tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098825386524965392024-03-20T03:33:20.791-04:00Psychiatric TimesThe Couch in CrisisPsychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-82104770692669631532010-01-19T15:57:00.000-05:002010-01-19T15:57:14.031-05:00No Condolence Letter For Families of Soldiers Who Commit SuicideWhen a soldier is killed while in the military service the President writes a condolence letter to the family. However, if a soldier is psychologically injured and then commits suicide, there is no Presidential letter of condolence. There is apparently an unwritten policy that this does not include families of soldiers who have committed suicide.
It is easy to imagine how hurtful that must be Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-82295608583939909732010-01-12T15:14:00.001-05:002010-01-12T15:15:17.636-05:00Western Psychiatric Imperialism, or Something Else?In a very long essay in the Sunday (1/10/10) New York Times Magazine, entitled, “The Americanization of Mental Illness,” Ethan Watters suggests that a kind of psychiatric-cultural imperialism has been foisted on other countries and cultures by “the West.”
Specifically, Watters claims that, “For more than a generation now, we in the West have aggressively spread our modern knowledge of mental Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-18803596737194999952010-01-06T10:16:00.004-05:002010-01-07T10:18:14.001-05:00Why Psychiatrists Should go GreenI don’t know how many psychiatrists paid much attention to the climate-change conference in Copenhagen last month, but I came away convinced they need our help. Here’s why. Given the scientific consensus that human behavior is the major cause of the planet’s undesired warming, who better to understand the roots, manifestations, repercussions, and treatment of that behavior?
But like much of our Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-7966686898307775352009-12-15T15:22:00.007-05:002009-12-15T16:53:02.933-05:00Is Psychiatry Now a “House Divided”?Hired guns.” “Whores.” “Greedy, insensitive bastards. “ These are some of the more printable epithets used to describe psychiatric physicians who (allegedly) have “sold out to Big Pharma” ”—for example, by failing to disclose conflicts of interest, or to report large sums of money earned through their work with pharmaceutical companies. It may surprise some—but perhaps not many—that these terms Susan Kweskinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06327532325495981699noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-26219308762198508922009-11-30T10:25:00.003-05:002009-11-30T14:25:56.273-05:00“Psychosurgery”: Promise, Perils, and Patients’ ProtectionPsychosurgery. For some, the word connotes all the promising therapeutic applications of modern neuroscience; for others, it connotes all the baneful excesses of unregulated pseudoscience. In his recent front page story for the New York Times (Nov. 27), Benedict Carey presented a balanced and nuanced view of what is sometimes termed “psychiatric neurosurgery,” focusing mainly on cingulotomy, Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-5032420636356901892009-10-29T12:12:00.005-04:002009-11-06T11:46:43.460-05:00Rape and the Heart of Darkness at Richmond HighThe press reported it in various ways—either as a “brutal gang rape” or, more forensically, as a “2½-hour assault” on the Richmond High School campus. Anyway you look at it, the horrendous attack on a 15-year old girl raises troubling questions for theologians, criminologists, and, of course, psychiatrists. How do we understand an act as brutal as rape? What factors and forces in the rapist’s Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-1093653145967921182009-10-27T14:57:00.009-04:002009-10-28T09:51:36.638-04:00On Narcissism, the Internet, and Social Networking SitesI read with interest the posts of Dr John Grohol, PsyD regarding my commentary, "Twitter and YouTube: Unanticipated Consequences of the Self-Esteem Movement.” I had hoped it would bring attention to this topic and am glad that this has opened up an important dialogue. However, the author has missed the point.
It was not my intention to blame the internet for creating more narcissists or for Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-43843611158684359092009-10-22T14:49:00.001-04:002009-10-22T14:52:43.078-04:00A Citizen Above SuspicionWhen I thought of writing this letter, I was put in mind of Jean-Jacques Dessalines (1758 – 1806), the Emperor of the tiny nation of Haiti, writing to the most powerful man of that time, Napoleon Bonaparte. Like Dessalines, I am a grain of sand standing next to the huge mountain of the psychiatric establishment. Fortunately, there is Psychiatric Times (PT), which allows a "half-island nation" Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-88933771522381294322009-10-16T17:02:00.001-04:002009-10-16T17:06:31.045-04:00Monitoring PharmonitorCongratulations to Dr Alan A. Stone for taking the time to nail the bias contained in the Supplement discussed in his piece, “Reality-Checking: Case In Point.” And congratulations to Psychiatric Times for printing Dr Stone’s article. Perhaps PT is ready to take further steps in separating itself from the "educational efforts" sponsored by pharmaceutical companies that have so deeply corrupted theUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-30802364012082974812009-09-17T17:43:00.001-04:002009-09-17T17:46:19.046-04:00On integrity and never ending diagnostic updates…I read the article by Dr Frances and was impressed by its intelligence. I then read the response by the APA in the person of Dr Schatzberg et al. I was shocked by its sleazy attack on Dr Frances’ integrity. Dr Frances was accused of arguing because of anticipated personal financial gain. The accusation that Dr Frances was arguing ad hominem was the pot calling the kettle black. The whole Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-44025277898128845972009-09-16T12:32:00.003-04:002009-09-16T12:37:24.040-04:00Toward mental illness for all?We were surprised to read of the open letter by Drs Frances and Spitzer regarding the creation of DSM-V. Over time we have been puzzled by a succession of Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals, and have been forced to conclude the long-term purpose of the DSM is to abolish mental illness from American society. Currently only half of all Americans fit the criteria in DSM-IV to be diagnosed with oneUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-50920177606259334382009-09-03T16:10:00.007-04:002009-09-03T17:02:14.942-04:00This Accusation Has No Logic. . .The APA DSM-V Task Force’s response to Dr. Frances’s critique of DSM-V noted that his royalties for DSM-IV products would cease when DSM-V is published. However, Dr. Frances’ critique called for DSM-V developers to make fewer changes- - not more, and he made no call for longer DSM-V field trials; in fact he proposed additions such as prodromal and subthreshold syndromes to be put in an appendix Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-38558752212906643162009-09-03T15:43:00.002-04:002009-09-03T15:52:20.411-04:00Preserving Irrelevance?I agree with Drs Schatzberg, Scully, Kupfer and Regier. In my busy clinical practice, I do not see DSM-IV doing justice to clinical reality. Less than 25% of my patients have a genuinely good syndromatic fit with specific DSM diagnoses. With diagnostic criteria strictly applied, I find myself with numerous NOS diagnoses with little in terms of treatment or prognosis utility. Preserving the lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07191992926945173560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-81183734324947613412009-09-02T11:37:00.005-04:002009-09-09T14:48:12.154-04:00Members of the International Public Are Also Disappearing into a DSM Black HoleIn response to Dr. Johnson’s post, “Like Writing a Letter to Santa Claus,” UK Patient Advocate Suzy Chapman notes that Web-based platforms like Wiki and Facebook are likely to be viewed as little more than token nods in the direction of transparency and stakeholder participation.[Note: Comment slightly edited from original.]In June of this year, I raised inquiries with the DSM-V Task Force in lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07191992926945173560noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-6413340212027518942009-09-01T14:34:00.001-04:002009-09-01T14:36:11.087-04:00On Integrity and Never Ending Diagnostic Updates…I read the article by Dr Frances and was impressed by its intelligence. I then read the response by the APA in the person of Dr Schatzberg et al. I was shocked by its sleazy attack on Dr Frances’ integrity. Dr Frances was accused of arguing because of anticipated personal financial gain. The accusation that Dr Frances was arguing ad hominem was the pot calling the kettle black.
The whole Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-76978422635981090802009-09-01T14:29:00.004-04:002009-09-02T10:20:47.489-04:00Like Writing a Letter to Santa ClausA reader sent us a note regarding his experiences in providing feedback to the DSM-V committee:
"I responded to the chance to upload to the DSM-V website an article I published with suggested DSM-V criteria for addiction - perhaps 6 months ago. There was never a response. My comments went off into cyberspace. I had my administrator try to follow up with a call to the head of the DSM-V Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-23619818982225427462009-09-01T14:15:00.000-04:002009-09-01T14:15:47.381-04:00No One Owns Us, No Matter Who Has Sold UsThank you Dr. Frances for making explicit what has been an implicit, sad trend in our profession. I also believe we have slowly sold out to the pharmaceuticals. Perhaps, first, it was to legitimize ourselves as part of "real" medicine. I could have lived with the psychiatry of twenty or even ten years ago. The pens, dinners, and drug samples did not pose any heart-wrenching ethical dilemmas for Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-86077421977137266412009-08-26T17:02:00.003-04:002009-08-26T17:13:02.770-04:00It's About Time!In a 138-page report released on Wednesday, August 5th, the American Psychological Association said that there is little evidence to suggest that efforts to change a person's sexual orientation from gay or lesbian to heterosexual are successful. In fact, such efforts can cause harm. The findings of the American Psychological Association Task Force of Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Natalie Timoshinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09879699348361784658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-46529935282594497122009-08-26T16:47:00.003-04:002009-08-26T17:00:34.956-04:00Skepticism Remains but They'll Give it a ShotThe New York Times recently reported that the US Army plans to provide intensive mental stress training for its troops. In an effort to reduce potential mental health problems such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicide, the US Army will require that all active-duty soldiers, reservists, and members of the National Guard undergo stress training. The training will also be Natalie Timoshinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09879699348361784658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-55016305349354234502009-08-10T10:57:00.003-04:002009-08-10T11:09:52.197-04:00Gone But Not Forgotten: Remembering and Learning From the Events at Camp LibertyThank you Psychiatric Times for your eulogies to the fallen mental health workers and patients at Camp Liberty last month ("Death of Psychiatrist and Other Soldiers Triggers Inquiry Into Military's Mental Health Care", July 2009). Dr Houseal and Springle were truly dedicated humanitarians and patriots. I extend my condolences to their families and the families of the fallen patients as well.I am Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-23245517335843714262009-08-04T15:15:00.002-04:002009-08-04T15:42:44.605-04:00Psychiatrists, Pain Specialists, and the Physicalist Fallacy: Who Are the "Real" Doctors?You know the drill, but in case you have repressed it, the antipsychiatry mantra goes something like this: “Real” disease is present only when we can point to a lump, bump, or lesion—or at least, to a specific physiochemical abnormality in association with a specific set of signs and symptoms. Anything else that we call “disease” is simply a label—a “social construct” akin to terms like “Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-59024575233292934122009-07-30T11:38:00.003-04:002009-07-30T12:12:55.321-04:00The DSM-V FlapIt is troubling to discover demonizing polarization in discussions of DSM-V. It has been bad enough witnessing such primitive splitting in our political life.While Dr. Frances (“A Warning Sign on the Road to DSM-V: Beware of Its Unintended Consequences,” Psychiatric Times, June 26, 2009) raises legitimate concerns regarding the "unintended consequences" of major diagnostic reform, he never fully Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-81974536832799043892009-07-21T11:34:00.003-04:002009-07-22T16:54:49.183-04:00Dr Rosenblum speaks up regarding APA's response to Dr FrancesDr Stephen Rosenblum, Life Fellow, APA writes:"I found the American Psychiatric Association's response ("Setting the Record Straight", Psychiatric Times, July 1,2009) to Dr. Alan Frances's commentary ("A Warning Sign on the Road to DSM-V", Psychiatric Times, June 26, 2009) outlining his concerns about the DSM-V an embarrassing, black mark against the Association. As President of an organization Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-2442765043637014452009-07-16T12:10:00.002-04:002009-07-16T12:13:51.104-04:00Doctor, Are You "Drugging" or Medicating Your Patients? Antipsychiatry and the War of WordsYou have read the blogs and seen the placards a dozen times: doctors prescribe too many “drugs” for too many patients. Psychiatrists, in particular, are popular targets of politically-motivated language that seeks to conflate the words “medication” and “drug”—thereby tapping into the public’s understandable fears concerning “drug abuse” and our need to carry out a “War on Drugs”. Misleading radioPsychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-509882538652496539.post-33534280481206263912009-07-14T11:12:00.004-04:002009-07-14T11:29:34.186-04:00Resignation Letter to DSM-V WorkgroupDr Jane Costello, PhD, professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University and former DSM-V Workgroup member resigned from the Child and Adolescent Workgroup in March after feeling that the development of the new edition was off-track. Dr Costello shared the letter she sent to Workgroup leader, Danny Pine, MD (NIMH). A copy of the letter she sent follows.Dear Psychiatric Timeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17693025786039214283noreply@blogger.com1