My 50 Years of Experience Condensed Into 50 Tips Each For Clinicians, Patients, Families, and Policymakers

February 7, 2020

In this 4-part collection, the author shares his experience and provides guidance to all involved in the mental health field-patients, physicians, families, and policymakers.

An important collection of guidance and advice.

Advice to Young Psychiatrists From a Very Old One. It started with a compelling tweet: “An open question on mental health as a junior psychiatrist. What do you think I should learn and focus on to be a better doctor and advocate for my patients?” Could there possibly be a better question for all people starting out in any field to ask themselves, and others, as they embark on their careers? The 140-character limit imposed by Twitter forced me to offer only a brief reply containing five scant snippets of advice. This troubled me-his serious request deserves a more serious response

Advice to People Who Have Psychiatric Problems. After writing 50 pieces of advice to clinicians on how best to help their patients, it seemed fitting to provide an equal portion of advice for patients who seek help from those clinicians.

Advice to Families Coping With Psychiatric Problems. This third in the series provides advice to families on how best to cope with the psychiatric problems of a family member.

Repairing Our Broken Mental Health Care System: Advice for Policymakers. Patients with severe mental illness routinely have no access to adequate medication, psychological counseling, social support, and/or housing.

Dr Frances is Professor Emeritus and former Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Duke University; Chair, DSM-IV Task Force. He is the author of Saving Normal and Essentials of Psychiatric Diagnosis. Twitter: @AllenFrancesMD.