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James Phelps, MD, Bipolar Disorder Section Editor for Psychiatric Times, is Director of the Mood Disorders Program at Samaritan Mental Health in Corvallis, Ore.Dr Phelps' essay, "Aufheben": A Dialectical Approach to Bipolar Diagnosis," begins an ongoing series on bipolar disorder focused on clinical utility. His Web site, PsychEducation.org, gathers no information on visitors and produces no income for him or others. He is the author of Why Am I Still Depressed? Recognizing and Managing the Ups and Downs of Bipolar II and Soft Bipolar Disorder (New York: McGraw-Hill; 2006), from which he receives royalties. Dr Phelps stopped accepting honoraria from pharmaceutical companies in 2008.

The DSM-5 will eliminate the bereavement exclusion in the diagnosis of major depressive disorder for 2 main reasons.

This article aims to provide the general psychiatric community with an update on the major findings on the biology of ASDs as well as the advances in diagnostic and interventional strategies.

• Federation of State Medical Boards. Model Policy Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Social Media and Social Networking in Medical Practice.

Modern communication capacities have the potential to decrease or to increase stigma and the isolation of persons with serious mental illness. Psychiatrists especially need to know how to navigate these largely uncharted waters.

Computerized information resources are being introduced into psychiatric practice settings, but some psychiatrists question whether they are really needed.

While this article highlights some of the modern-era risks to confidentiality that psychiatrists may experience, it does not constitute an exhaustive list of issues to consider and is not a substitute for legal advice.

In psychiatry, professional challenges are heightened by the importance of the psychiatrist-patient relationship.

During a presentation at a past Psychiatric Times Virtual Career Expo, Dr Joseph Weiner answered questions submitted by attendees, offered here in this brief Q&A.

Psychosis can arise from a general medical condition, including endocrine diseases, metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases, infections, narcolepsy, seizures, space-occupying lesions, strokes, head injury, and more.

The American Psychiatric Association Board of Trustees announced that it has approved the final diagnostic criteria for the DSM-5. According to the board, the APA has passed a “major milestone” on the way to its publication slated for May 2013.

The changes in the newly approved DSM-5 loosen diagnosis and threaten to turn our current diagnostic inflation into diagnostic hyperinflation.

In this time of Thanksgiving, the excerpt from “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” most famously sung by Maurice Chevalier, conveys one of life’s blessings for fathers.

Social media is not a fad. It allows physicians to “get out of the office” in real time, to learn about patients’ concerns, and to connect with others.

The number of medical diseases that can present with psychotic symptoms (ie, delusions, hallucinations) is legion. A thorough differential diagnosis of possible medical and toxic causes of psychosis is necessary to avoid the mistaken attribution of psychosis to a psychiatric disorder.

Can patient care still be your greatest concern, given today’s litigious landscape? Does patient-focused care need to take a back seat against protecting yourself from malpractice?

Career fulfillment, free time, maximum revenue-a perfect combination for every clinician-but seldom realized. Here, an expert on professional “burnout,” Dr Joseph Weiner discusses strategies that can enhance career satisfaction.

Although a romantic comedy, Silver Linings Playbook does not romanticize mental illness for the patient or for the family. What the film does display though is that a life with mental illness effectively treated can be filled with meaning, happiness, and love.

Medical colleagues routinely monitor patients with sphygmomanometers, peak flow meters, and glucometers. Similarly, psychiatrists can and should incorporate the use of screening tools to help with diagnosis and treatment management.

Spice, Bath Salts, and Salvia are emerging drugs of abuse, with patients increasingly turning to these agents. Since their legal status varies and they can be difficult to detect on standard drug tests, their popularity may be increasing.

Einstein's happiest moment revealed.

It was not until the introduction of this MAOI that the term “atypical depression” began to emerge to describe a particular variant of nonendogenous depression.

Identification of atypical features is important in the treatment of depression for both treatment selection and prognosis, especially when initial measures prove ineffective. The concept of atypical depression has evolved over many years, and now it appears timely for a further revision.

Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals are increasingly turning to social media to help build, manage, market, and diversify their practices. But how to use social media still maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality? Details here.

What steps should you take to avoid being sued? The answer to this all important question can be heard in this video, which stars Skip Simpson, a nationally recognized attorney who has spent his career litigating medical malpractice case

How does your personal income last year compare with the previous year? What was your practice’s overhead as a percentage of medical revenue? How many hours per week do you work, on average?

What are the options for treating major depressive disorder in children and adolescents? This case offers readers a chance to give their feedback and to interact with the authors, who will present teaching points based on your comments.

Now that President Obama has been re-elected, the Monday morning quarterbacking has begun. What went right in each campaign? What went wrong? Who is next to run in 2016?

The DSM-5 leadership is trying to put a brave face on its badly failed first stage of field testing and has offered no excuse or explanation for canceling its second and most crucial quality control stage. This field testing fiasco erases whatever was left of the credibility of DSM-5 and APA.

It’s comforting to think we control our lives. Then the weathermen predict a meteorologic Armageddon, and this time their predictions turn out to be correct.