Psychiatry

Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

Conditions
May 13, 2025

Since the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), when civil service exams evaluated intellectual abilities, people have used cognitive assessments to identify special talents or, more commonly, to detect problems.

We’ve come a long way in 2,000 years! Today, neuropsychological batteries—combinations of assessments to detect dementia, learning disabilities, and cognitive impairments from chronic conditions or acute events—are widely used. Yet, far too often, these assessments are administered reactively, only after severe deficits …

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Why your emotions are your greatest compass in therapy and life

Conditions
May 10, 2025

In his book Ways of Attending, McGilchrist (2016) discusses a difference in attention—one that seeks organization and one that any attempt at organizing subverts. A bit like Schrödinger’s cat, just by looking, it is disturbed. In differing translations of Tranströmer’s poem Prelude from 17 Dikter (1954), about the moment upon wakening from a dream, he captures the infinite possibility that slides one fully awake into a new day, and which …

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Understanding therapy beyond crisis management [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 9, 2025
YouTube video

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Anesthesiologist and psychotherapist Maire Daugharty discusses her article, “Why real therapy isn’t just about crisis.” She challenges the common misconception that therapy is only necessary or effective during acute crises (“crisis-hopping”), explaining …

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Health workers deserve care too: How to protect their mental health

Conditions
May 9, 2025

Kim Downey:

A friend shared with me how she told someone their mutual physician was on medical leave. She heard it was serious. That person’s immediate response was concern over how it would affect their upcoming appointment. My friend said she thought of my advocacy work, initiating a conversation fostering empathy for the struggling physician.

I read a post by a surgeon, with fellow doctors commenting …

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A world without antidepressants: What could possibly go wrong?

Meds
May 9, 2025

Imagine waking up one morning to a bold headline screaming: “New Global Law: All Antidepressants Abolished!” Just like that, no more Prozac, no more Zoloft—no more of those little pills that have helped millions keep their balance while navigating life’s emotional tightrope. Pharmacy shelves are wiped clean overnight, and suddenly, one of the pillars of modern mental health care is gone.

Before you clutch your chest and start breathing into a …

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How AI helped me reclaim my creative mind with ADHD

Conditions
May 6, 2025

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand and tame my own mind.

I meditate—have for years. I journal. I go to therapy. I’ve devoted years of my life to endurance sports to “get out of my head,” I even lived at a yoga ashram. I’ve done the work, or at least, a lot of it. I don’t think I’m unfamiliar with introspection or emotional hygiene.

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When doctors die in silence: Confronting the epidemic of violence against physicians

Physician
May 5, 2025

When the CEO of United Health Care was assassinated in broad daylight on the streets of New York City, the media lit up. News outlets scrambled for interviews. Security protocols were analyzed. His death was treated with the gravity such a high-profile loss warrants.

But I wonder: Where is that outrage when physicians die?

Every year in America, doctors are killed — not by administrative burnout, malpractice lawsuits, or government prosecutions, but …

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DSM-5 doesn’t name it, but moral distress is everywhere in medicine

Conditions
May 3, 2025

The mental health crisis clinicians face but won’t talk about this May

Ask anyone about health care reform, and you’ll likely get passionate responses. Single-payer versus market-driven. Universal coverage versus cost-containment. Clinicians, though, usually have simpler wishes: fewer hours spent charting, more time spent actually caring.

But there’s a quieter, deeper conversation that’s rarely included when we talk about health care’s problems: moral distress.

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Love, empathy, and the triangle of exhaustion: Why humanity must come first

Physician
April 28, 2025

In our modern world, we often find ourselves caught in a cycle—balancing the demands of work, family, and personal well-being. For those living with marginalized identities, this exhaustion is compounded by societal expectations, a lack of understanding, and a pervasive sense of isolation.

Dr. Nicole Perrotte knew I was a pediatric physical therapist, and she shared with me her experience as the mom of an “atypical” child. Through …

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How smartphones are stealing your focus—and what you can do about it

Conditions
April 28, 2025

Over the past two months, I embarked on a mission to complete two reading tasks: A journey in service, the autobiography of Nigeria’s former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida, followed by Dream count, the latest work by the world-renowned writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Unfortunately, I have barely progressed beyond the opening chapters of either. My focus, the essential ingredient for deep reading, has remained elusive.

I first realized the extent of …

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Unleashing the kraken: What The Pitt gets wrong about psychiatric care

Physician
April 27, 2025

The Pitt, a medical drama set in a fictional Pittsburgh trauma center, captures the human connections forged in emergency medicine. The show follows a team of residents and medical students through a relentless 15-hour shift under their seasoned attending, Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle). Unlike melodramatic predecessors, The Pitt finds drama in the emotional toll of ER work, emphasizing resilience amid exhaustion. Its commitment to Read more…

Why ADHD isn’t just a childhood disorder and what that means for adults

Conditions
April 25, 2025

Current studies identify the negative impacts of failing to diagnose and treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which contributes to well-described impairment, morbidity, and mortality. Timely diagnosis, acceptance, and treatment do, in fact, improve outcomes. Benefits include a decrease in negative impacts on self-esteem, depression and other mood disorders, substance use disorders, suicidality, motor vehicle crashes, and criminality. These consequences result from easy distractibility and impulsiveness, which can be damaging …

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Gen Z is already transforming mental health care—are we listening?

Conditions
April 23, 2025

In a clinic in India, I once watched a young mother wait for hours to be seen, clutching her child and a paper folder filled with years of handwritten notes. There was no digital health record, no streamlined triage system—just patience, resilience, and the unspoken expectation that care would eventually come.

That moment has stayed with me—not because it was unique, but because it was far too common. It reminded me …

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Healers or criminals: the alarming trend of physician prosecution [PODCAST]

Podcast
April 20, 2025
YouTube video

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Practicing internist and psychiatrist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article “Criminalizing care: How the system turned on physicians.” He argues that physicians, historically pillars of trust, are increasingly being targeted and criminalized …

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What money can’t fix: the scars left by a friend

Conditions
April 17, 2025

I stood at the check-in counter of my physician’s office, waiting for my yearly physical. Beside me, another patient was checking in. I recognized her instantly.

It was Denise—my childhood best friend.

And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to say hello.

We had spent our childhoods side by side—playing Barbies, cheerleading, swimming at the neighborhood pool. Every single day. She wasn’t just a friend; she was my safe place. We stayed close all …

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Why long-acting injectables are transforming schizophrenia care

Meds
April 16, 2025

In recent years, psychiatric care has undergone a shift in the clinical mindset toward medication management for people living with schizophrenia and other chronic mental health conditions. As recognition grows for the breadth and depth of the clinical complexities and psychosocial challenges that patients may face along their diagnostic and treatment journey, there is movement toward ensuring that patients have access to treatment options that integrate their needs and preferences. …

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ADHD isn’t one-size-fits-all: Why nuance in diagnosis matters

Conditions
April 16, 2025

I read with great interest the recently published article in The New York Times by Paul Tough, who has reported on child development and education over the last twenty years. He outlines statistics, specifically the rise in diagnosis of children and adults since the 1990s, and then discusses implications, including questioning a current understanding of the disorder and its treatment.

Neurodevelopmental disorder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder …

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Funding physician wellness: a guide to getting programs approved [PODCAST]

Podcast
April 15, 2025
YouTube video

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Pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article “How to get physician wellness programs funded: a proven path forward.” Drawing on nearly two decades of experience navigating institutional hurdles and five …

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When leadership turns defensive: the impact of workplace paranoia on professionalism

Conditions
April 15, 2025

Leadership in any industry, especially in health care, demands a delicate balance of trust, ethical judgment, and professionalism. However, when leaders view collaboration through a lens of suspicion, assuming that employees are conspiring against them, it can lead to a culture of distrust and unprofessional behavior. This article delves into the psychological and ethical aspects of such behavior, its impact on workplace dynamics, and practical strategies for navigating these challenging …

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