Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) is one of the new diagnoses included in the current DSM V manual and it is generally seen as a helpful diagnosis to fill a gap for many children presenting with complex psychiatric symptom profiles involving severe emotional and behavioral dysregulation and disruption. It can be particularly helpful for youth […]
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What Now? Management Strategies when a Suicide Screen is Positive 2/5/2021
Last week’s newsletter encouraged readers dealing with teenagers to conduct a screening inquiry for suicidality, noting the rationale for inquiry and the resistance most of us feel about opening a potential Pandora’s box. This week’s article pulls from prior newsletters and from feedback from readers to speak to the “What Now?” of suicide screening— discussing […]
Screening for Suicide Risk in Teens During the COVID Pandemic 1/28/2021
With the ongoing stressors of the pandemic and media reports of apparent increases in suicidal behaviors, concerns about suicide and about suicidal and self–harm behaviors is an ongoing concern for which the medical and mental health community needs to retain front-of-mind. Even prior to the pandemic suicide was the second leading cause of death in […]
Antidepressants and Movement Disorder Side Effects 1/21/2021
Although quite rare, this week’s newsletter discusses some of what is known about the various types of movement disorder that have been reported in association with the use of antidepressant medications that are regularly prescribed to treat depressive disorders and anxiety disorders along with some lower frequency psychiatric and non-psychiatric diagnostic indications. The data reported […]
Tobacco and Nicotine Dependence 1/7/2021
The good news is that the past 50 years have seen a tremendous decrease in the incidence of Americans who are smoking, with rates of prevalence dropping from over 40% in 1965 to roughly 15% in 2017. This said, 16 million Americans have a smoking-related health condition and smoking remains the #1 preventable cause of […]