Monthly Roundup: Top 6 Psychiatry Stories in October

Back to the Future, by Allan Tasman, MD
This month’s editorial is all about the future-Psychiatric Times’ future plans with psychiatric subspecialties, NIMH Director Thomas Insel’s move to Google Life Sciences, and directions in mental health. –Psychiatric Times. Image ©Vitstudio/Shutterstock

Before Working in Psychiatry, I Didn't Think Mental Health Problems Were Real
“So while most of my colleagues were out in the enticing world of medicine and surgery, I was to spend five weeks on an adult psychiatric ward,” writes an anonymous medical student in this blog post. “The role of a psychiatrist and the positive change they make in a person’s life should be celebrated more in medical school . . . [and] there should be mental health training throughout our careers.” Image: ©file404/Shutterstock –The Guardian

Self-harm Emergencies After Bariatric Surgery
In a population-based, self-matched, longitudinal cohort analysis, Bhatti and colleagues sought to measure self-harm emergencies 3 years before and after surgery. They found that “a total of 111 patients had 158 self-harm emergencies during follow-up. Overall, self-harm emergencies significantly increased after surgery.” Image: ©OcskayMark/Shutterstock –JAMA Surgery

Dr Tom Insel to Step Down as NIMH Director
Thomas R. Insel, MD, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health for over a decade, moves to Google Life Sciences: “That the life sciences team at Google would establish a major exploration into mental health is by itself a significant statement-recognizing the burden of illness from psychosis, mood disorders, and autism as well as the opportunity for technology to make a major impact to change the world for the millions affected. The Google philosophy has been to seek a 10x impact on hard problems. I am looking forward to a 10x challenge in mental health.” Image ©NIMH

Comprehensive Versus Usual Community Care for First-Episode Psychosisew Approach Advised to Treat Schizophrenia
The authors conclude: “Comprehensive care for first-episode psychosis can be implemented in U.S. community clinics and improves functional and clinical outcomes. Effects are more pronounced for those with shorter duration of untreated psychosis.” Image: ©NomadSoul/Shutterstock –American Journal of Psychiatry