Psychiatric Times Vol 21 No 11

Settlements by two insurance companies in the RICO lawsuit could have an major impact on psychiatry practices.

Over the past quarter-century, new treatments for depression have emerged that are as effective as original pharmacotherapies but have fewer side effects. Yet, full remission and access to care remain out of reach for so many people. In this introduction to our Depressive Disorders Special Report, Dr. Golden encourages readers to see the glass as half-full.

An Illinois draft plan to screen children and pregnant women for mental illness has stirred controversy and raised questions about some elements of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health report. Some critics fear the Illinois case sets a worrying precedent for mental health care throughout the United States.

Whoever you are, I am writing to make contact, to get my message to someone who will understand. It is Friday, 7 p.m. and I've just finished my fifth phone call to a managed care automaton in 800-Land, my patient on a gurney in the ER with an IV in his arm, and they've finally agreed to pay for one hospital day.

The postpartum period represents a time of increased vulnerability for women, though postpartum disorders are often under-recognized and undertreated.

Given that a substantial minority of patients don't respond to monotherapy, clinicians may have to consider combined or augmentation therapy. According to the research, which drugs are most effective, and in which combinations?

Geriatric psychotherapy has begun to receive consistent and supportive attention in the psychiatric literature. Despite this growing interest in psychotherapy for older adults, studies of efficacy of either psychotherapy alone or of combined treatments for older patients are still limited in number, and more attention to the issue is needed.

Although light therapy is an old treatment, new therapeutic uses are being researched. What is the optimal time and strength of light treatment to best help patients with depressive disorders?

As society and the definition of family in the West changes, fathers in the 21st century face emotional and psychological obstacles to a healthy parent-child relationship. This article examines professional interventions and other resources that can help prepare fathers to be effective parents.

Both the mental health and justice communities have been troubled by the increased number of mentally ill individuals in the prison populations. Legislation awaiting passage in the U.S. Congress would fund collaborative programs between these two fields that would try to alleviate this growing problem.