Couch in Crisis

Our country’s founders embarked on a dream. They did not know what would happen, and they did not agree on how our new world should work. Same is true in medicine and psychiatry. More in this introduction to the July issue.

Despite our own burnout, we must strive to be part of the solution. Concern and compassion are the ethical way of the physician.

Given that face masks help prevent asymptomatic spread of COVID-19 and may also reduce the chances of anyone contracting the virus, wouldn’t any decent, responsible citizen put up with such a minor inconvenience? Apparently not.

One was a civil rights activist. Another, a book illustrator on the side. A third practiced medicine for over 70 years. All served as mentors. No one loss is less profound. Their families and psychiatry mourn them.

Can you imagine telling a breast cancer survivor, “All cancers matter?” Dr Frank Clark discusses what led up to writing the words in his poem, Non-Applicable #Hashtag.

Hopefully, the season will bring us a new sense of freedom, as we make progress in the fight against COVID and the possibility of returning to a more normal life.

My initial glance before my patient sees me usually tells me a lot about how they are doing and what to expect during the appointment.

Although it may seem a bit of a luxury to begin an examination of countertransference at a time when life itself hangs in the balance, clinicians may be working with patients whose political views make it very difficult to address their emotional needs.

It might be advisable to bring in psychiatrists to keep the peace and not federal troops.

In just 3 months, the virus has changed the lives of our psychiatric patients and of psychiatry forever. What are the next best steps?

How can psychiatry constructively address our nation’s crisis?

The Navajo population are vulnerable to lung disease due to decades of exposure to uranium mines and the use of wood or coal for heat and cooking. It is now vulnerable to COVID-19.

Awais Aftab, MD, interviews this highly respected psychiatrist and genetics researcher, who has been further catapulted into fame over the past two decades through his widely read philosophical commentaries.

Reflections on the anti-restriction protesters and hyper-individualists.

Beyond unsettling our minds, the current pandemic unsettles our souls in ways we are just beginning to understand. Just as the COVID-19 virus attacks the respiratory tract, the pandemic itself can assault the soul. Dr Pies identifies five manifestations of the crisis.

If we want the public to wear masks for protection from the coronavirus, not complying with self-protective measures does not model safety.

Many serious challenges will face us once the curve has been flattened, and we work as a nation toward recovery in the war against COVID-19.

What is the nature of the virus turning the world upside down? Dr Sheldon Preskorn shares critical clinical information to better understand the virus, testing, and what might the future hold as we look to turn the corner in this pandemic.

Strange Fruit was written by a Jewish schoolteacher after seeing a disturbing picture of a black man, lynched in the South. But what does this song have to do with the Coronavirus pandemic?

All current FDA-approved medications for the treatment of schizophrenia antagonize dopamine type 2 receptors-but that is where their similarity ends.

Mental health professionals charged with compassionate care for those facing a radically changing world filled with loss have one narrow task.

Three mountains must be climbed to emerge unscathed.

Dr Gabrin said not to forget about the most powerful drugs we have in the pandemic-tolerance, kindness, empathy, compassion, and patience.

"There is a great deal that ails psychiatry-over-diagnosis, overtreatment, misallocation of resources, consistent breaches of patients’ fundamental human rights, and so forth," says Dr McLaren in this interview.

In these uncertain times, many look to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s quote “The only thing we have to fear is . . . fear itself.” But what does that really mean?