Some of the most common challenges include the diagnosis of a mood disorder, especially a bipolar disorder, and the assessment and management of comorbidities and suicidalities in patients with a mood disorder. Here's an overview.

Introduction: A Focus on Differential Diagnoses, Comorbidity, and Suicide Risk

There is no substitute for understanding one’s patient as an individual, and treating accordingly, keeping in mind the possibility that not all psychosis is schizophrenia and that moodiness may or may not indicate a place in the bipolar spectrum. 

The “Hard” and “Soft” Phenotypic Boundaries of Bipolar Disorder

What is the actual risk of suicide attempts or suicide death in people with bipolar disorder? How does a BD diagnosis affect short-term and long-term suicide risk? How should a BD diagnosis help guide us toward the most effective suicide prevention strategies?

Lessons Learned From the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Task Force on Suicide

Here: a look at several natural products used to improve cognitive impairment or cognitive symptoms of dementia.

Natural Supplements and Vitamins for Treatment and Prevention of Dementia and Cognitive Decline

Game of Thrones is the first of 5 novels comprising A Tale of Ice and Fire, by George M.M. Martin. The series has captivated millions of fans worldwide. I’ve unexpectedly joined them.

Game of Thrones: HCE

Art theory from the 20th century onward-despite the latter day efforts at denial-was nearly indistinguishable from psychoanalytic theory, and it parallels the philosophical struggles and pains that continue to plague psychiatry.

Artists and Psychiatrists-or the “Art” of Psychiatry

Here's a summary of 9 recent articles on cognitive behavioral and mindfulness-based treatments, selected for their their clinical relevance, applicability, and quality.

Key Studies That Inform Clinical Practice: Cognitive Behavioral and Mindfulness-Based Therapies

Here's a case that illustrates the importance of factoring in the presence of pain when treating mental disorders in patients with seemingly intractable pain. 

Chronic Pain and Depression: A Case Report

Here's the story of one of my very first patients -- 45 years ago -- who taught me a powerful lesson about countertransference. 

My First Lesson in Countertransference

One would easily imagine from a recent TV report that psychiatrically ill and suicidal students are routinely being shipped off to hospitals and removed from their colleges without due process or discussion.

Mandatory Leave of Absence for College Students With Suicidal Behaviors: The Real Story

What policy prescriptions, if any, would you make on a federal level for reducing gun violence in America? That question and more answered.

Gun Violence and Mental Illness: Talking With Liza H. Gold, MD

What should you do when patients with preexisting psychosis express an interest in lengthy travel?

Travel With Serious Mental Illness

Individuals with serious mental illness are responsible for more than 7% of the nation’s homicides. What can be done to reduce this deadly phenomenon? 

Raising Cain: The Problem of Family Homicides

What are the effects of sleep apnea on depression--and depression on sleep apnea? Insights here.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Depression: Issues for Psychiatrists

Poetic, raw, and haunting, this young woman's description of having a psychiatric illness powerfully reveals what I believe are common, but rarely articulated, thoughts and feelings. 

The Thing About Mental Illness

I’m happy to be off the trail, out of the wind and salt spray, safe from the fog’s cold claw...

At the Monhegan Island General Store

Unrelenting belief in the goodness of humankind while confronting an uncommon disease. 

A Heartfelt Memoir About Tay-Sachs

Should doctors be legally allowed to assist terminally ill patients in committing suicide?

Vol 33 No 8