The Week in Review: May 29-June 2

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This week, Psychiatric Times® discussed a wide variety of psychiatric issues and industry updates, from substance use among adolescents and young adults to managing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Here are some highlights from the week.

Understanding and Managing Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia

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In his well-attended 2023 APA Annual Meeting session, “A Clinician’s Guide to the Management of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia in the Era of Boxed Warnings,” Rajesh R. Tampi, MD, MS, DFAPA, DFAAGP, discussed emerging data on various important aspects of dementias, the most common neurodegenerative conditions in human beings.

As Tampi shared, there are over 5 million individuals with dementias in the United States, and this number is projected to rise to over 11 million over the next 30 years. Despite increased prevalence, the diagnosis and management of these disorders is not standardized. How can clinicians address behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD)? Continue Reading

Substance Use Among Adolescents and Young Adults

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Adolescence is a developmental stage characterized by rapid physical and psychosocial growth and maturation. With such dynamic neurobiological and social changes come a unique set of vulnerabilities to risk taking and substance use. Limbic reward-mediated pathways develop prior to the maturation of executive control centers in the prefrontal cortex and may offer a neurobiological explanation for the propensity toward risk-taking behaviors among adolescents.

As compared to other age demographics, adolescents have the greatest access to substances coupled with the lowest perception of substance-associated risks. This is a critical point, as perception of the harm a substance may pose is generally inversely related to its use in adolescents and young individuals. Continue Reading

Current State of Health Equity and Diversity Within Children’s Mental Health

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Over the past several years, our field has joined others in marching towards equity. In 1998, research by Fellitti and colleagues definitively linked adverse experiences occurring in childhood with later significant health challenges. This original body of research connected the ways in which multiple childhood adverse experiences, in an additive fashion, led to significant poorer health outcomes in adulthood, spanning the spectrum from cardiovascular health to mental health.

The list of adverse experiences has grown from the initial 3 categories and multiple subcategories used in the original CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE study to include other adverse childhood events incorporating various forms of racism, including structural and interpersonal. Continue Reading

The Debt Crisis and A Bio-Psycho-Social-Financial Model for Psychiatry

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In recent times, there has been much discussion in our field about whether the traditional bio-psycho-social model of medicine still fits well enough. Some feel that a bio-bio-bio model would better fit our specialty’s current emphasis. Others want to add eco, for ecological, and spiritual, as have I. As we have come to emphasize the social determinants of health and mental health, the theme of this year’s annual American Psychiatric Association (APA) meeting, there is a more appropriate emphasis on the neglect of the social in the model.

As our country’s recent debt crisis has emerged, I wondered what parallels there might be in psychiatry. Though the crisis was just averted, there was much concern about how default would threaten the financial well-being of so many. In psychiatry, with government funding for much care, the deadline had to do with whether the country has enough of a financial cushion to pay its bills and continue its funding. 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.