In July, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health issued a document that is likely to shape the nation's mental health policies for decades. The commission's charge was to study inadequacies in the current mental health system and make specific recommendations for addressing these problems without increasing government spending on mental health care.
Research Fails to Link Talk Therapy With Heart Attack Survival - Poetry of the Times
A study presented at the Eleventh International Congress of the International Psychogeriatric Association showed that risperidone 1 mg/day reduced the risk of falls in ambulatory patients with dementia. Data from 537 patients in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 12-week, multicenter study of three doses of risperidone were included.
Zubenko and colleagues recently released results from the first genome-wide linkage survey for genetic loci that influence the development of unipolar mood disorders in 81 families identified by individuals with recurrent, early-onset, major depressive disorder. The survey found 19 loci that appear to influence vulnerability to depressive disorders.
Why do Asian-Americans (especially university students) appear to suffer from higher levels of symptoms of social anxiety than white Americans, yet their high symptom reports are not accompanied by behavioral signs of social anxiety? Is this discrepancy due to culturally determined display rules or biased assessment by those who are culturally different? How does this discrepancy make it difficult for clinicians to accurately assess the severity of social anxiety among Asian-Americans?
How is cultural psychiatry defined? What is its history in the United States and how will it continue to influence mental health care in the future? What do mental health care professionals need to know to provide culturally sensitive care?
This article reviews the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study that examined the association between multiple childhood traumas and health outcomes in adults. These findings have significant public health implications for individuals exposed to childhood trauma, and the authors present a vision for a children's mental health care and wellness infrastructure in the United States derived from the Report of the Surgeon General's Conference on Children's Mental Health.
Hispanics are now officially the largest minority in the United States. They are also highly prone to psychiatric disorders. What are the unique challenges of treating this ethnic population?
Results from three statewide studies of the clinical practices for assessing and treating children and adolescents with a primary diagnosis of conduct disorder, ADHD or bipolar I disorder demonstrate gender and ethnic differences only for those diagnosed with conduct disorder. The implications of these findings and their similarities to the literature on adults with psychiatric disorders are discussed.
Cognitive Therapy's Faulty Schema
The chief psychiatrist of the Community-University Health Care Clinic in Minneapolis reflects on what he's learned caring for refugees from Southeast Asia and Somalia. His experiences can educate others caring for immigrants and refugees.
"Can a Depressed Parent be A Good Parent? You Bet!" This campaign, launched by the Children's Hospital in Boston and Screening for Mental Health, Inc. aims to raise awareness of parental depression and encourage parents to openly talk about their illness with their children.
Children can now play a more active role in the treatment of their disorders. Using skills and information taught throughout the three treatment phases of cognitive-behavioral therapy (education, application and prevention relapse), they can be taught to understand and address the very fears that cause their disability.
The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry will hold its 50th anniversary meeting in October, but the field can trace its U.S. origins to Chicago in 1899. Learn how the specialty has developed over the years in this historical essay.
Can olanzapine (Zyprexa) delay or even prevent psychosis in patients with prodromal symptoms of schizophrenia? A new study being conducted in four research centers in North America is attempting to answer that question. Prevention Through Risk Identification Management and Education (PRIME) uses several new scales developed specifically for this study to identify and rate symptoms of prodromal symptoms to assist in early intervention research.
Initially, it seemed that the privacy rule for HIPAA would protect patients' privacy, but in reality it has opened the door for insurance companies and hospitals to view private health care information. How can physicians and patients protect their privacy from further erosion?
Although studies have already shown that alcoholism can greatly increase the risk of suicide, a new published study has discovered that age is also a factor in suicide among alcoholics.
Low reimbursement rates. Administrative hassles. Inflexible treatment options. This article details these and many other pressing concerns regarding psychiatrists and their role in managed care systems.
When it was announced that Michael Moore's documentary on the U.S. culture of fear and gun violence, Bowling for Columbine, had won the Academy Award for feature documentary, the Hollywood audience gave him a standing ovation.
The American Psychiatric Association has developed a sweeping vision for reforming mental health care in the midst of a fiscal crisis that it says threatens a wholesale collapse of the system. The plan calls for an investment in mental health services equal to the level of disability that mental disorders cause, an end to behavioral health carveouts and better integration between psychiatry and primary care.
An increasing amount of systemic research has galvanized opinions regarding pediatric-onset bipolar disorder (BD). Although originally thought to be a rare condition, the number of pediatric-onset BD diagnoses is rising. This article summarizes current thinking regarding pediatric BD, including work focusing on presentation, psychiatric comorbidity and recent treatment data
The use of alternative treatments--like acupuncture, homeopathy, herbs, dietary supplements--for postpartum depression is becoming widespread. Dr. Hendrick discusses the benefits and risks of these alternative treatments and research that is being done to ensure their safety for new mothers
Rather than looking at the biological basis for depression, it may be more useful to look at the patient's worldview and how that may have primed them for depression. Examining events that took place in the patient's past lead to a solution to their current depression.
I have been following the ongoing dialogue regarding the Falun Gong movement, and I have been pleased to find that Alan Stone, M.D., is the first psychiatrist to write something approaching the truth about the Falun Gong group (November 2002 Psychiatric Times, p1; April PT, p9).
Now that the HIPPA compliance deadline has passed, it seems as though Congress is no closer to reaching a solution to the issue of patient privacy. What should physician groups such as the American Psychiatric Association be doing to support patient privacy, and are they doing enough?
Erotic transference can be one of the most difficult issues to work through in psychotherapy. What is the history of the understanding of erotic transference, and what factors may play into its emergence in therapy?
Poetry of the Times
With the advent of computer technology, new forms of therapy have emerged that can help patients. How can a virtual reality environment enable patients to overcome panic disorder and agoraphobia, and what are the advantages to such forms of therapy?
One of the more difficult aspects of treating children and adolescents is the issue of aggression. An expert consensus panel convened by the Center for the Advancement of Children's Mental Health at Columbia University and the New York State Office of Mental Health has released a new set of treatment guidelines that should help physicians give the best care possible.
The use of supportive psychotherapy, where the clinician acts as a watchful parent, may be of some use to certain patients as opposed to traditional psychoanalysis. This paper gives some examples of cases in which supportive psychotherapy may be more effective.
