The Week in Review: June 5-9

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This week, Psychiatric Times® discussed a wide variety of psychiatric issues and industry updates, from adherence in addiction recovery treatment to the relationship between social media use and youth mental health. Here are some highlights from the week.

Study Explores Discrepancies Between Caregiver, Clinician Reports of Sleep Problems in Children

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A study found that clinicians often fail to document caregiver reports of sleep problems in children.

The study explored discrepancies between caregiver reports of sleep problems such as insomnia, snoring, and insufficient sleep in their children and clinician documentation and management of these problems. To examine this, the authors gathered a sample of 170 caregiver-child dyads, with children ranging in age from 2 to 5 years. In the sample, 56.6% were girls, 64.1% were Black, 20% were white/non-LatinX, and 4.1% were LatinX. Approximately 86.5% of caregivers were maternal caregivers. Continue Reading

Adherence in Addiction Recovery Treatment: Surrender is Scary, Yet Critical

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Change, control, and compliance are terms often used in addiction treatment. So too are surrender, adherence, and recovery.

It is known that addiction is a struggle for control and relinquishing control is a critical step in the recovery journey. We are struggling to gain control over what happens to our minds and bodies when we use substances. We fight to be right, to continue to use, to end the pain of withdrawal, and to make life easier to bear. We fight long into allostasis, believing that we will one day reach homeostasis. We simply do not believe that we cannot feel euphoria one more time. Continue Reading

The Double-Edged Sword of Social Media: Exploring the Complex Relationships Between Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health

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Social media has become ubiquitous in the daily lives of most youth and as use increases so do concerns about the impact of social media on mental health. While positive impacts of social media do exist, they tend to be less emphasized than the growing body of research describing the potential negative effects of social media on mental health.

The relationships between social media and youth mental health are complex and challenging to understand in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which itself has impacted mental health. Recent surveys report that youth today have a relatively nuanced and mixed experience with social media. Indeed, with regard to their developmental stage, youth may not be able to fully recognize or appreciate the impact of social media on their mental health and well-being. Continue Reading

The Neurodiversity Movement: Confusing Illness with Stigma?

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Is ADHD Real? In 30 years of psychiatry, I have frequently been in doubt about the true nature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Is it an illness? Is it simply a variation of normal? Is it a problem in our culture that might not be a problem in other cultures? The source of my doubt, I suspect, is that individuals just seem to ‘be wired that way.’

ADHD, it seems, is heavily influenced by genetics, and some individuals just seem wired to be more spontaneous, more distractable, more open to the next thing, and less able to keep themselves focused on things they find boring or tedious. It is just how they are. Maybe ‘how they are’ would have been less of a problem in premodern times, when being open and exploratory may have been an advantage more than a hindrance. Continue Reading

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Do you have a comment on any of these or other articles? Have a good idea for an article and want to write? Interested in sharing your perspectives? Write to us at PTeditor@mmhgroup.com.