News

While I watch the artist paint, I imagine him in the time of plague crafting a portrait of a Medico della Peste, a Plague Doctor wearing an ibis-like mask...

As the accolades roll in for Nelson Mandela on his death, lost among his astonishing accomplishments may be his relevance to mental health.

ADHD is on the rise according to a new report from the CDC, and most youngsters with the diagnosis are receiving treatment for the disorder. But the report raises a number of clinical implications . . .

As practicing physicians, we constantly ask ourselves when and where to alert patients to bad possibilities that may occur in the future. More in this installment of "Why Psychiatrist Are Physicians First," by Sharon Packer, MD.

A stalker may approach or follow the victim, or keep their residence under surveillance, setting up a perpetual cycle of fear for the victim and frustration or anger for the perpetrator. Here, subtypes of stalkers to determine which type of behavior his or her communications suggest.

"Psychosis Risk" can now be diagnosed as “Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome” and used to bill for insurance reimbursement. Many bearing the diagnostic label are young adolescents and adults in whom schizophrenia or any other psychotic disorder will never develop.

We know so little about community grieving. What is normal and what is not? Perhaps the tragedy in Newtown needs a careful analysis over time.

I have often wondered: did any of Parkland's sets of medical eyes experience a moment of stillness with the collective father who had just been declared dead? I readily acknowledge the difficulty with great humility.

One might expect that treating nicotine use would be a leading priority for physicians. The reality is that this is not the case. More in this expert commentary, with practical tips for clinicians.

Stopping smoking affects the metabolism of a number of drugs used in the management of mental illness. Here, a summary of the author's published study on whether e-cigarettes with nicotine were more effective for smoking cessation than nicotine patches.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the US. The majority of smokers want to quit, but only a fraction achieve this annually. New evidence shows it is possible to teach patients to weaken the link between craving and smoking until they are able to ride out any craving–and consequently quit.

What percentage of patients with schizophrenia have a comorbid cannabis use disorder? Take the quiz and learn more.

In this brief video, Psychiatric Times’ new Editoral Board member talks about what DSM-5, the medical home, and the search for money to fund novel approaches to new psychiatric treatments may mean to the practice of psychiatry.

Various populations of patients can benefit from telepsychiatry. The goal is not to replace local mental health resources but to enhance existing capabilities. This article articulates successful interventions as well as topics to consider when developing a telepsychiatry service.

It is clear from a 21st century psychiatric perspective that Augustine was suffering from PTSD, but Augustine was victimized in ways far more horrific than filmmaker Alice Wincour revealed. More in this film review by Alan Stone, MD.

A patient’s spiritual “framework” can hold the key to therapeutic breakthroughs.

The two most widely used classification systems are ICD-10 and DSM. These systems are mutually influential. Recent diagnostic guides highlight the importance of an integrated approach to presenting problems in a patient-centered framework. Specifics here.

Articles on stigma, telepsychiatry, and designer drugs . . . matters germane, timely, and needed-that is what is here for you, our readers. Enjoy and learn.

At a moment when mental health is so much at the forefront of the minds of Americans and our media, it seems time, again, to try to understand the damaging views so commonly held about people with mental illness.

Psychiatrists are urged to familiarize themselves with these new drugs and the typical presentations of patients who use them since implications of misdiagnosis can be far-reaching.

Demographic shifts and rising life expectancies will lead to an epidemic of chronic neuropsychiatric disease, and societal and public health costs will be enormous. Deep brain stimulation--a procedure that interfaces directly with the neural elements that drive pathological behavior--could be useful.

An expert summarizes the effectiveness of the treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder, including pharmacotherapy and a very specific type of cognitive behavioral therapy.

Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries will pay more than $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from allegations relating to the prescription drugs Risperdal, Invega and Natrecor, including promotion for uses not approved as safe and effective by FDA and payment of kickbacks to physicians and to the nation’s largest long-term care pharmacy provider.

Mood switching is not uncommon and it is much more prevalent in depressed juveniles than in depressed adults, and there is a large apparent excess of antidepressant-associated switching over reported spontaneous diagnostic changes to bipolar disorder. Details here.

Experts address specific concerns when treating the immigrant sector and describe supervised mental health services for uninsured, largely undocumented patients.

The depth and duration of medical training in psychiatric residency is yet to be determined, but given the increasing emphasis on integrated care, the role of psychiatrists is changing. More in this video.

The challenges of identifying patients at risk for alcohol withdrawal have been found to be mitigated by the development of a Risk Stratification Questionnaire, now being adopted by the VA regionally throughout New England. More in this video.

In the graph, bands of color recede like mountain silhouettes drawn by a child...

Some serendipitous occurrences made me wonder (even as a rational psychiatrist) whether something spooky and supernatural had been transmitted to me by the shaman who conducted a "Mother Earth" ceremony. Here's what happened.