Tag: Digital Psychiatry

Reading of the Week: Something Old & Something New – With Papers from World Psychiatry and Lancet Psychiatry

July 31, 2025 /

From the Editor

He was keen to discuss his new therapist who introduced him to CBT concepts and noted his negative thoughts. The therapist was helpful and thoughtful – but not human. My patient was using an AI chatbot.

More and more patients are looking to AI for information and therapy. What to make of it all? And what is the role of other cutting-edge innovations? In the first selection, Dr. John Torous (of Harvard University) and his co-authors attempt to answer these questions in a new review for World Psychiatry. They focus on, yes, generative AI, as well as apps and virtual reality. The review is sparkling and comprehensive, stretching over 11 000 words and with 269 references. “New tools such as LLMs have rapidly emerged, while relatively older ones such as smartphone apps and virtual reality have quickly expanded. While each tool has offered evidence of clinical impact, broad real-world impact remains aloof for all.” We consider the paper and its implications.

Made with ChatGPT

In this week’s other selection, Dr. Robert M. Post (of The George Washington University) and his co-authors write about lithium in a new Lancet Psychiatry paper. They offer a fresh take on this old medication; they argue that it is a disease-modifying agent, like monoclonal antibodies for multiple sclerosis. “Conceptualisation of lithium as a disease-modifying agent might help to increase clinical use by doctors, especially early in the disease course to better serve our patients.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: The Insomnia Issue with Papers from NEJM & Sleep Med, and Dr. Cannon on Her Cure for Insomnia

September 5, 2024 /

From the Editor

With his depressive episode, he can’t sleep. While he thinks cannabis may be worsening his anxiety, in his view, a couple of joints before bed is the only thing that seems to help with the insomnia.

My patient’s problems are common. So many of our patients struggle with insomnia. How should we assess it? What’s evidence-based care? And what can we suggest to replace that cannabis? This week, we open with the new review from The New England Journal of Medicine. Charles M. Morin (of Université Laval) and Dr. Daniel J. Buysse (of the University of Pittsburgh) provide timely advice in their paper. They consider scales that could be incorporated into practice, evidence for CBT-I, and different medications. “Recommended therapies for insomnia produce clinically meaningful reductions in insomnia symptoms, sleep-onset latency, and time awake after sleep onset.” We summarize the paper and weigh its implications.

Counting sheep may not always work

With growing evidence for CBT-I, digital options are increasingly appealing due to their convenience and accessibility. In the second selection, Jake Linardon (of Deakin University) and his co-authors report on a study looking at the effectiveness of app-based interventions for insomnia, just published in Sleep Medicine. In this meta-analysis, they drew on 19 RCTs including different treatments like CBT. “Findings suggest that stand-alone app-based interventions can effectively address insomnia and sleep disturbances, and may play an important role in the management of these symptoms.”

And in the third selection, Dr. Joanna Cannon, a UK physician and bestselling author, discusses her insomnia in an essay for The Guardian. She describes the impact on her life and her unusual way of coping. She also notes the origin of the problem: “It was when I started training as a doctor that my atypical sleeping habits became embedded.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Antidepressants & Discontinuation Symptoms – the New Lancet Psych Study; Also, Neuromodulation and Digital Health Technology

June 27, 2024 /

From the Editor

“Once I start taking them, I’m stuck.” When discussing the possible initiation of an antidepressant trial, a patient recently expressed his fear: that he wouldn’t be able to stop the medication because of discontinuation symptoms. These symptoms are debated. Some claim they are very common – though that’s not widely reported in the literature. 

How frequently do these symptoms occur? What percentage of patients experience severe symptoms? Are some antidepressants more associated with this problem than others? Dr. Jonathan Henssler (of the University of Cologne) and his co-authors attempt to answer these questions with an impressive, new systematic review and meta-analysis, published in Lancet Psychiatry. They drew on 79 studies involving more than 21 000 people. “The incidence of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms is approximately 15%, affecting one in six to seven patients who discontinue their medication.” We consider the paper and its clinical implications.

Will the stigma around ECT fade? Will ECT eventually be replaced by ketamine and MST? What’s the future of neuromodulation? We answer these questions and more in the second selection, the latest Quick Takes podcast interview. Dr. Daniel Blumberger, scientific director of CAMH’s Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention and professor at the University of Toronto, notes that ECT still has a unique place. “As far as medical treatments go, ECT is the safest medical procedure in all of medicine.”

And in the third selection, Dr. John Torous (of the Harvard University) and his co-authors focus on digital mental health in a new Viewpoint published in JAMA Psychiatry. They argue that we tend to both overstate and underappreciate the risks and benefits of digital mental health interventions. “Patients and clinicians should not assume wellness digital health technologies are always dangerous, nor should they assume health technologies are always safe.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: CBT for Depression – the Latest Evidence; Also, Digital Mental Health (World Psych) and Dr. Castro-Frenzel on Her Cancer (JAMA)

January 26, 2023 /

From the Editor

Cognitive behavioural therapy is widely used for the treatment of depression – but the last significant meta-analysis was published a decade ago. What’s the latest evidence? 

In the first selection, Pim Cuijpers (of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and his co-authors try to answer this question with a new meta-analysis including more than 400 randomized trials with almost 53 000 patients (yes, you read that correctly). In this World Psychiatry paper, they compare the therapy with controls, other therapies, and medications. They write: “We can conclude that CBT is effective in the treatment of depression with a moderate to large effect size, and that its effect is still significant up to 12 months.” We consider the paper and its clinical implications.

Beck: the father of CBT

In the second selection, Dr. John Torous (of Harvard University) and his co-authors look at digital mental health. Despite widespread use of smartphones – perhaps 80% of the world’s population now has access to one – “digital mental health is not transforming care.” In this Editorial for World Psychiatry, they wonder why. They also point a way forward: “Developing a new generation of digital mental health tools/services to support more accessible, effective and equitable care is the true innovation ready to be stoked today by each person who becomes empowered to connect, set up, engage, start/stop, and demand more from mental health technology.”

Finally, in the third selection, Dr. Karla Castro-Frenzel (of the University of Central Florida) writes about a patient with advanced lung cancer. As it turns out, she’s that patient. In this personal essay published in JAMA, she writes about being a doctor and a patient. “My ultimate hope… is that we can create space for illness as well as wellness. In helping our colleagues feel safe and supported when they become patients, we rehumanize our environments and our very selves.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Health Care Workers’ Mental Health – There’s an App for That; Also, Treating Opioids (BMJ) & Dr. Bhushan on Her Bipolar (LA Times)

September 15, 2022 /

From the Editor

With the pandemic dragging on, health care workers report more and more burnout; some complain of depression and anxiety.

What could help? Dr. Sam N. Gnanapragasam (of King’s College London) and his co-authors consider an app designed to provide CBT and mindfulness techniques in a new British Journal of Psychiatry paper. The RCT study involves 16 English sites with over 1000 health care workers. They conclude: “our study suggests that the app was of modest benefit with no adverse effects for a sample of HCWs in England.” We look at the paper.

How to respond to the opioid crisis? In a new analysis paper for BMJ, Dr. Robert A. Kleinman (of the University of Toronto) and his colleagues argue for a different approach to the prescribing of opioid agonist therapy, drawing on the changes made in response to the pandemic. “Embracing a more flexible model of buprenorphine-naloxone dosing would allow better alignment of prescribing practices with the needs and preferences of clients.”

And in the third selection, Dr. Devika Bhushan writes about bipolar disorder for the Los Angeles Times. The essay is very personal: the pediatrician, who serves as California’s acting surgeon general and graduated from Harvard, describes her own experiences. As she notes, during her training, she “had a secret.” Now, however, she speaks openly about her illness. “Today, I live with bipolar disorder as a chronic and manageable health condition.” 

DG

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Reading of the Week: Less & Less – Psychiatrists & Psychotherapy; Also, Transgender Individuals & Care (Psych Services) and Digital Mental Health (ANZJP)

January 20, 2022 /

From the Editor

“For much of the 20th century, psychotherapy was viewed as synonymous with psychiatry and was the primary treatment modality employed by outpatient psychiatrists.” 

Daniel Tadmon and Dr. Mark Olfson (both of Columbia University) observe this in a new paper. But times have changed; has the practice of psychiatry moved away from psychotherapy?

This week, there are three selections. The first is a new paper from The American Journal of Psychiatry that looks at psychotherapy provided by US psychiatrists. Drawing on decades of data, Tadmon and Olfson find: “While a small group of psychiatrists (11% – 15%) continued to provide psychotherapy in all patient visits, in the 2010s, about half of psychiatrists did not provide psychotherapy at all, and those who provided psychotherapy in some patient visits came to do so more and more rarely.” We consider the paper and its implications.

Sorry Freud: most psychiatrists don’t practice psychotherapy

In the second selection, Dr. June Sing Hong Lam and his co-authors consider the mental health experiences of transgender individuals. In a Psychiatric Services paper, they draw on administrative databases focusing on both ED visits and hospitalizations. They conclude: “This study found that transgender individuals presenting for acute mental health care were more likely to experience marginalization than cisgender individuals and to present to acute care with different diagnostic patterns.”

Finally, in the third selection, Dr. Aswin Ratheesh and Mario Alvarez-Jimenez (both of the University of Melbourne) consider digital mental health and the post-pandemic world. In the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, they write about various problems (for instance, with digital privacy). Still, they see much potential: “Effective digital tools, especially when blended and responsive can radically improve the availability of mental health care in our corner of resource-rich, yet manpower-poor world.”

Please note that there will be no Reading next week.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Plant-based Medicines – What’s the Evidence? Also, Wearables, New Technologies & Mental Health Care (Quick Takes)

November 18, 2021 /

From the Editor

Kava. Ginkgo. St John’s wort.

These plant-based medicines (or phytoceuticals) have gained popularity in recent years. Patients ask about them; in some pharmacies, they are now sold prominently and side by side with other products; celebrities talk up their helpfulness. Plant-based medicines are having a moment.

But what’s the evidence? In the first selection, Jerome Sarris (of the Western Sydney University) and his co-authors consider phytoceuticals for psychiatric disorders in a new Canadian Journal of Psychiatry paper. They draw on meta-analyses of RCTs reporting on the efficacy and effectiveness of these medicines. What did they find? “This ‘meta-synthesis’ of the data from 9 meta-analyses showed positive findings for a variety of plant-based medicines in a range of psychiatric disorders, albeit limited by the quality of source data.” We consider the big paper and its clinical implications.

6900b40570a828ff1775d282eb2605e6St. John’s wort – pretty flower, but evidenced?

In this week’s second selection, we look at wearables and new technologies. Dr. John Torous (of Harvard University) joins me for a Quick Takes podcast interview. We discuss their potential for mental health care including how data captured on devices (especially data related to sleep and exercise) can potentially improve care – and overall health. “Could we be using the step count on a patient’s phone for mental health? Could we transform GPS into something like studying green space to learn about its impact on mental health?” And, yes, we do talk about Star Wars.

DG

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Reading of the Week: High Tech and Low Tech Opportunities for Mental Health Care

September 30, 2021 /

From the Editor

Social media. Bots. VR.

When I applied to psychiatry residency programs in my last year of medical school at the University of Manitoba, none of these were mentioned when we talked about mental health care. But technology is changing our world. We are seeing a digital boom in mental health care – or is it really a digital mirage?

In the first selection, we move past the big rhetoric with a thoughtful paper by Dr. John Torous (of Harvard University) and his co-authors. In World Psychiatry, they review the literature and make insightful comments about the potential and reality of digital mental health care. “It now seems inevitable that digital technologies will change the face of mental health research and treatment.” We discuss the paper and its implications.

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Woebot: Too cool to be clinical?

If the first selection considers cutting-edge technology for bettering patient care, the second is very different. Dr. Thomas E. Smith (of Columbia University) and his co-authors study “the strength of associations between scheduling aftercare appointments during routine psychiatric inpatient discharge planning and postdischarge follow-up care varied by level of patient engagement in outpatient psychiatric care before hospital admission” in a paper for Psychiatric Services. Spoiler alert: there are no chatbots mentioned. “Discharge planning activities, such as scheduling follow-up appointments, increase the likelihood of patients successfully transitioning to outpatient care, regardless of their level of engagement in care prior to psychiatric inpatient admission.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: A Therapy for Pandemic Loneliness? Also, Getting Digital Psychiatry Right (Lancet Psych) and the History of Vaccines (NEJM)

April 1, 2021 /

From the Editor

I saw an older patient in the emergency room recently. He described feeling overwhelmed. Fearful of the pandemic, he explained that he had rarely left his apartment since it began. “I’m so isolated.”

Many find themselves in a similar situation. What could help? In a new JAMA Psychiatry paper, Maninder K. Kahlon (of The University of Texas at Austin) and co-authors describe a focused intervention involving laypeople doing an empathy-focused program by phone. Do the calls work? They found it reduced loneliness, anxiety, and depression. They note the potential: “The use of lay callers, deliberate but brief approach on training, and the use of ubiquitous telephones made the approach easily deployable and scalable.”

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In an editorial, The Lancet Psychiatry considers our digital moment. Though they note the trendiness of the idea of digital psychiatry, they urge us to push: “Come 2 years or 20, we want to stop talking about digital psychiatry’s potential for improving public mental health and start marking its clear clinical progress.”

Finally, in our third selection, we look at a new paper from The New England Journal of Medicine. Drs. Angela Desmond and Paul A. Offit (both of the University of Pennsylvania) consider the history of vaccines, and look ahead: “With the recent authorization of mRNA vaccines, we have entered the fifth era of vaccinology.”

Please note that there will be no Reading next week.

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On a pivot –

Since 2014, the Reading of the Week has been providing summaries and commentary on the latest in the psychiatric literature. Two years ago, we conducted a short survey to get your feedback. We are hoping to get feedback again to improve the Readings.

We would like to invite you to join one of our online focus groups to hear your opinions and suggestions. If you are interested in participating, please email smit.mistry@camh.ca by April 12 with your preferred time slots from the following options – psychiatrists: April 21 at 4 pm or April 22 at 4 pm; residents: April 28 at 4 pm and April 29 at 4 pm. (Note: all times are in EST.) Time commitment: under an hour. If the above time slots do not work for you, please email Smit to arrange an interview time at your convenience, preferably between April 21 and April 30, 2021.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Rurality and Suicide (CJP); Also, COVID and Digital Practice (Quick Takes) and Haughton & Bromberg on Policing (Tor Star)

July 9, 2020 /

From the Editor

At times, it seems that we understand little about suicide.

That statement is vast, sweeping – and painfully true for us clinicians who aspire to do better with very blunt instruments. This week, we have three selections; the first is a systematic review and meta-analysis focused on suicide. In a new Canadian Journal of Psychiatry paper, Rebecca Barry (of the University of Toronto) and her co-authors consider the potential link between suicide and rurality. Spoiler alert: they find a connection, at least for men. What are the implications for practice and policy?

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In the second selection, we consider a new podcast discussing our digital future. I talk with Dr. Jay Shore (of the University of Colorado), who chairs the APA’s Telepsychiatry Committee. We discuss the virtualization of mental health services, and contemplate a future of hybrid care. And, yes, he has tips on how to avoid “Zoom fatigue.”

In the third selection, activists Asante Haughton and Rachel Bromberg discuss alternatives to police responding to mental health crises, seeing a dedicated team tasked with “on-the-spot risk assessments, de-escalation, and safety planning for clients in crisis” and more. “By taking on these important tasks, this team will enable Toronto policing resources to be more effectively directed toward solving crimes, rather than providing social services.”

DG

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