April 11th 2024
Take a look back at our recent coverage relating to our April content theme.
Conference Report: Daniel Paul Schreber Centenary–200 Years of Sonnenstein
May 17th 2011A report on the first international conference on Daniel Paul Schreber: "No comparison can be drawn between the sublime suffering of 1 individual-a man who, even in his madness, remained a member of Germany’s elite-and the horrors that would be perpetrated in that institution in the years to come..."
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Does MDMA Have a Role in Clinical Psychiatry?
May 7th 2011Like every drug or technology that has therapeutic value, MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) has potential risks and benefits. Unlike most other drugs under clinical investigation, MDMA has a complex and controversial history that has delayed dispassionate scientific investigation into its therapeutic use.
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Ketamine: A Possible Role for Patients Who Are Running Out of Options?
May 3rd 2011If ketamine is able to turn off a patient’s depression, even for one day, you have accomplished something important, whether or not you can maintain it. This is because you have at least given the patient hope . . . that in itself is very significant from a therapeutic perspective.
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Consequences of Population Drift
March 23rd 2011Writers of diagnostic criteria should consider their work and all its implications. What about adding a new disorder? What might that do to epidemiological capture? Depending on the characteristics of the diagnostic criteria set, many possibilities exist.
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Does Research Support “Craving” as a Core Symptom of Substance Use Disorders in DSM-5?
January 11th 2011Recently, the Substance Use Disorder Work group of the DSM-5 announced the inclusion of “craving” in the diagnostic criteria for all substance use disorders despite its lack of empirical support from the very analyses conducted by that Workgroup. In addition, no detailed literature review supports the decision to make “craving” a core symptom of Substance Use Disorder syndromes.
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DSM5 Task Force: Do Not Go to the Mass Media-Do Your Homework
December 1st 2010As I was driving to work on February 10, 2010, I listened to the National Public Radio host Melissa Block talking about how children labeled “bipolar” may get a new diagnosis. I was shocked that the chair of one of the DSM5 work groups, David Shaffer, MD, would discuss a controversial diagnostic topic with the media.
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Science Versus Pragmatism in the DSM: Finding A Middle Ground
November 18th 2010The DSM does and must involve both science and pragmatism. It must use the science that is available, but it must also make countless judgment calls that are not grounded in solid empirical evidence-and surely it makes sense to consider practical consequences in doing the latter.
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Biological Consequences and Transgenerational Impact of Violence and Abuse
November 17th 2010Every year, more than 1 million children are exposed to sexual or physical abuse or neglect in the US. The research summarized here clearly demonstrates that exposure to stress before adulthood can result in persistent effects on both mental and physical health.
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Reasons Patients Doubt Medication-Resistant Delusions in Schizophrenia
October 30th 2010Our study suggests that most delusional patients, even those with high positive symptom scores, may have at least 1 RFD that precedes a clinical intervention specifically directed toward encouraging doubt. These preexisting “islands of doubt” may offer a useful foothold to begin the CBT process.
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Grief and Depression Redux: Response to Dr Frances’s “Compromise”
September 28th 2010Clearly, we all share the goals of respecting-not “medicalizing”-ordinary grief; as well as recognizing and treating clinically significant depression. We differ with Dr Frances in how to achieve these goals, while remaining faithful to the best available scientific data.
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