Alcohol Use Disorders

In this series, experts weigh in on alcohol use disorder and present strategies to manage this undertreated addiction.

Elderly Alcohol Use Disorders, by Series Editor Louis Trevisan, MD
Alcohol Use Disorders and Psychiatric Comorbidity
The Brave New World of Behavioral Therapies for Alcohol Use Disorders
Topiramate and Heavy Drinking: Implications for Personalized Medicine
Mini-quiz: Alcohol Use Disorders
The Empire of Alcohol

Substance Use Disorder

Patient Education: 11 Common Questions on Heroin Abuse

Matt Goldenberg, DO

July 14, 2014 | Addiction, Couch in Crisis, Opioid Related Disorders, Substance Use Disorder

By Matt Goldenberg, DO

A guide for helping patients understand heroin, its history, and how it impacts our communities.

Case Report: Drinking, Decisional Capacity, and Death

Cynthia M. A. Geppert, MD, PhD, MPH

July 11, 2014 | Alcohol Abuse, Addiction, Challenging Cases, Geriatric Psychiatry, Substance Use Disorder

By Cynthia M. A. Geppert, MD, PhD, MPH

Severe alcohol dependence and frequent relapses in this patient prompts his son to produce a durable power of attorney for health care. He demands that the physicians declare his father to lack decision-making capacity. More in this ethics case report.

Alcohol Use Disorders and Psychiatric Comorbidity: Pharmacological Management

Ismene L. Petrakis, MD

June 30, 2014 | Special Reports, Alcohol Abuse, Comorbidity In Psychiatry, Military Mental Health, Substance Use Disorder

By Ismene L. Petrakis, MD

There is increasing evidence and support for medications for alcohol use disorders to be used in regular clinical practice, and not to be limited to specialty substance abuse settings. Here, special considerations for pharmacological management.

Heroin Addiction: A Chronic Disease, Like Any Other

Matt Goldenberg, DO

June 23, 2014 | Couch in Crisis, Addiction, Opioid Related Disorders, Substance Use Disorder

By Matt Goldenberg, DO

In the US, 38,000 drug overdose deaths occur per year, and it is estimated that 75% are opioid-related. The good news is that addiction is a treatable disease. More in this discussion of opioid addiction, the use of naloxone, and Good Samaritan laws.

Kurt Cobain: A Modern Tragedy From a Mental Health Perspective

Arjune Rama, MD

Book/Film Review | June 09, 2014 | Addiction, Alcohol Abuse, Film And Book Reviews, Substance Use Disorder, Suicide

By Arjune Rama, MD

Clinicians will be drawn in by author Charles R. Cross's personal experience documenting, Here We Are Now: The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain. Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, committed suicide 20 years ago this month.

Pain, Opioids, and Psychiatrists

Steven A. King, MD, MS

May 12, 2014 | Psychopharmacology, Addiction, Substance Use Disorder

By Steven A. King, MD, MS

What expanded roles should psychiatrists be playing in the provision of proper pain management without taking their eyes off the issue of prescription opioid misuse and abuse? Insights here.

Elderly Alcohol Use Disorders: Epidemiology, Screening, and Assessment Issues

Louis A. Trevisan, MD

News | May 09, 2014 | Alcohol Abuse, Addiction, Geriatric Psychiatry, Substance Use Disorder

By Louis A. Trevisan, MD

Alcohol misuse in older adults is often underdiagnosed in medical practice. This age group is rapidly moving into the treatment realm of the practicing general, geriatric, and addiction psychiatrist.