It’s a Small World, After All

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

The classic song by the Sherman Brothers makes a good point: “It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears/It’s a world of hopes and a world of fears/There’s so much that we share/That it’s time we’re aware/It’s a small world after all.” Certainly, the events of 2021—including the continued struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and political unrest in various countries—made us acutely aware of the ripple effects of events across the globe. In this issue of Psychiatric Times^TM, we take this notion a bit further and explore global psychiatry.

Chaired by Editorial Board member Renato D. Alarcón, MD, MPH, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, our special report dips into the deep waters of global psychiatry as the world marches forward into a new year. Milton L. Wainberg, MD, founding chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Caucus of Global Mental Health, sets the stage by exploring the challenges and opportunities facing global psychiatry in a postpandemic world. Similarly, Richard F. Mollica, MD, MAR, director of the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, tackles the growing refugee crisis resulting from continued political unrest, violence, and disruptions due to climate change and related catastrophes.

Meanwhile, here in the United States and abroad, we continue to experience a mental health epidemic, with long waits for care, issues in treatment resistance, and untold unnecessary suffering. This issue’s clinical articles aim to provide you with the insights and tools required to address your patients’ needs and improve care. For instance, “TMS: A Useful Clinical Tool for Treatment-Resistant Depression,” by Abhijit Ramanujam, MD, explores the promising treatment of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). According to data, two-thirds of patients who receive TMS experience either full remission of or noticeable improvements in their depression symptoms. Not only is TMS garnering attention from clinicians and researchers but, thanks to a report in a recent episode of CBS Sunday Morning, patients with depression have heard about Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT) and the program’s success—notably, that 80% of the study’s participants saw their severe depression go into remission.

As we move into the holiday season and look forward to a new year, it is exciting to think of promising new treatment strategies and protocols for the millions of individuals across the globe who struggle with psychiatric illness. As always, cover to cover, Psychiatric Times^TM is committed to providing you with clinical insights, engaging commentaries and columns, and the tools and support you need to provide the best care to your patients.

Here’s to a wonderful 2022! ❒

Mike Hennessy Sr

Chairman and Founder, MJH Life SciencesTM