SPOTLIGHT -
Medical Marijuana and Dementia-Associated Agitation: Stirring the Pot
“Doctor, will you prescribe medical marijuana for my mother? I think it might help her agitation better than the medication you gave her last visit.”
Eight Enemies of Good Writing for the Lay Reader
It’s too bad that so many experts-in medicine and in other professions-can’t write for a lay audience. Here's some help.
A Coin Flip
But what if the patient was lying? It's hard to go to sleep at night and not wonder, “. . . what if I'm wrong?”
What Do Climate Change and Physician Burnout Have in Common?
American psychiatry is on the cusp of recognizing and tackling both physician burnout and climate change.
Committed: The Battle Over Involuntary Psychiatric Care
Here's a review of a book about involuntary psychiatric commitment-- a major source of controversy when the public tries to understand who psychiatrists are and what we do.
An Update on Melancholia
Functional vs structural; melancholic vs non-melancholic; and hierarchy of treatment are the focus.
Take Two Pills and ...
It's not about the specifics of preliminary studies about psilocybin. It's about the validation of research using psychedelic drugs in modern psychiatry.
Professionalism Defined
After your exams, after your diploma, after all the nights on call, missed dinners and diagnoses, after your apologies...
Apps for Suicide Prevention: What the Research Says
A review of smartphone tools for suicide prevention and recommendations for clinicians.
Building a Better Older Brain
There is no magic pill or fountain of youth that can build a better older brain, but there are several key strategies.
Do Patients Want to Know Whether Alzheimer Disease Awaits Them?
Older adults seem willing to take a hypothetical predictive test-and plan accordingly.
Effective Note-Writing: A Primer for Psychiatry Residents
An overview of various aspects of taking notes and suggestions for effective documentation.
Psychiatry Comic: Confidence Boost
Where would we be without mother birds?
Borderline or Bipolar: Can 3 Questions Differentiate Them?
Treatments for borderlinity and bipolarity are quite different. What if just 3 items from a standard screening questionnaire could increase your diagnostic certainty by 30%?
Eight Ways to Improve Cognition in Bipolar Disorder
For up to 60% of patients with bipolar disorder, simply treating their mood symptoms is not enough to help them return to a full life.
Deborah Danner and the Suffering of Schizophrenia
The nightmarish reality of psychosis is vividly detailed by Deborah Danner, a woman with self-described schizophrenia, recently shot to death by a New York City policeman.
5 Questions on Schizophrenia: Jan 2017
What are the key elements of attenuated psychosis syndrome? Answer this question and more in our quiz.
A 5-Question Quiz on MDD: Round 5
Are you up-to-date on somatic treatments for major depression? How about the optimal approach to resistant MDD? Take this quiz and find out.
Maintenance of Certification and Self-Mortification
Health care and medical education must march ever onward-although recently there has been a growing uprising among the ranks of experienced physicians.
Adjunctive Metformin for Patients With Schizophrenia
A recent meta-analysis shows this agent is useful in the prevention and treatment of antipsychotic-induced weight gain.
Health Technology for Relapse Prevention in Schizophrenia
A “high-tech” approach to relapse prevention in patients with schizophrenia.
Evidence-Based Research on the Role of Zinc and Magnesium Deficiencies in Depression
Targeted mineral supplementation has the potential to augment treatment response and yield improvement in clinical symptoms.
The Premise, Practice, and Promise of Integrative Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Integrative psychiatry helps us push deeper into the testing of metabolic, gut, and brain features, which seems more fitting, given our role as physicians.
Mind-Body-Spirit Interventions for Patients With PTSD
These methods facilitate deep rest, help reset circadian rhythm, and release endogenous opioids and cannabinoids that help reduce anxiety and enhance a sense of well-being for people with PTSD.
Fat, Food, and Mood: Beyond Omega-3s
Potential benefits and benign safety profile of omega-3s indicate a promising intervention.
The Heroic Psychological Journeys of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds
Carrie Fisher used her force to fight the stigma of mental illness --not with a light saber, but with insight.
Research Findings That Can Change Clinical Practice: Part 1
Can't keep up with the literature? Here's some help.
Depression and Anxiety in Cardiac Disease
Here: a look at the associations between negative psychological states and CV health, physiologic and health behavior mechanisms, and ways to diagnose and treat depression and anxiety disorders.
Thank you, Drs. Ronald Pies and Joseph Pierre
With antipsychotics, my once-brilliant child can again speak, write, read, and maintain hygiene and has regained motor functioning.
Oxford Handbook of Psychiatric Ethics
As our understanding of the brain and new technologies have rapidly evolved, such an extensive text on psychiatric ethics is clearly timely.