Month: January 2016

Reading of the Week: Freud Is Dead – Are His Ideas Dead, Too?

January 28, 2016 /

From the Editor

Sigmund Freud is dead.

Are his ideas dead, too?

Sigmund Freud – Irrelevant?

Psychiatry has left much of Freudian analysis behind. Is that a good thing? This week’s Reading ponders this question – first, with an excellent essay by The Guardian’s Oliver Burkeman that considers “the revenge of Freud,” then with a response from New York Magazine’s Jesse Singal, and, finally, with a recent paper from The American Journal of Psychiatry comparing patients with bulimia who received psychoanalysis and who received CBT.

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Reading of the Week: The Suicidal Doctor

January 21, 2016 /

From the Editor

In December, the Readings included the Mata et al. paper from JAMA considering depression and residents. The review – which included more than 50 papers – found that the prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms among resident physicians was 28.8%.

Dr. David Goldbloom’s comment on the paper is worth repeating: “it is a sobering reminder that the white coat is not Kevlar against the illnesses we treat, and our professional culture still has a long way to go in recognizing, accepting and supporting that we get sick, too.”

This week we look again at physicians and mental health. The first selection is an essay by a doctor in which he discusses his suicidal thoughts. Then, with an eye on practical interventions to help doctors at risk, we consider the JAMA Psychiatry study on CBT for interns (with a modern twist).

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Reading of the Week: Values and Schizophrenia, and More

January 14, 2016 /

From the Editor

Welcome to first Reading of the Week of 2016.

Continuing the format started in December, I’ve made several selections here. This week: the obituary of an influential psychiatrist, a clever paper on values and schizophrenia, and a report that considers the use of psychiatric services in Ontario.

In general, Readings in this format don’t have a common theme. That said, this week, a common thread runs through the three selections: challenging assumptions.

Dr. Agid and his co-authors look at the values of those with schizophrenia, challenging the assumption that our patients value what we value; the HQO-ICES report challenges what we think we know about psychiatric care and care delivery in Canada’s largest province. And what can be said of Dr. Robert Spitzer? Well, he made a career out of challenging psychiatric assumptions – much to his credit, and to our benefit.

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