Review of Darryl Cunningham's Psychiatric Tales
November 17th 2010In this autobiographic work, Darryl Cunningham explains mental illness in a succinct and novel way. It is already proving to be of use to both health professionals and mental health service clients. Published in the UK this year, its US release is scheduled for February 2011.
The “Goldberg” Variations, Walden-And Informed Consent
November 16th 2010An antidote to the ubiquitous arrogance, impulsivity, and knee-jerk reactivity surrounding us is to gather as much information as possible, weigh the pros and cons of any intervention, think critically and act mindfully. We can, as Thoreau decided to do, “live deliberately.”
Combining High-Yield CBT Methods and Pharmacotherapy in Brief Sessions
November 2nd 2010There is evidence that the combination of medication and psychotherapy improves outcomes for many psychiatric illnesses. Among the several forms of psychotherapy that might be considered, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most extensively studied.
Reasons Patients Doubt Medication-Resistant Delusions in Schizophrenia
October 30th 2010Our study suggests that most delusional patients, even those with high positive symptom scores, may have at least 1 RFD that precedes a clinical intervention specifically directed toward encouraging doubt. These preexisting “islands of doubt” may offer a useful foothold to begin the CBT process.
Prime Time: Maximizing the Therapeutic Experience-A Primer for Psychiatric Clinicians
October 29th 2010The preface explains why Prime Time is so needed. It provides a refreshing, nonjudgmental summary of how and why we’ve arrived at the 20-minute hour. This is important for disgruntled clinicians from the “good old days” as well as for early-career clinicians who have not learned anything better.
Tales From the New Asylum: Machiavelli Part 1
October 28th 2010He had returned to a familiar place, and his peers welcomed him back. The word "recidivist" comes from the French word "recidiver," meaning to "fall back." This was not the first time he had fallen back. He would surely tell you that his return was not by choice, but sometimes such things are hard to determine.
Opiate Substitution Treatment Found to Reduce Mortality Rate in Addicts
October 28th 2010A recent study reports that patients have a greater chance of survival when given opiate substitution treatment (OST) for over 12 months. Although there has been a 2-fold increase in opiate prescriptions in the past 10 years, the mortality rate from OST has fallen, making it a viable treatment for opiate abusers.
“Morality” Professor Responsible for Research Misconduct
October 26th 2010Harvard professor, Marc Hauser, PhD-whose views on the evolution of morality have been widely accepted by many psychiatrists and others-was recently found by a university investigating committee to be “solely responsible for 8 instances of scientific misconduct.”
Tales from the New Asylum: Yesterday
October 26th 2010As I came closer, I could see Mr P more clearly. He was in his own world, wearing a Walkman with earphones on. I puzzled for a brief moment over this-was this to shut out attempts to talk him down? I could also see more clearly the rivulets of blood dripping from the incisions on his wrists to the concrete ground below.