Some Social Psychiatric News to Be Thankful For

PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS

For many reasons, including those mentioned in yesterday’s column, I wouldn’t say by any means that this is a great time for psychiatrists and psychiatry:

1. There are diminished resources due to cuts by our federal government.
2. There is a lack of breakthrough medications and psychedelics are still awaiting potential approval.
3. There is interfaith collegial turmoil related to the conflict in Gaza.

But there is some positive social psychiatric news to value and be grateful for:

1. One is a ceasefire in Gaza, allowing time to try to plan for potential peace and the heavy resources needed for recovery from posttraumatic stress disorder and unresolved prolonged grief.
2. The potential of technology to help treatment, whether that be the continuation of Zoom sessions, apps, or now AI, which seem to be helping the loneliness epidemic, though the drawback may be less live human interactions.
3. There seems to be an improvement in youth mental health, with a decrease in child abuse.
4. The development of positive and lifestyle psychiatry for improving mental health.
5. The potential release of the Epstein Files that could bring some closure to the trafficked girls and help prevent future sexual abuse of women.
6. The establishment of an informal Public Mental Health Committee of psychiatrists, including myself, to address the risks to our public mental health resources.

It is also a time of year that preparations for 2026 escalate. That includes the election of new American Psychiatric Association officers and the sessions for the upcoming annual meeting in May have been selected. This is the social part of our internal collegial and organizational relationships, all of which has a great influence on patient care.

Psychiatric Times continues to cover all aspects of psychiatry, but that would have much less meaning and impact without our readership. Thanks to you all for you attention and interest.

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.