Commentary

Articles

In the early 20th century, British and American doctors looked for the causes of mental illnesses elsewhere in the body, with gruesome results.

The Doctors Who Cut Out Your Appendix to Fix Your Head

MD is a practicing psychiatrist in Queens, NY. She completed a fellowship in autism research and is the author of authored “Don’t Medicate–Educate! One Family, Three Cases of Autism, Safe Treatment for Dangerous Behavior.”

What happens when a clinician has to give herself news she does not want to hear?

A Doctor, Her Daughter, and a Difficult Dilemma

Dr Martin shares psychiatry's "dirty, little, ill-kept secret..." 

Is It Time to Do Away With Psychiatry?

Dr Pies is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Lecturer on Bioethics and Humanities, SUNY Upstate Medical University; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine; and Editor in Chief Emeritus of 

 (2007-2010). Dr Pies is the author of several books. A collection of his works can be found on

Avicenna may have been among the first physicians to document that anger is often a transitional state from melancholic depression to mania—implicitly recognizing the “switch” phenomenon.

How Avicenna Recognized Melancholia and Mixed States—1000 Years Before Modern Psychiatry

Telehealth poses challenges for patients, clinicians, families, and caregivers.

Treating Dementia Patients in the Time of COVID

A well-meaning mental health initiative may be setting unrealistic expectations.

What’s in a Name: The Problem with Zero Suicide

The COVID-19 pandemic reveals existing weaknesses in the mental health system, but also presents opportunities for reform. 

Preparing for the Mental Health Repercussions of the COVID-19 Pandemic

His symptoms worsened throughout most of his hospitalization, leaving him to ponder a grim reality: “This is it. This is how your story ends.”


Surviving Coronavirus: A Psychiatrist’s Personal Journey

Sometimes, life’s lessons appear unexpectedly. 

A Dose of Much-Needed Medicine

Our eulogies remind us of how psychiatrists have worked for the underserved and misunderstood.

In Memoriam: The Labors That These Psychiatrists Loved 

It has been a tough and unusual summer, but perhaps it is best to focus on gratitude for what we have learned and what we can do with that information. 

What I Learned During My Summer Vacation 

We have been here before. In fact, we have survived more challenging times. The truth serves as the foundational first brick of the edifice of knowledge and problem-solving. 

Pandemics Are Not Partisan

One can only hope today's challenges will become a “corrective emotional experience."

A Challenging Psychotherapeutic Journey

There are epidemiological and clinical reasons why we should drop that term.

Are We Really Witnessing a “Mental Health Pandemic?”

At one time, most medical school classes took the Hippocratic oath, but that is no longer the case.

50 Years of Medical Oaths

The medical community must examine how and what we can do to welcome and serve the black and brown communities that may view us as the authority they dare not call.

When Oaths Are Broken: A Call to Action

Psychiatrists should be experts at hearing and seeing what is not visible. That is exactly what we need to do to let the sun shine through the racist dust.

Dismantle Racism in Psychiatry & Society

Reflections on the current psychiatric literature as well as the many accomplishments psychiatry has seen since the 1950s.

My Wow and Awesome Responses While Reading the Psychiatric Literature

With everything going on in the world, this lesson has become abundantly clear—our attitudes will help us ride the ups and downs and the slings and arrows that present themselves and propel us to better times.

The Glass Is Half Full

Sometimes our best intentions lead us down the wrong road. By reconsidering a few seemingly harmless questions, this psychiatrist was able to make the most of his medication-check visits with his patients. 

Couch in Crisis

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