Couch in Crisis

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.

Like the body’s inevitable arrival at homeostasis, a bereaved person's mind settles-eventually. A peer-to-peer conversation from someone who has been there.

For many of us who went into psychiatry, relieving the patient’s suffering is not a business enterprise, but an ethical and spiritual calling.

Professions, psychiatry included, do not have a stellar record of protecting those they serve. Do we have reason to believe that professional organizations or corporate entities can be trusted to protect their clientele?

Therapeutic lying, a concept that is currently seeping into the medical literature, is the practice of deliberately deceiving patients for reasons considered in their best interest.

“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.”

The recent tragedy with the Germanwings crash in the Alps has started a worldwide discussion about mental illness and suicide. NIMH Director Thomas Insel reflects on the larger issues we continue to face.

A list of noteworthy psychiatry blogs, CMEs, research studies, cases, and books from around the Web.

Was the business of the heart always so heartless?

A recent report that argues against descriptive diagnosis in medicine is historically ill-informed and medically naive, in the opinion of this psychiatrist.

We all become much better therapists if we have confidence in our healing gifts and focus on enhancing our relationships with patients.

Should racism be considered a psychiatric disorder?

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

Years ago I read somewhere that dying is easy-the hard part is being left behind. But I recently met an older woman who taught me otherwise.

Dr Wayne Katon (1950-2015) revolutionized care for patients around the world.

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?

Editors' choices of noteworthy psychiatry blogs, CMEs, research studies, cases, and books from around the Web.

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.

Treatments that work well for most don’t work well for all. And even effective treatments have side effects and complications. This is true of medication and surgery-and it is also true of psychotherapy.

Precision medicine seems to be the new hot topic in the research world. What precisely is it?

Is it okay for the media to show terrorist-sponsored torture videos? Are there no psychological effects of this kind of “show”?

Many years ago, the model approach to mental health treatment was the therapeutic community: "As Aristotle noted long ago, man is a social animal and only in a social unit can he experience a whole life." More in this blog.

A case report of an acute, transient, reversible depression prompts us to think in a different way about depression.

The author concludes that people inappropriately placed in psychiatric hospitals can lead to grave violation of human rights.

A commentary on civility and ethical standards in the aftermath of terrorist events in France.