H. Steven Moffic, MD

Whether Pope Francis has ever met with, or made a referral to, a psychiatrist, it is clear that he knows something essential about psychiatry.

Maybe psychiatry should take a lesson from a fashion designer -- and promote our messages to the public via billboards.

Clinicians have some degree of power. We must curb abuse-whether under the guise of research, transference in psychotherapy, in prescribing medication, or when deciding on treatments.

By writing a series of profound pieces after he found out that he had a terminal illness, Oliver Sacks, MD, the renowned neurologist and writer, taught us much about how to live and die.

A story of what can happen (and has happened) when the expertise of a psychiatrist is not followed in complex cases that involve substance use and other disorders.

Organized psychiatry and psychology share a common acronym-APA. Some of our clinical work overlaps, but sometimes they differ in response to world events.

If forgiveness soon after trauma helps avert mental disorders or retaliation, how could the aftermath of the Charleston tragedy not end up being one of the great moments of forgiveness in history?

I don't know of anything like the film, "Voices." See it if you haven’t, and recommend it to others, too.

Despite the disappearance of identity variations in diagnostic classifications, psychiatrists can contribute to solving social challenges.

We have many tragic events that affect our collective grieving process. How should they be mourned over time?

So many had stared at John Nash, for different reasons, at different times. Now that his own stare is frozen in time, the challenge is to understand the meaning of the stares that he had received during his life.

If the models in this discussion are disseminated and used, costs will drop and patients will enjoy an improved quality of life.

“Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them.” This may be the take-home point of the APA 2015 meeting regarding schizophrenia.

Why is burnout seemingly rare in coaches but well over 40% in psychiatrists? H. Steven Moffic considers why life coaches have become big business while psychiatrists, stigmatized.

In the spirit of Freud’s recommendation to free associate in psychoanalysis, perhaps we can be inspired to do whatever we can for freedom, human dignity, and the future of children.

“I may never know who you are,” writes this psychiatrist, “but if you provided medical or psychiatric care for the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525, we are colleagues. And you too are his victims, of sorts. I hope your reputation does not suffer unduly.”

Should racism be considered a psychiatric disorder?

A blog on the cultural components of minority groups, mental illness, and stigma.

In most movies, psychiatrists are depicted in a negative light, which most certainly affects our public image. Was the psychiatrist in American Sniper portrayed positively or negatively?

A commentary that is both professional and personal in nature, written by a psychiatrist who has helped hundreds of transitioning patients adapt to their external gender appearance and societal expectations.

The glass of well-being among physicians may be half empty, but there is room and hope to fill it again. Perhaps psychiatrists are the missing ingredient?

Dr Moffic takes us around the world to celebrate the lives of psychiatrists who made important contributions to the field.

Many classics, such as those written by Dickens, can be viewed as a metaphor for psychotherapy. Beyond symptom improvement, psychotherapy addresses the meaning of one's life and how it relates to meaningful values of loved ones as well as the surrounding community.

The greatest tribute to those who perished in France may be to find better ways to put out the fires of terrorism. Mental health professionals are trained to use words to diffuse conflict. The pen is mightier than the sword, but it can also tempt the reckless to load their weapons.

The Psychiatric Views on the News series for Psychiatric Times attempted to bring together societal events and psychiatry to start a conversation. Is a psychiatric view on the news important? If so, what other stories have caught your attention, and why?

As the nation focuses on public protests regarding the deaths of black males by white officers, psychiatric groups take notice.

Who hasn’t been at a public gathering and, after identifying yourself as a psychiatrist, heard someone respond nervously, “Can you read my mind?” Just as Thanksgiving can be compromised by family conflict, being a psychiatrist can at times feel like a curse in our public lives.

This psychiatrist takes notice when he hears public remarks by celebrities on their alleged psychiatric illnesses. A perfect example is when Jerry Seinfeld claimed he was “a bit autistic” to Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News.

Although 2 weeks of protected touring is hardly enough time to get a sense of Morocco, there was a familiar parallel to cross-cultural psychiatry. Let the patient tell you what they are about culturally, respect that particular point of view, relate to them as they wish, and support that with study.

Whether these psychiatrists helped or hindered societal events probably depends on one's political perspective.