Tag: news

Reading of the Week: Gone to the Dogs? The New BJP Study on Dog-assisted Interventions; Also, BC Decriminalization & the Latest in the News

April 24, 2025 /

From the Editor

He presented for the appointment with his dog. He told me that getting the chocolate lab – who had been trained by a national, not-for-profit organization – was the best single thing to help him. For the record, the dog was beautiful.

More and more of our patients are turning to animal interventions. But is there evidence to support this trend? In a new The British Journal of Psychiatry paper, Emily Shoesmith (of the University of York) and her co-authors look at dog-assisted interventions (DAIs), describing a review involving 33 papers. “DAIs may show promise for improving mental health and behavioural outcomes for those with mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions, particularly for conditions requiring social skill support. However, the quality of reporting requires improvement.” We discuss the paper and its clinical implications.

In the second selection, John F. Kelly (of Harvard University) reviews the successes of drug decriminalization in Portugal and its failures in British Columbia. In a new Editorial for JAMA Psychiatry, he notes key differences in their approaches. He also mulls the importance of such public-policy experimentation. “As demonstrated in Portugal, persistent, patient, thoughtful analysis, and sensitive, systemic planning is needed to ensure lives are saved and other outcomes improved.”

Finally, we explore the latest news with articles from The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, and NBC News. The topics: one firefighter’s battle with OCD, overdose deaths in North America, and a new mental-health awareness campaign.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Effectiveness of Omega-3 – the New Schiz Bulletin Paper; Also, Weight Loss Meds in Psychiatry & the Latest in the News

December 5, 2024 /

From the Editor

When my patient’s father heard that there is some evidence that omega-3 fatty acids can help in the prevention of psychotic illness, he left my office, walked to the pharmacy down the street, and purchased the largest bottle of the fish oil supplement that he could find. It’s hard to fault his logic: omega-3 fatty acids may be helpful and have few side effects. Clinicians have shared this enthusiasm. No wonder: in 2010, a major study found that patients who took it had a lower transition rate to psychosis for those at ultra-high risk. 

But what does the latest evidence say? Are omega-3 fatty acids helpful? In the first selection, Inge Winter-van Rossum (of the Utrecht University) and her co-authors attempt to answer these questions in a paper for Schizophrenia Bulletin. They report on a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of ultra-high risk (UHR) patients for psychosis who received either omega-3 supplements or placebo for six months, then followed for 18 months. “The transition rate to psychosis in a sample of subjects at UHR for psychosis was not reduced compared to placebo.” We consider the study and its implications.

Pretty pills – but relevant?

In the second selection, Drs. Sri Mahavir Agarwal and Margaret Hahn (both of the University of Toronto) write about semaglutide in a new Viewpoint for JAMA Psychiatry. They note great opportunities, but caution about challenges, including access to that medication. In a thoughtful paper, they review the relevant literature. “Semaglutide and similar drugs represent the culmination of decades of diabetes and obesity research, and their arrival has already resulted in a paradigm shift in the management of these disorders in the general population.”

Finally, we explore the latest news with articles from The Globe and Mail, Time, and The New York Times. The topics: ADHD and TikTok diagnoses, an app for peer support, and public libraries in a time of homelessness and substance.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Culturally-Adapted CBT for Postnatal Depression – the New Lancet Study; Also, ADHD in Adults (JAMA Psych) and the Latest in the News

October 31, 2024 /

From the Editor

She was offered CBT through our outpatient program. Though we encouraged her to come, she didn’t even attend one session. Was the problem partly with the rigidity of our program which wasn’t tailored to her cultural background or language? Can we do better? 

Dr. Nusrat Husain (of the University of Manchester) and his co-authors attempt to answer these questions in a new RCT published in The Lancet. In their study, British south Asian women with postnatal depression were randomized to a culturally-adapted form of CBT or treatment as usual. “Participants in the [intervention] group were estimated to be almost twice as likely to have recovered at 4 months than those in the control group.” We consider the paper, the accompanying Comment, and the implications for clinical care.

In the second selection, Drs. Carlos Blanco (of the National Institutes of Health) and Craig B. H. Surman (of Harvard University) write about ADHD for adults. In a new JAMA Psychiatry Viewpoint, they argue that more needs to be done, especially given the adverse outcomes of untreated ADHD. “A tension exists between undertreatment of adults with ADHD and overuse of addictive treatments for the condition.”

Finally, we explore the latest news with recent articles from The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, and The New York Times. The topics: ChatGPT for psychotherapy, the generosity of Bruce McKean, and the street psychiatry in LA.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Can Chatbots & AI Help Access? The new Nature Med Paper; Also, Telepsych in the US and the Latest in the News

February 15, 2024 /

From the Editor

More and more organizations use AI; today, a chatbot might assist you in ordering a pizza or tracking a package. But could a chatbot help our patients find the mental health care that they need? Could it help self-identified members of ethnic groups – who historically do less well in getting services – with access?

Johanna Habicht (of Limbic) and her co-authors try to answer these questions in a new study for Nature Medicine. They looked at the use of a chatbot for self-referral against the standard option in the UK’s NHS when patients seek psychological care. The resulting multisite observational study involved almost 130 000 people. They found that AI increased referrals (especially, in terms of diversity). “Here we demonstrate that digital tools can reduce the accessibility gap by addressing several key barriers.” We look at the study and mull its implications.

As we move past the pandemic, we ask: is virtual care routinely offered for mental disorders? In the second selection from JAMA Health Forum, Jonathan Cantor (of the RAND Corporation) and his colleagues consider mental telehealth – or telepsychiatry, to use the older term – in the United States. With a secret shopper approach, trained callers phoned more than 1 400 US clinics, posing as potential clients with mental health problems. They found most offered virtual care. Further: “There were no differences in the availability of mental telehealth services based on the prospective patient’s clinical condition, perceived race or ethnicity, or sex.”

And, finally, we explore the latest in the news with recent articles from The Guardian and The New York Times. Among the topics: the mental health struggles of rising political star Lina Hidalgo, privacy and mental health apps, and help for those with schizophrenia and homelessness in Cameroon.

DG

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