Tales From the New Asylum: Truth?
September 18, 2013
What is truth? In the end, it is not a forensic psychiatrist's place to judge. He or she is a cog in a bigger machine that is supposed to treat psychiatric illness.
James L. Knoll IV, MD
Treatment Options for "Sexting" Addiction?
July 30, 2013
We welcome your thoughts and insights about treatment approaches for patients whose sexual addiction takes the form of sexting.
Lighting a Candle in Newtown
April 17, 2013
The Sandy Hook Promise . . “To do everything in our power to be remembered-—not as the town filled with grief and victims; but as the place where real change began.”
When a Psychiatrist Is Given a Prison Sentence After a Patient Commits a Crime: Comments on a Disconcerting Case
April 11, 2013
American psychiatrists might be able to sympathize in the wake of recent mass tragedies leading to new, hastily conceived laws that directly impinge on psychiatric practice, confidentiality, and duty to protect third parties.
The Humanities and Psychiatry: The Rebirth of Mind
March 15, 2013
The humanities are a variety of academic disciplines that focus on the human condition with analytic and sometimes speculative methods. This is in contrast to the empirical methods of the natural sciences.
The Soldier’s Private War and Invisible Wounds
February 23, 2013
PTSD is a psychiatric illness resulting from a physical or psychological trauma that is sometimes related to warfare, but of course occurs in the case of civilian trauma as well. However, wars have been a propitious time for studying PTSD.
Mass Shootings: Research and Lessons
February 13, 2013
The news media has always been in the business of searching for "the right sort of madness" to capture the public's imagination.
The Older Psychiatrist in an Era of "Unprecedented Change"
January 23, 2013
Mental rigidity can occur at any age, while wisdom and experience are hard-won——over time.
In Memoriam—Thomas Stephen Szasz, MD
September 13, 2012
In early September of 2012, a psychiatric colleague and friend passed away. Thomas Stephen Szasz, MD, was Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. Here is a personal reflection of the man I met, learned from, and considered a friend and colleague.
The Judas Ladder
August 10, 2012
This tale involves a “clever” inmate. He enjoyed the respectable rung of bank robber, but found he had suddenly descended to approximately the level of a sex offender. The reason for his slippage was the inmate code, which demands allegiance to other inmates under virtually all circumstances. “Ratting out” a fellow inmate may cost one his life, or at the very least, result in a decidedly anxious, paranoid existence.
