Tag: The Globe and Mail

Reading of the Week: Psychotherapy at a Distance; Also, Rakoff Remembered (Globe) and Horton on Her Brother (LA Times)

From the Editor

Mental health care has markedly changed since the pandemic began. What is the impact of COVID-19 on psychotherapy?

This week, we have three selections.

In the first, published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr. John C. Markowitz (of Columbia University) and his co-authors write about psychotherapy and virtual care. The paper reviews the literature and also considers practical considerations. They note: “Therapists should acknowledge the crisis, and perhaps that teletherapy is a limited substitute for more direct contact.”

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In the second selection, reporter Wency Leung writes about Dr. Vivian Rakoff, who died earlier this month. In the Globe obituary, Leung writes about his various roles, including as psychiatrist-in-chief of the Clarke Institute (now part of CAMH). “To the many he inspired, he is remembered for his extraordinary intellect, kindness, sense of wonder and the agility with which he wove together ideas from a vast range of disciplines, from classic literature and philosophy to politics and pop culture.”

Finally, in our third selection, we consider an essay by Dr. Jillian Horton (of the University of Manitoba). In this LA Times essay, the internist writes about her brother and his mental illness, discussing the emotional and geographic distance of their relationship. “My brother died 40 years ago and he died in April.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Cannabis for Mental Illness (CJP)? Also, Cannabidiol for the Cannabis Use Disorder (Lancet Psych) & Love on the Police (Globe)

From the Editor

“Should I take cannabis for my mental illness?”

Our patients ask this question – in our EDs, inpatient wards, and outpatient clinics. We shouldn’t be surprised. Cannabis is now legal, and private industry pushes the medicinal benefits of cannabis. But what does the literature say?

This week, we have three selections.

The first is a new Canadian Psychiatric Association position statement that considers cannabis and mental illness. Dr. Philip G. Tibbo (of Dalhousie University) and his co-authors systematically reviewed the literature. They found 29 RCTs, including for anxiety and psychotic disorders. “Use of cannabis or a cannabinoid product should never delay (or replace) more evidence-based forms of treatment.”

marijuana-candy-sizedMany products, little evidence?

But is there emerging evidence for cannabis? Tom P. Freeman (of the University College London) and his co-authors did a phase 2a trial using CBD to address cannabis use disorder, which is written up in The Lancet Psychiatry. “In the first randomised clinical trial of cannabidiol for cannabis use disorder, cannabidiol 400 mg and 800 mg were safe and more efficacious than placebo at reducing cannabis use.”

Finally, on a pivot, in the third selection, we consider an essay from The Globe and Mail. Rebeccah Love writes about her own experiences with psychosis and her recovery. She also considers whether police should be involved in mental health crises. “The image of a police officer – often a big white man with a gun – is interpreted as a threat, an agent of death, an oppressor.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Apps for the Treatment of Depression (JAMA Psych)? Also, Cannabis & Driving (CJP); Oleynikova on Returning to School (Globe)

From the Editor

The world changed on March 11, the day that the pandemic was declared by the WHO. So did mental health care, with so many of our services becoming virtually delivered. But what’s effective and what should be incorporated into care moving forward?

This week, we have three selections.

The first is a new JAMA Psychiatry paper. With COVID-19, apps are becoming increasingly popular (one therapy app reports a 65% increase in clients over the spring). Can the apps be incorporated into primary care? Andrea K. Graham (of Northwestern University) and her co-authors do a RCT using apps for patients with depression and anxiety. They conclude: “In this trial, a mobile intervention app was effective for depression and anxiety among primary care patients.” But should we be so enthusiastic? And how could apps be used in care?

app-application-application-software-applications

Canada legalized cannabis for non-medical purposes in 2018. In a short research letter – our second selection – medical student Laura A. Rivera and Dr. Scott B. Patten (both of the University of Calgary) consider driving under the influence of cannabis, drawing on national survey data. “Public policy actions toward prevention of DUIC [driving under the influence of cannabis] appear necessary and will have the greatest impact if they are effective in the 15 to 24 age range and in males.”

Finally, in the third selection, we consider an essay from The Globe and Mail. Like many, Vera Oleynikova thinks about the return to school. She writes about her own experiences, noting a complication: she has struggled with depression. “To be sick for a long time and then to feel well again is a magical thing. You feel brand new and capable of anything. You marvel at your own capacity to do the things that for a long time were unavailable to you because of your illness. Which is why going back to school at 31 felt so right.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: COVID & Mental Health (NEJM); also, Helping Health Workers (CMAJ) and Caring Contact for the Elderly (Globe)

From the Editor

This week’s Reading – like the last few – focuses on the latest in the literature on COVID and mental health care with three selections. As life with the pandemic continues, more and more journals have published about it, with some discussing the implications for mental health services.

In the first selection, we consider a paper on mental health services and the pandemic. In a NEJM paper, Drs. Betty Pfefferbaum (of University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center) and Carol S. North (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center) argue for an integrated and measured approach. In responding to COVID, they advocate that: “already stretched health care providers have an important role in monitoring psychosocial needs and delivering psychosocial support to their patients, health care providers, and the public – activities that should be integrated into general pandemic health care.”

coronavirus,3d render

How can we help health workers? In the second selection, we consider a new CMAJ paper by Dr. Peter E. Wu (of the University of Toronto)and co-authors. They write: “Taking care of ourselves is vital so that we may continue to take care of others.”

Finally, in the third selection, we look at a news article from The Globe and Mail. Reporter Erin Anderssen describes how “caring contacts,” a psychiatric intervention, is used by volunteers to connect with the elderly. “The spontaneous initiatives expanding now are prompted more by what we instinctively know: Human contact motivated purely by compassion is essential to our well-being.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: COVID-19 & Mental Health (Lancet Psych); Also, Depression & Online Mindfulness (JAMA Psych) and Help for Youth (Globe)

From the Editor

Earlier this week, a patient mentioned that, until recent events, he hadn’t heard of Wuhan, China. Today, it would seem, we are all familiar with this city.

Much reporting and commentary have focused on infections and deaths. But what are the psychiatric implications of the outbreak? This week, we have three selections. In the first, we look at a short and thoughtful paper from The Lancet Psychiatry that tries to answer this question. Dr. Yu-Tao Xiang (University of Macao) and his colleagues note: “In any biological disaster, themes of fear, uncertainty, and stigmatisation are common and may act as barriers to appropriate medical and mental health interventions.”

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In the second selection, we review a new study that uses an online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy aimed at patients with residual depressive symptoms, involving 460 participants. Zindel V. Segal (University of Toronto) and his co-authors find that the intervention “resulted in significant improvement in depression and functional outcomes compared with [usual depression care] only.”

And in the third selection, Drs. Pier Bryden and Peter Szatmari, both of the University of Toronto, discuss their new book. They open their Globe essay with a simple question: “What can I do to help my child?”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Too Few Psychiatrists? Anderssen on the Gap in Access (Globe); Also, Cuijpers on Success in Depression Treatment (Expert Review)

From the Editor

After a break, the Readings are back. In the coming weeks, we will consider important papers on depression treatment, cannabis, help for the homeless, and more.

This week, there are two selections.

In the first selection, we consider the new Globe and Mail essay by reporter Erin Anderssen on the supply (or the lack of supply) of psychiatrists across Canada. This essay does a sparkling job of pulling together stories and reports, and includes an overview of the literature. It paints a familiar, if unsettling, picture of need unmatched by availability, and includes interviews and original data analysis.

She writes: “The modern psychiatrist can’t be everywhere. So they should be where Canadians need them most.”

We summarize the essay and some of the larger questions raised.

anderssenErin Anderssen

In the second selection, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam’s Pim Cuijpers writes about depression and treatment. Thinking about successful care, he asks a simple question: “When patients seek treatment, is a reduction of depressive symptoms really what they want, or do patients have other goals as well?”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Better PTSD Symptom Control, Less Diabetes (JAMA Psych)? Also, Buckley on Cannabis (Quick Takes), and the Life of Kajander (Globe)

From the Editor

Better PTSD symptom control, less diabetes? How do we talk to our patients about cannabis (and cannabis use disorder)? Who was Dr. Ruth Kajander?

This week, there are three selections. The first two deal with timely and relevant topics: the intersection of physical and mental health and the use of cannabis post-legalization. The third reminds us of the youth of our field.

In the first selection, Saint Louis University School of Medicine’s Jeffrey F. Scherrer and his co-authors consider PTSD and diabetes, asking if improvement with the mental health disorder results in a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Drawing on Veterans Health Affairs data involving nearly 1 600 people, they find that “clinically meaningful reductions in PTSD symptoms are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.”

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In the second selection, we draw on a podcast interview with the University of Toronto’s Dr. Leslie Buckley, the chief of addictions division at CAMH, on cannabis. What advice would she give clinicians about cannabis use? “Try to have that long conversation with [patients] about their use and make sure that they know the harms – because I feel like most people don’t.”

Finally, with an eye on yesterday and not today, we look at the recent Globe obituary for Dr. Ruth Kajander, a psychiatrist who served in many roles, and was a member of the Order of Canada.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Can Psychotherapy Help Inpatients? Why did Michael Wilson Speak Out? Are Patients Experts?

From the Editor

Almost two decades ago, I was invited to a conference. The keynote speaker was Michael Wilson, the former federal Minister of Finance, who died earlier this month. I remember two things about this presentation: first, the audience was perfectly still – as Wilson spoke about his son’s suicide, no one shuffled her papers or chatted with his neighbour; second, I remember thinking how unusual this presentation was: he spoke about suicide at a time when suicide wasn’t discussed.

This week, we look at three selections, including an interview in which Wilson discusses his decision to speak out.

We also consider two other pieces: a new study on psychotherapy for inpatients with depression and an essay considering whether patients are experts.

pjimage-11Michael Wilson

Enjoy.

And I hope you will take a few minutes to complete our survey, aimed at improving the Readings.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GP5XXMB

DG

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Reading of the Week: Can Computerized CBT Help People with Substance Problems? The New AJP Paper. Also, How Many People Really Have Mental Illness?

From the Editor

More than ever, we are talking about substance use problems. But as with other mental health services, people struggle to get care, particularly evidence-based therapies.

In the first selection, we consider a new paper from The American Journal of Psychiatry, published last week. Yale University’s Brian Kiluk and his co-authors compare traditional CBT (done with a therapist and in-person) with a computer-based therapy program, CBT4CBT. They conclude: “This computerized version of CBT thus appears to be an engaging and attractive approach for persons with substance use disorders.”

typingTyping to Treat Substance Use?

In the second selection, we consider an essay by The Globe and Mail’s André Picard who asks a simple question: How many people actually suffer from mental illness? Picard cautions us on “pathologizing normal emotions.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: ECT in America – Uncommon, Uneven, and Underappreciated? The New Wilkinson Paper; Also, Cope’s Challenge to Corporate Canada

From the Editor

It’s difficult not to be excited about Bell Let’s Talk. Last week’s event set a fundraising record. Pause for a moment and appreciate how far we have traveled: a major Canadian corporation is promoting mental health awareness, raising millions of dollars in the process, and gathering praise from many, including the Prime Minister. The decline of stigma is seen across the west, with talk of tackling the opioid epidemic in New Hampshire, US, and of bettering psychological interventions in Hampshire, UK.

But how accessible is evidence-based care?

In the first selection, we consider a paper just published on ECT in the United States. Drawing on a massive database, the authors of this Psychiatric Services paper find ECT is used rarely and unevenly. In this Reading, we compare the American data to Canada’s – and draw a similar conclusion.

flag_map_of_the_contiguous_united_states_1912-1959A large country with many people – but not much ECT

And speaking of Bell Canada, in our second selection, we consider a Globe article on CEO George Cope’s recent Canada Club speech. In it, Cope challenges other businesses to implement a mental health strategy. “For business leaders… here’s the call-out: The numbers are self-funding. There’s no reason not to adopt a program in your company.”

DG

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