http://www.psychiatrictimes.com Psychiatric News, Features, Special Reports and Career Opportunities - Psychiatric Times en Copyright 2009, CMPMedica US Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:30:01 GMT Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:30:01 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1540585?CID=rss There are currently several disturbing phenomena in the field of suicidology: •Many papers are describing risk assessment and suggesting the need for high-risk patients to be hospitalized. •Emergency department (ED) staff are complaining about spending much of their time trying to find beds for patients. •Programs are claiming “crisis intervention” when, in fact, they only provide triage. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/web/10168/psychotic-affective-disorders/content/article/10168/1540550?CID=rss A new study appears to add a new dimension to mothers’ sage advice. Researchers in Austria have found that fish oil with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids reduced the risk of progression to psychotic disorder in young people who had subthreshold psychotic symptoms—with none of the adverse effects associated with drug treatment. Click here for more details. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1540522?CID=rss I have been a member of our American Psychiatric Association (APA) for over 30 years. I've also been a Fellow for many years, served on the Assembly 3 different times, served on the Managed Care Committee twice, and was once asked if I would consider running for President. On the other hand, I did resign from a request to run for District Branch President because of some unexpected (and what I and some others thought was unethical) collegial conflict. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1540035?CID=rss It is safe to say that few authors of mental health–related books would introduce themselves by presenting these credentials: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1539921?CID=rss A major general problem in the preparation of DSM5 is that the various Work Groups have been given far too little guidance and support. This explains why: 1) most of the criteria sets are written so obscurely and inconsistently; 2) the rationales for change vary so widely in depth and quality across Work Groups,and; 3) so many suggestions that should have no chance at all have made it this far without being tossed. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1538825?CID=rss The recently posted draft of DSM5 makes a seemingly small suggestion that would profoundly impact how grief is handled by psychiatry. It would allow the diagnosis of Major Depression even if the person is grieving immediately after the loss of a loved one. Many people now considered to be experiencing a variation of normal grief would instead get a mental disorder label. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1538717?CID=rss Due to decreasing revenue, the APA Assembly has been forced to reduce it's budget by $200,000 and and many of the APA Components have been eliminated or significantly changed. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1537157?CID=rss I had lunch with Death. Some 12 or so years ago, as a chief resident in psychiatry, I sat eye-to-eye across the table from Death. One-on-one, over our faculty club lunches, he was a bit hard to converse with. In fact, the exact opposite of how he had been when presenting grand rounds just an hour before. In forensic circles, Dr James Grigson, now deceased, is arguably one of the most well recognized--albeit infamous--forensic psychiatrists in the United States. He is perhaps best known for his involvement in 2 Texas capital murder cases: Estelle v. Smith1 and Barefoot v. Estelle.3 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1537142?CID=rss Our country is in the midst of a 15-year "epidemic" of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). There are 6 potential causes for the skyrocketting rates of ADD-- but only 5 have been real contributors. The most obvious explanation is by far the least likely -- that the prevalence of attention deficit problems in the general population has actually increased in the last 15 years. Human nature is remarkably constant and slow to change, while diagnostic fads come and go with great rapidity. We don't have more attention deficit than ever before. . . we just label more attentional problems as mental disorder. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1534400?CID=rss There are a lot of temperamental Jerome Kagan moments in my friend’s household—an observation that will require this entire column to explain. What exactly is a temperamental moment? And who exactly is Jerome Kagan? Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1534262?CID=rss Six months after the deadline for a final rule, 3 federal departments published an interim final rule that leaves a number of questions open about the application of the expanded mental health parity law passed by Congress in October 2008. But the penultimate version of the implementing regulations—changes will undoubtedly be made based on comments—won mostly praise from psychiatrists and psychiatric hospitals. Managed behavioral health care organizations were critical of some aspects, however. Tue, 9 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1534138?CID=rss From time to time every psychiatrist comes across patients whose problems are at least in part related to the neuropsychiatric consequences (behavioral, cognitive, and emotional) of traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI affects approximately 2 of every 1000 persons per year. Those who are vulnerable to mental illness (eg, persons with alcohol abuse or antisocial personality disorder) are particularly at risk. Patients with TBI often have poor insight and may need hospitalization for their own safety. The neuropsychiatric and other sequelae are long-term; a head injury is for life. Tue, 9 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1533542?CID=rss An Autoimmune Basis for Behavioral Abnormalities Mon, 8 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1533463?CID=rss Writer Jonah Lehrer caused quite a stir with his recent article in the New York Times Magazine, with the unfortunate title, “Depression’s Upside.” I have a detailed rejoinder to this misleading article posted on the Psychcentral website. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1533411?CID=rss New Insights Into Diagnosis, Comorbidities, and Treatment Approaches Sat, 6 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1533074?CID=rss Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative illness in the United States, affecting more than 1 million persons. Disease onset is usually after age 50. In persons older than 70 years, the prevalence is 1.5% to 2.5%.1 While the primary pathology involves degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, circuits important in emotion and cognition—such as the serotonergic, adrenergic, cholinergic, and frontal dopaminergic pathways—are also variably disrupted. Sun, 7 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1532648?CID=rss I remember as a child gathering wild greens with my Cherokee grandmothers, 2 generations of them, and hearing the lilt of spoken Cherokee. I can still see myself listening quietly in the corner of the room while others came to visit my great-grandmother, a respected traditional healer. We were poor. There is no other way to say it. My mother carried water from a well in the middle of the field, and I remember before going outside to play in the snow that we wrapped bread sacks around our feet to keep them dry. But as a child, while life was hard and even harsh at times, it felt safe and constant. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1532619?CID=rss In response to increasing public distrust and congressional concerns regarding pharmaceutical company influence on medical research and education, professional organizations have taken steps to phase out or regulate industry-sponsored educational support. A related problem is industry funding of philanthropic organizations, such as patient advocacy groups. Thus, when the office of Sen Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) recently reported that the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill received substantial pharmaceutical funding, there was concern among the membership’s psychiatric patients and their families. Sat, 6 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1532582?CID=rss Your mother was right—fish is good for you. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT