A recent meta-analysis supports evidence of the effectiveness of the fixed olanzapine/fluoxetine combination (Symbyax) in treating the depressive phase of bipolar disorder. Response was ranked higher, but with no more adverse effects, than with treatment with olanzapine alone.
Some criminal activity can be eliminated by pharmacotherapy for ADHD. Should this information influence clinical practice? The short answer is an unequivocal “yes.”
Outside, the bluestone patio warmed my bare feet, and I smelled Casablanca lilies and honeysuckle we planted last spring.
If our survey on medical cannabis is any indication, psychiatrists are widely-and deeply-divided on whether and how marijuana should be used in clinical practice. You can read the results here.
Obesity is one of the most common physical health problems in individuals with psychiatric conditions and contributes to excess medical morbidity and mortality. Several classes of psychotropic medications, particularly atypical antipsychotics, cause weight gain. While these issues pose challenges to optimal health, the good news is that there are solutions and emerging strategies.
Hypothyroidism is a common clinical disorder that psychiatrists frequently encounter. However, symptoms of thyroid dysfunction are often vague and nonspecific, which can lead to delayed or missed diagnosis.
This article highlights evidence-based treatment with herbs and nutrients with good tolerability and potential benefit when integrated into psychiatric practices.
The journey of switching specialties from anesthesia to psychiatry, from OR to office.
This blog address the multidisciplinary approach to mental health care.
A resident describes her experience in dealing with a potentially agitated patient.
Before recommending any natural product to a patient with bipolar disorder, the clinician should be familiar with important safety considerations. This article summarizes provisional guidelines for the use of CAM and integrative therapies in patients with bipolar disorder.
Former President of the American Psychiatric Association, Nada Stotland, MD, MS, speaks here about abortion-a subject that is especially important for psychiatrists in several ways.
From chocoholics and beyond, references to food cravings have been found in pop culture since the dawn of time. Here, new research sheds light on the neurobiology of food addiction.
Dr Osheroff played a significant role for psychiatric practice in the 1980s. For many, his situation personified the changes that swept psychiatry at that critical juncture.
A therapeutic alliance can serve to build a trusting relationship between clinician and patient and increase the patient’s feelings of agency and autonomy.
The art of creating patient-centered care requires effective collaboration, not only between psychiatrists, but between physicians in a bevy of other specialties as well.
When our jails become our largest public mental health facilities, we definitely have a problem-a problem we created-in how we respond to serious mental illness.
As we accumulate a greater war chest of patient experiences, we can better apply our skills as physicians to fill a space once occupied with alcohol-lubricated decision-making with smooth yet sober coping strategies.
If your practice or your advocacy efforts place you anywhere near people encountering the mental health system for the first time, please have a look at this book.
It is important for mental health professionals to be familiar with research findings about widely used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments of ADHD in order to provide patients with accurate information on efficacy, safety, and appropriate use. Presented here are some of the results from several pivotal studies.
For now, it is encouraging to know that psychiatrists remember that they, too, are physicians first who can tap into their medical training to provide comprehensive patient care.
Will psychiatrists be better able to play a role in improving health outcomes in obese patients? Weigh in here.
This letter is a plea to the leadership of the APA to develop flexible, user-friendly guidelines for criteria being implemented in the new CPT Evaluation and Management codes.
Clinicians can feel confident in the evidence base when referring patients with a moderate level of treatment resistance for rTMS. Preliminary results suggest that deep rTMS may be an effective option in patients who have failed to respond to more than one antidepressant treatment.
"I don’t want to climb any more cliffs. I’m looking for a slow job in a small town on the prairie," says the author in this work of fiction.
In a new study, "as needed" use of an opioid antagonist for heightened alcohol craving appeared to reduce the number of heavy drinking days and total amount of alcohol consumed.
The Directors of the ABPN have established a Faculty Fellowship Program to support the development of innovative education and evaluation projects that promote effective learning by residents, fellows, and practicing psychiatrists and neurologists.
Here are 12 tips on how best to ensure accurate and safe diagnosis, based on the introduction to Dr Allen Frances' recent book, The Essentials of Psychiatric Diagnosis.
Results of a 10-week prospective study, recently reported at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, offered no conclusive evidence about the mortality risk of elderly patients with Alzheimer disease who were treated with antipsychotics.
This article covers the spread of substance use problems in adolescents and some of the currently available scientifically proven behavioral treatments for these conditions.
