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Psychiatric symptoms are fairly ubiquitous in the general population- most normal people have at least one, many have a few. When present in isolation, a single symptom (or even a few) does not a psychiatric disorder make. Two additional conditions must also be met before a symptom can be considered to be part of a mental disorder.

their silver bodies glinting in the twilight . . . like shards of broken glass, wing-tip lights . . . flashing like towers on tall buildings

The proposed Conditions of Participation (CoPs) from Medicare for community mental health centers (CMHCs) could expand the role and responsibilities of psychiatrists both in and beyond Medicare facilities.

Addressing the Underlying Causes of Treatment Resistance

As GOP candidates carve out their healthcare platforms, physicians should perk up their ears and prepare to compare.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, or antidepressants can be effective treatments for major depression-despite their minimal separation from placebo/control therapies in clinical trials. This article argues that their specific efficacy has not been established.

The Alzheimer’s Association announced in July that the FDA had accepted its recommendations to modify exclusion and monitoring criteria for clinical trials of agents that affect β-amyloid protein in the brain.

In my view, Dr Angell’s assertions reflect both a serious misunderstanding of psychiatric diagnosis, and-equally important-a failure to address the core philosophical issues involved in her use of the terms “subjective,” “objective,” “behaviors,” and “signs.”

On Safety, Efficacy-and Financial Incentives

Sadly, type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing in children and adolescents at a rapid rate associated with rising rates of obesity.

Anxiety disorders are a frequent occurrence in pregnancy. While some worries and anxiety are experienced by more than 50% of pregnant women, a full-blown anxiety disorder involves risk to both mother and fetus and increases the risk of postpartum depression.

Anxiety disorders occur in 18% to 28% of the US general population during any 12-month period. In anxiety disorder, there is a 33% to 45% 12-month prevalence rate for a comorbid substance use disorder (SUD).

In this article, we attempt to leverage state-of-the-art research findings to provide empirically informed perspectives and practices related to these issues.

Exposure-based therapies are highly effective for patients with anxiety disorders, to the extent that exposure should be considered a first-line, evidence-based treatment for such patients. In clinical practice, however, these treatments are underutilized, which highlights the need for additional dissemination and training.

Treatment of anxiety can be a challenge, since the mainstay of treatment may adversely affect the course of bipolar disorder.

The Cape Cod Symposium on Addictive Disorders is a large annual meeting dedicated to continuing education and networking in the field of addictions.

Psychosis Risk (AKA attenuated psychotic symptoms disorder) has always had 3 strikes against it.

Regretfully, if we are to judge the progress of DSM-5 by the incoherence of a recent commentary by the Chair and Vice-chair of the DSM-5 Task Force, we have a lot to worry about.

Hoarding has broad-reaching implications, including a substantial public health burden linked to occupational impairment, poor physical health, and demand for social services.

It is our responsibility as psychiatrists to educate the media and the public in general.

What is your experience with patients who may decide to quit multiple substances simultaneously? Is it overambitious?

A dark cloud surrounds the silver lining of having one psychiatrist in a position of almost unopposed influence . . .

In 2009, Maj Matthew P. Houseal, a psychiatrist, was in Iraq attempting to help suicidal soldiers when a fellow soldier killed him, a clinical social worker and 3 others at a combat stress center near Bagdad. Paradoxically, Houseal’s accused killer, US Army Sgt John Russell, had earlier threatened to take his own life, according to witnesses’ testimony during a recent investigative Article 32 hearing.

Describing herself as “strangled by debt” and “unable to deal with [the] school system” that had provided education for her special-needs son, psychiatrist Margaret Jensvold, MD, recently killed her 13-year-old son and then committed suicide.

For prescribing psychiatrists who want to offer treatment alternatives to patients who prefer to avoid medication, the evidence is clear that psychotherapy is an effective choice. Even in cases in which medication is accepted, the evidence suggests that psychotherapy may significantly improve patient outcomes.

A therapist forgets about a patient’s appointment. She becomes abnormally angry, unusually forgiving, atypically bored, or excessively voyeuristic. What is going on? The therapist’s countertransference is making itself known.

Dear Mrs. -- You have asked me about the cause of your mood disorder, and whether it is due to a "chemical imbalance."

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We are living in an evidence-based era in all fields of medicine, including psychiatry. For the most part, this represents progress because clinicians can start to base their interventions on treatments that have been supported by the results of research studies.