It is common for mental health professionals to label a patient as difficult, however, it remains unclear as to what the classification actually means or what it entails.

The Challenge of the &#147;Difficult&#148; Patient

A discussion of the epidemiology, assessment, diagnostic dilemmas, and treatment of avoidant personality disorder.

Avoidant Personality Disorder: Boundaries of a Diagnosis

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for children with anxiety disorders may be especially effective when the family is included in treatment.

Family Involvement in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Children’s Anxiety Disorders

Should physicians be allowed to assist in their patients' dying, and how can physician-assisted suicide be reconciled with the physician’s role as a healer?

Stepping on the Oxygen Tube

In a 20-year longitudinal study, it was found that after acute hospitalization, continuous psychosis was diagnosed in only 30% of patients with schizophrenia; 20% of patients showed no signs of reoccurrence of psychosis after the acute phase.

News Brief: Continuous Psychosis Not Common in Long-Term Schizophrenia Study

A study of primary care training directors conducted by Hoyle Leigh,MD, Ronna Mallios, MPH, and Deborah C. Stewart, MD, found thatmost directors believed their psychiatry training programs were inadequate.

Primary Care Directors Critical of Psychiatry Training Programs

Drinking a carbohydrate-rich beverage appeared to improve symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in a small double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

News Brief: Carbohydrate-Rich Mixture Treats SAD

Physicians should be prepared to screen for posttraumatic responses that may be triggered by routine hospital care in previously traumatized patients.

News Brief: Posttraumatic Symptoms Triggered by Hospital Care

How effective is psychotherapy for the treatment of depression in children and adolescents?

More Treatments Needed for Childhood Depression

A discussion of new neurobiologic discoveries that bear the promise not just of controlling but of reversing protean levels of damage.

Psychiatric Times Vol 23 No 8