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Addressing the Opioid Epidemic, Part 1
The U.S. is currently being blighted by the deadliest opioid epidemic in its history. With more than 63,600 overdose deaths in 2016, and an expected higher number in 2017, the situation is only getting...
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Addressing the Opioid Epidemic, Part 2
Alongside increasing accessibility of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is the need to decrease the excessive number of opioid painkillers being prescribed in the first place. Widely touted as the...
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Psychiatric Patients at Elevated Risk for Heat-Related Illnesses
As the U.S. contends with soaring temperatures and record-breaking heat in many areas this summer, the risk of heat stroke and hyperthermia is particularly high, for children, for the elderly, as well...
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Forced Treatment: Children Given Psychotropic Drugs in Foster Homes
Migrant children, separated at the U.S. border from their parents, are reportedly being administered psychotropic drugs. This involuntary practice at shelters should be of concern to everyone–in and...
View ArticleSurge in Lethal Synthetic Drugs is Staggering
Spread all across the news has been a drug crisis across the U.S. that only seems to be escalating out of control. In 2016, nearly 64,000 people died from drug...
View ArticleSorting Out the Antidepressant `Withdrawal’ Controversy
Consider these two brief vignettes, and what they might teach us regarding so-called “antidepressant withdrawal.” Case Vignette 1 Mr. A is a 40-year-old technician diagnosed with major depressive...
View ArticleMagic Mushrooms: Now an FDA-Approved Breakthrough Therapy for Depression
As of October 2018, psilocybin, the psychedelic, active ingredient of ‘magic mushrooms’ is now a breakthrough therapy, as designated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This compound has...
View ArticleDebunking the Two `Chemical Imbalance’ Myths, Again
“A little learning is a dangerous thing.”—Alexander Pope Like the legendary Count Dracula, who could be killed only by driving a stake through his heart, some myths seem almost immortal....
View ArticleThe History of PTSD and the Current Status of its Treatment
Over the centuries, philosophers, historians, researchers, and clinicians have given many names to the psychological effects of combat. In the fifth century, Herodotus wrote of a brave warrior from the...
View ArticleAntidepressants May Elicit Reduction in Empathy to Others’ Pain
Depression has a marked effect on compromising psychological functioning, and therefore, impairing one’s ability to attain and sustain effective social interactions. Intuitively, many in the field of...
View ArticleAtypical Anti-Psychotics May Reduce Gray Matter Volume in Bipolar Patients
While atypical anti-psychotics are a vital part of treating disorders with psychotic features, including bipolar disorder (BD), they do come with a significant side-effect profile that still, very...
View ArticleThe Psychodynamics of Pharmacologic Treatment
When a prescription is written and a pill is taken, the effects of the medication are almost always influenced by a number of psychological factors. Some of these factors have...
View ArticleThe Integration of Biological and Psychological Perspectives
During the 1980s, a shift began in which increasing numbers of mental health practitioners and researchers widened their previously narrow views on etiology and treatment of mental illness....
View ArticleWhy Should You Care About Psychopharmacology as a Non-Medical Therapist?
In the United States, the majority of mental health services are provided by non-medical therapists. Likewise, the majority of prescriptions for psychotropic medications are written by family practice...
View ArticleA Very Short History of Biological Psychiatry
In understanding psychopharmacology, it is helpful to place it within the proper historical context. Below, we’ll take a look at psychopharmacology’s history and how it has unfolded into the...
View ArticleThe Cultural Context of Psychopharmacology
It is now understood that the ways psychotropic medications are metabolized may vary (sometimes considerably) among ethnic groups. When metabolism rates are reduced, the result can be significantly...
View ArticleThe Impact of the Media on Perceptions of Psychiatric Medications
Research studies and clinical experience certainly influence prescribing practices. However, in recent years the media has had a profound effect on public opinion and ultimately on clinical practice....
View ArticleAnxiety Disorders: Etiology and Implications for Treatment
Anxiety disorders encompass a broad, heterogeneous group of psychiatric problems. Like depression, anxiety disorders have multiple etiologies. Some appear to be clearly related to biochemical...
View ArticleObsessive-Compulsion Disorder: Etiology and Treatment
Traditional psychoanalytic theories posited psychogenic theories for what was once called obsessive-compulsive neurosis. These primarily involved early developmental experiences with perfectionistic,...
View ArticleSchizophrenia: The Dopamine and Glutamate Models of Dysfunction
The dopamine model was the predominant theory of biological causation during the late twentieth century. This theory hypothesized that schizophrenia is caused by abnormal dopaminergic activity in the...
View ArticleCan Clinical Psychology Survive? Part 1
In the relatively near future, the absence of a substantial increase in the unification of clinical psychologists, especially those who practice psychotherapy, will lead to our permanent place as...
View ArticleCan Clinical Psychology Survive? Part 2
According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2019, the median yearly salary for all nurse practitioners was about $110,000. Psychiatric nurse practitioners earn significantly more and the...
View ArticleResearch: Diabetes Drug Metformin as a Potential Mental Health Therapeutic
Individuals with insulin resistance, such as those with Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), have a significantly elevated risk of suffering from concomitant depression and anxiety (Bădescu et al., 2016)....
View ArticleIs Prevagen Really a Proven Memory Supplement?
Within the last decade, Wisconsin-based biotechnology company Quincy Bioscience has been promoting its wonder pill, Prevagen, as a supplement for ensuring memory health and cognitive well-being. The...
View ArticleEsketamine: Now FDA Approved as a Treatment for Acute Depression
As of this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of esketamine nasal spray as an adjunctive treatment modality for a novel application in major...
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