Trauma in Psychiatric Practice

Assessments of partial culpability of adolescents are difficult in individual cases; however, the courts are moving away from mandatory sentencing to individual determinations, even for the most heinous crimes.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children and adolescents is a major public health problem. Psychiatrists have a crucial role in the management of young persons who have a TBI.

Child and adolescent psychiatry is in a position to inform the entire practice of general psychiatry in numerous other areas, including mood disorders, ADHD, and psychosis, as well as the topics...

The article focuses on eating disorders in males and presents information on similarities and differences between males and females as they relate to risk factors, clinical presentation, and treatment.

Boys with ADHD can present with different cognitive and behavioral patterns than girls with ADHD. Despite these factors, girls with ADHD remain at significant psychosocial risk into adulthood.

Using a question-and-answer format, we present a brief overview of issues that arise when mental health professionals explore how to best serve this population.

A literature review on the roles of gender in disease.

Being male, female, or transgender exerts effects not only on anatomy and reproductive behaviors but also on immune mechanisms, pain perception, diet, occupation, social behaviors, and risk exposures.

This article provides a practical overview of the available evidence-based treatment and discusses circumstances in which certain interventions may be preferred over others.

As we are faced with a growing population of older adults, a better understanding of the issues that they confront is crucial.

Medical professionals may be reluctant to initiate a discussion about driving with older patients in anticipation of a negative impact on the physician-patient relationship.

Of the 3 informative articles included in this special geriatric collection, 1 offers a perspective on the treatment of depression that does not focus on somatotherapy. The others remind us of 2 additional geriatric Ds of importance: drugs and driving.

Psychiatric comorbid conditions, especially mood disorders and anxiety disorders, are common in patients with Sleep-Disordered Breathing. A thorough sleep evaluation is warranted in patients with psychiatric conditions that have Sleep-Disordered Breathing risk factors.

It appears that the function of melatonin is to mediate dark signals and provide night information, a “hormone of darkness,” rather than be the hormone of sleep.

Although the purpose of sleep continues to be the subject of much debate, few would argue that a well-functioning sleep-wake cycle is essential for good health.

Knowledge of how different antidepressants are likely to affect parameters of sleep can provide an important basis for selecting an appropriate antidepressant drug among the roughly 2 dozen marketed options to meet the needs of depressed patients.

Sleep changes associated with psychotropic drugs are common enough to justify routinely obtaining a baseline sleep diary before beginning treatment, even when the initial screening for sleep disorders indicates that no further investigation is needed.

BPD appears to be a neurodevelopmental disorder, influenced by the person’s genetics and brain development and shaped by early environment, including attachment and traumatic experiences.

Staying empathic and keeping the conflict within the patient instead of between the patient and health care provider, is a key to successful management.

When thinking about recent advances in psychopharmacology, we often point to new molecules with similar mechanisms of action but with better safety and tolerability profiles, or to molecules with novel mechanisms that effect positive change greater than that with existing treatments.