News

Military veterans are ubiquitous in our practices and in our lives. The impact of the past several years of armed conflict is greater than many think-and much greater than simply the number of veterans in your practice or your community.

A proper psychiatric diagnosis requires the ability to elicit information, identify symptoms, and recognize behavioral patterns. Dr Michael First, author of DSM-5 Handbook of Differential Diagnosis, summarizes key points in this brief video.

The “story behind the story” is not the over-prescription of antidepressants-though it happens-but the under-availability of optimal treatment.

Imagine an end to psychiatric episodes that threaten job and family, no more hospitalizations, and a chance for a long life not cut short by mental illness and its complications. What can we take away from the HIV/AIDS story for the treatment of mental illness?

All psychiatrists must familiarize themselves with relevant reporting statutes and be knowledgeable about what constitutes neglect or abuse.

Maltreatment at an early age casts a very long shadow. Here: a look at the long-term effects of early childhood trauma.

The number of persons affected by elder mistreatment and self-neglect is growing-with consequent increases in morbidity and premature mortality.

Why do you need to know about Munchausen by Proxy? Answers here.

Substantial progress has been made in the development of etiologic models of intimate partner violence and interventions for individuals who assault their intimate partners. These authors provide details.

The authors-both well-known specialists-attempt to integrate the two fundamental ingredients of psychotherapy and pharmacology in the treatment of bipolar disorders.

Until I attended the recent Graphic Medicine conference at Johns Hopkins, I did not appreciate the skyrocketing popularity of “graphic novels” as “illness narratives,” writes this psychiatrist.

This case stresses the importance of identifying cultural issues that arise in mental health clinical encounters.

At a time when our field is under attack from many quarters, it is critically important to be able to discuss what it is that we do as psychiatrists in a non-defensive and intellectually rigorous manner. Help here.

A brief review of interesting new findings on suicidality and depression treatment in youths.

A mother recalls seeing a donation box with a photo of a little boy with leukemia in a grocery store checkout line but never one of a child with serious mental illness. How can this be if twice as many children and young people die from suicide than those who die of all cancers combined? More in this commentary.

Fifty Shrinks allows us to see ourselves through the sensitive eyes of a colleague and artist.

Clinical applications for the most commonly used anticonvulsants are reviewed here, along with complications and recent findings for day-to-day practice. Also: an update on findings from research on anticonvulsants used less often, but which may be potentially beneficial.

Given the greater frequency of depression than manic episodes in bipolar disorder, what clues indicate bipolar disorder rather than unipolar depression?

This exchange follows what began with Dr Richard Noll’s article, “Speak, Memory” and the “repressed recovered memory/multiple personality disorder” iatrogenic epidemic of the late 1980s and 1990s.

In a world in which substance use disorders are no longer suffered in isolation, treating addiction is a challenging journey with obstacles, intermittent failures, and life-altering successes. A poem on drug withdrawal expressed through the eyes of a fellow in addiction medicine.

The elephant in the room: the problem of iatrogenic opioid use disorder is being ignored.

Are patients with schizophrenia better off without antipsychotics? Here: a point/counterpoint.

The SSRIs, although principally targeting serotonin transporter, are complex drugs that might work on other neurotransmitter and receptor systems. It is likely worthwhile to look at the effects of other monoamine and neuropeptide systems on the enzymatic machinery cleaving the amyloid precursor protein.

The recent 2014 Joint Report of the Treatment Advocacy Center and the National Sheriffs’ Association could have been a most useful and timely report on the woefully inadequate access to appropriate levels of mental health services for incarcerated seriously mentally ill persons. This author believes the report will only make the problem worse.

While we still have our good mornings-whether in Vietnam or elsewhere-we must forever say good night to Robin Williams and to thank him for all the good times.

Suicide is a pervasive public health issue for adolescents in Hawaii. In response, a youth leadership model was initiated to empower young leaders in suicide prevention through evidence-based training, relationship building, and community awareness.

The institutions of yesterday were overcrowded, noisy, and often had a distinctive odor. Patients were neglected and mistreated. Yet those problems have been replaced with a different set. More in this commentary.

What is your first impression of this image and why?

It is essential that we psychiatrists align ourselves with the public and our patients both to disseminate accurate information and to educate. Social media allows us to have this public voice more than ever before.