remarked, "First, you go to medical school.”

More than any other medical specialty, we sometimes feel compelled, and empowered, to treat patients against their will. With this comes two great responsibilities.

The thorny issue of “end-of-life care” is likely to remain controversial in the US, with physicians themselves holding a wide variety of views.

This month's roundup features noteworthy stories from around the web: the humanitarian crisis at the border, new gaming disorder diagnosis, a medication investigation of over 26,000 adult patients, a boundary-busting neurologist, and physician and celebrity suicides.

A clinical psychiatrist and medical ethicist reviews some of the history, the data, the emerging reality of a remarkable slippery slope, and some profound ethical concerns raised by these practices.

Four psychiatrists have joined the distinguished members of our Editorial Board. And our Editorial Director passes the torch.

Why aren’t we Americans as happy as we should be, given all the wonderful things we have in our lives?

With greater expertise in user experiences, psychiatrists can position themselves to more strongly guide technology companies in building and implementing better apps.

Might a lower prevalence suggest that it is less a problem?

A tribute to the life and work of psychiatrist Walter Weintraub, MD.

Are they hallucinations or distortions?

The game looks disarmingly simple. In fact, it’s alarmingly complex.

A month ago, we opened a poll about the Goldwater Rule and its controversy regarding the mental status of President Donald Trump. Here's what we found.

Over the years, I have found a number of metaphors, adages, and even a parable to be helpful in letting my patients know that they have been heard and to provide them with psychological comfort and support.

The last major study of the prevalence of schizophrenia in the US was carried out in the early 1980s. The results from that study have been used for 3 decades.

A response from the NIMH director.

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

Between 2006 and 2016 the overall US suicide rate went up from 10.97 to 13.26 per 100,000 people. Those numbers may seem small, but they reflect an increase of just over 20% in these 10 years.

Labeling a (clinically unexamined) public figure as "dangerous" can do as much or more harm as promulgating a specific psychiatric diagnosis.

This author makes a case against paid peer support for people with mental illness.

The loss of our psychiatrist colleagues reminds us to appreciate them while they are alive.

How many of you support the APA position on the Goldwater Rule? Let us know in this poll.

While ostensibly The Butterfly Effect tells the story behind the wide availability of free internet pornography, the psychiatrist listener will quickly appreciate that this is only the beginning of the story.