Category: Psychiatry

  • University of Iowa Psychiatry Residents Get Shout Outs

    University of Iowa Psychiatry Residents Get Shout Outs

    Recently, University of Iowa psychiatry residents worked hard enough to get shout outs. One of them was exemplary performance on the consultation and emergency room service. The service was following over two dozen inpatients and received 15 consultation requests in a day. This is a staggering number and the resident on the service did the…

  • Intranasal Esketamine for Major Depression Available at University of Hospitals & Clinics Department of Psychiatry

    Intranasal Esketamine for Major Depression Available at University of Hospitals & Clinics Department of Psychiatry

    Learn about the use of intranasal Esketamine for Major Depressive Disorder at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics here.

  • Here We Go Again About Antidepressants

    Here We Go Again About Antidepressants

    Back in August, my colleagues, Drs. George Dawson, MD and Ronald Pies, MD wrote a rejoinder in Psychiatric Times to a review article published in Molecular Psychiatry by J. Moncrieff, Mark Horowitz and others (Moncrieff J, Cooper RE, Stockmann T, Amendola S, Hengartner MP, Horowitz MA. The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review…

  • Psychiatrists Cast Doubt on Idea that Antidepressants Work by Causing Apathy

    Psychiatrists Cast Doubt on Idea that Antidepressants Work by Causing Apathy

    Out of 60 hits on page one of a Google search using terms “emotional blunting from SSRI,” only one cast doubt on the assumption that SSRI antidepressants exert their treatment effect by causing apathy. The rest endorsed the connection. The one article I found on this quick search which contradicted this widely held and arguably…

  • Maybe We Need a Dose of Humor

    Maybe We Need a Dose of Humor

    Sena and I were listening to the Mike Waters morning radio show (KOKZ 105.7) this morning and his invitation to listeners was to call in and quote their favorite dumb question. One of the callers recited something which was actually a George Carlin joke. Neither one of us thought we heard it right, but it’s…

  • Ever See Bigfoot Splooting?

    Ever See Bigfoot Splooting?

    I wonder if anyone ever got a picture of Bigfoot splooting? Why not? It’s a large furry animal which has no way of cooling off other than by panting or lying on its belly with its limbs splayed out, which is the definition of “splooting.” I found a news item about splooting squirrels and quickly…

  • Thoughts on Suicide Risk Assessment

    Thoughts on Suicide Risk Assessment

    I know the term “suicide risk assessment” sounds very clinical. That’s because I did it for many years as a consultation-liaison psychiatrist in the general hospital. The human part of it was using the suicide safety plan, which I got from the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health & Addiction (CARMHA). You can download…

  • A Retired Consultation-Liaison Psychiatrist’s Perspective on Eating Disorders

    A Retired Consultation-Liaison Psychiatrist’s Perspective on Eating Disorders

    This is just my presentation on eating disorders vs disordered eating for a Gastrointestinal Disease Department grand rounds several years ago. What’s also helpful is an eating disorder section on the National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative (NNCI) web site. I left comments and questions there, which the presenter answered. In addition, the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry…

  • What Would Make Psychiatry More Fun?

    What Would Make Psychiatry More Fun?

    I just read Dr. George Dawson’s post “Happy Labor Day” published August 31, 2022. As usual, he’s right on the mark about what makes it very difficult to enjoy psychiatric practice. And then, I looked on the web for anything on Roger Kathol, MD, FACLP. There’s a YouTube video of my old teacher on the…

  • Psychiatric Polypharmacy: An Opportunity to Teach with CPCP

    Psychiatric Polypharmacy: An Opportunity to Teach with CPCP

    Dr. H. Steven Moffic discussed the issue with psychiatric polypharmacy in his August 29, 2022 entry on Psychiatric Views on the Daily News. The patient who had been getting 10 psychotropic drugs was found to have a medical problem ultimately, which led to simplification of the complex regimen. This is a great opportunity to again…