-
Talk About Talk Therapy
I saw this great blog post about psychotherapy by Dr. George Dawson a couple of days ago and it reminded me of an academic research rounds presentation made about 15 years ago by University of Iowa Health Care Dept of Psychiatry faculty member, Dr. Bruce Pfohl, MD Professor Emeritus. The title of his talk was…
-
Get Up & Move!
On the calendar for Mental Health Month today is “Movement matters” so it’s all about getting off your duff and doing something physically active. It doesn’t have to be that strenuous and you can make it fun. For example, around 3 years or so ago, I picked up a set of juggling balls and taught…
-
May is Mental Health Month & Today is Food Appreciation Day!
We need to cover food appreciation during this month because this Mental Health Awareness Month and it’s on the calendar for today. One of the really important subjects connected to this is to also raise awareness about frailty in older adults A recently published Australian study about frailty in seniors found that we need to…
-
Today is National Hospital Day and National Limerick Day!
Today, in view of this being Mental Health Awareness Month, I’m calling attention to other national special days. One of them is National Hospital Day (and there’s also a National Hospital Week, which runs from May 10-16 this year). And I learned that this is also National Limerick Day, in honor of the English author…
-
New York City Memories
The recent New York Post story about the man who shoved a 76-year-old retired schoolteacher down a flight of subway stairs caught my attention. The assailant had been sent to Bellevue for a court-ordered psychiatric assessment for similar agitated behavior not long before this assault. My understanding from news stories is that he was held…
-
Getting Enough Sleep for the Most Important Person in the World: You
So, what’s on the menu for Mental Health Awareness today? It’s what some experts call sleep hygiene and there are all kinds of lists on the internet telling you how to get enough sleep. I think you’re OK with focusing on helpful tips that seem right for your age, your temperament, and your life and…
-
Ticks Among Us
I was struck by how much ticks and tick-borne illness is in the news lately, although it shouldn’t be surprising as it’s that time of year for people to be outside in the garden or the woods. There’s a great podcast on Rounding@IOWA on tick borne illness that I thought was pretty interesting. I was…
-
Shout Out to Dr. Fawad Taj for Psychiatric Times Article on Cannabis and Psychosis Risk
I rarely see an article that impresses me as much as the Psychiatric Times piece on psychosis risk and cannabis by Dr. Fawad Taj, MD. It makes sense that he is also a consultation-liaison psychiatrist. He’s on staff in the Dept. of psychiatry at University Hospitals of Cleveland. There is a highly esteemed scholar special…
-
Mental Health Affirmations for May 6, 2026
Today is May 6, 2026 and the Mental Health Awareness affirmation for today (from the Mental Health Awareness calendar) is about Affirmations: “Affirmations can improve people’s overall well-being, help them feel better about themselves, and reduce anxiety. Pick a supportive phrase and repeat it today.” I picked one from the list of suggested affirmations: “I…
-
Shout Out to Dr. George Dawson for Medical Reasoning Post!
I just wanted to make a shout-out to Dr. George Dawson for his post from yesterday, “Medical Reasoning vs. A Diagnostic Manual.” It reminded me of the diagnostic challenge of catatonia, which I saw several times during my career as a consultation-liaison psychiatrist. There’s an excellent recent review of the evaluation and management of catatonia.…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 