Tag: Schizophrenia

Reading of the Week: Lived Experience & Psychosis – the New World Psych Paper; Also, the Evidence for Cannabis (QT) and Bob Bell on Psychotherapy (Globe)

May 19, 2022 /

From the Editor

“Something as basic as grocery shopping was both frightening and overwhelming for me. I remember my mom taking me along to do grocery shopping as a form of rehabilitation… Everything seemed so difficult.”

So comments a patient on the experience of a relapse of psychosis.

Typically, we describe psychosis with lists of symptoms. But how do patients understand these experiences? In a new World Psychiatry paper, Dr. Paolo Fusar-Poli (of King’s College) and his co-authors attempt to answer this question with a “bottom-up” approach. As they explain: “To our best knowledge, there are no recent studies that have successfully adopted a bottom-up approach (i.e., from lived experience to theory), whereby individuals with the lived experience of psychosis (i.e., experts by experience) primarily select the subjective themes and then discuss them with academics to advance broader knowledge.” We discuss their paper.

In the second selection, we consider a new Quick Takes podcast. Dr. Kevin Hill (of Harvard University) reviews the cannabis literature and weighs the evidence. He notes the hazards of CBD, the lack of evidence for cannabis and sleep, and his fondness for the Chicago Bears. “There are very strong proponents for cannabis and there are people who are entirely sceptical about it. And the answers to a lot of these questions are somewhere in the middle.”

Finally, in the third selection, Dr. Robert Bell (of the University of Toronto) and his co-authors advocate for the expansion of public health care to cover psychotherapy. Dr. Bell, who is a former Deputy Minister of Health of Ontario, makes a clear case drawing on international examples. “Canadians understand that good health requires mental-health support, and co-ordinated investment in mental-health treatment would pay dividends in reducing the impact of mental-health disability on the economy.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Cool but Useful? VR Therapy for Psychosis; Also, Preventing Child Abuse (QT) and Renaming Schizophrenia (Lancet Psych)

April 14, 2022 /

From the Editor

Asking for a coffee. Passing strangers on a bus. Making eye contact at a grocery store. These tasks don’t seem particularly daunting but for those with major mental illness, they can be deeply unsettling. Some are left homebound.

In this week’s first selection, we look at a new Lancet Psychiatry paper by Daniel Freeman (of Oxford University) and his co-authors; in it, they detail an intervention where participants work through several tasks, like the ones named above. The coolness factor? It’s done through virtual reality (or VR). They find: “Automated VR therapy led to significant reductions in anxious avoidance of, and distress in, everyday situations compared with usual care alone.” We consider the paper and the larger implications.

Passing strangers on a bus: one of several tasks in gameChange

In the second selection, we weigh prevention in mental health care. Ainslie Heasman (of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health) joins me for a Quick Takes podcast interview. We discuss Talking for Change, which aims to prevent child sexual abuse with evidence-based interventions focused on high-risk populations – that is, “moving prevention upstream” in the words of the psychologist.

Finally, in the third selection, Dr. Bruce M. Cohen (of Harvard University) and his co-authors consider psychiatric terms, noting that some are outdated. In a Lancet Psychiatry paper, they discuss schizophrenia and personality disorders. They write: “Any label can stigmatise, and there are no perfect terms, but that should not prevent changing to better ones. Words communicate how we conceptualise a disorder.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Resilience after Disaster – Lessons from Japan; Also, Schizophrenia & Spending (CJP) and Dr. Brandeland on Her Father & His Addiction (JAMA)

March 17, 2022 /

From the Editor

My patient was involved in a terrible car accident. Though physically unharmed, she’s never really recovered (mentally). Her co-worker, sitting in the seat beside her, barely took off any time from work.

Why are some people resilient and others aren’t?

In The British Journal of Psychiatry, Dr. Taku Saito (of the National Defense Medical College) and his co-authors explore this question, focusing on a natural disaster. Drawing on an impressive database of first responders involved in the 2011 Japanese earthquake rescue/recovery effort, they do a seven-year prospective cohort study. They find: “The majority of first responders… were resilient and developed few or no PTSD symptoms.” Of course, some did develop mental health problems. The risk factors? Older age, personal disaster experiences, and working conditions. We consider the big paper.

In the second selection, Andrew J. Stewart (of the University of Calgary) and his co-authors analyze health spending in a new Canadian Journal of Psychiatry paper. They focus on people with schizophrenia, looking at a 10-year period. “Healthcare spending among patients with schizophrenia continues to increase and may be partially attributable to growing rates of multimorbidity within this population.”

And, in the third selection, Dr. Megan Ann Brandeland (of Stanford University) writes about her father’s death. In JAMA, she discusses his struggles and notes that – early in his career as a physician – a patient had a tragic outcome. “My hope in sharing this story is to encourage more physicians to share their own stories, to reduce the stigma around mental health, trauma, and addiction among physicians, and to honor my father’s life and the goodness he brought to the world.”

Please note that there will be no Reading next week; we will resume on 31 March 2022.

DG

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Reading of the Week: E-Cigs and Cessation – the New JAMA Paper; Also, Green Space & Schizophrenia (CJP) and Dr. Jessica Gregg on Needed Care (NEJM)

February 24, 2022 /

From the Editor

How to help him quit?

We often speak to our patients about the dangers of smoking – with middling success, especially with those who aren’t interested in cessation. Are e-cigarettes part of the solution? In a new JAMA Network Open paper, Karin A. Kasza (of the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center) and her co-authors report on a cohort study focused on this refractory population. “In this US nationally representative cohort study of 1600 adult daily cigarette smokers who did not initially use e-cigarettes and had no plans to ever quit smoking, subsequent daily e-cigarette use was significantly associated with an 8-fold greater odds of cigarette discontinuation compared with no e-cigarette use.”

In the second selection, we consider a new Canadian Journal of Psychiatry research letter. Dr. Martin Rotenberg (of the University of Toronto) and his co-authors look at green space and schizophrenia. A connection? They find one. “We found that residing in an area with the lowest amount of green space was associated with an increased risk of developing schizophrenia, independent of other sociodemographic and socioenvironmental factors.”

Finally, in the third selection, Dr. Jessica Gregg (of the Oregon Health and Science University) writes about her experiences as a physician and as a patient. In this New England of Journal paper, she talks personally about sudden illness and unsatisfactory health care. “I knew – and know – that our system of not-care for the sick and scared is broken. I knew – and know – that our system of un-care for people affected by addiction or poverty, for those who make bad choices and those who were never offered fair choices in the first place, is even more fractured.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Who’s Left Out of RCTs for Schizophrenia? (JAMA Psych) Also, Inman on Being the Mother of a Person with Schizophrenia (Medium)

February 3, 2022 /

From the Editor

Recently during a family meeting, a patient’s father leaned forward, looked me directly in the eye, and asked: “what would be the best for my son?”

As clinicians, we draw from many sources: personal experience, clinical guidelines, expert opinion, studies. For the latter, randomized clinical trials are considered to be the gold standard. But do such trials capture well the complexity of the patient sitting in front of you?

In the first selection, Heidi Taipale (of the University of Eastern Finland) and her co-authors offer new data to answer that question. Drawing on impressive databases (over 25 000 people diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders), they consider patients with schizophrenia in RCTs against real-world populations in a JAMA Psychiatry paper. They find: “In this study, we applied typical inclusion and exclusion criteria of RCTs to the real-world populations of individuals with schizophrenia in Finnish and Swedish national registries. We found that almost 80% of individuals with schizophrenia would be ineligible to participate in typical RCTs and are therefore not represented in them.”

Finland: Big Northern Lights and big databases

In this week’s other selection, we also consider schizophrenia but with a different perspective. What could we do better to support patients and their families? Susan Inman writes: “Mothers, like me, who provide caregiving for adult children with schizophrenia do not have much of a voice.” In a thoughtful essay for Medium.com, she speaks about problems that hinder an effective mental health system, including a lack of mental health literacy campaigns.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Suicide and Schizophrenia – Across Life Span; Also, Transgender-Inclusive Care (QT), and the NYT on Chatbots

June 10, 2021 /

From the Editor

This week, we have three selections.

In the first, we consider suicide and schizophrenia. In a new JAMA Psychiatry paper, Dr. Mark Olfson (of Columbia University) and his co-authors do a cohort study across life-span, tapping a massive database. They find: “the risk of suicide was higher compared with the general US population and was highest among those aged 18 to 34 years and lowest among those 65 years and older.” The authors see clear clinical implications: “These findings suggest that suicide prevention efforts for individuals with schizophrenia should include a focus on younger adults with suicidal symptoms and substance use disorders.”

In the second selection, we consider transgender-inclusive care, looking at a new Quick Takes podcast. Drs. June Lam and Alex Abramovich (both of the University of Toronto) comment on caring for members of this population. “Trans individuals are medically underserved and experience, poor mental health outcomes, high rates of disease burden – compared to cisgender individuals.”

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Finally, in our third selection from The New York Times, reporter Karen Brown writes about chatbots for psychotherapy, focusing on Woebot. The writer quotes psychologist Alison Darcy about the potential of these conversational agents: “If we can deliver some of the things that the human can deliver, then we actually can create something that’s truly scalable, that has the capability to reduce the incidence of suffering in the population.”

DG

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

October 15, 2020 /

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: Physician Burnout, Interrupted (NEJM); also, COVID and Schizophrenia (Schiz Bulletin) and a Reader Responds on Inpatient Care

May 7, 2020 /

From the Editor

As we come to understand the new normal – a world of PPEs and precautions – we need to consider not just the implications of the virus on today’s work, but tomorrow’s.

In the first selection, we look at a new paper on physician burnout. In The New England of Journal, Drs. Pamela Hartzband and Jerome Groopman (both of Harvard Medical School) argue that burnout will not be remedied by offers of exercise classes and the other usual prescriptions. Drawing on organizational psychology, they call for a fundamentally different approach, built on autonomy, competence, and relatedness. At a time of COVID, “health care professionals are responding with an astounding display of selflessness, caring for patients despite the risk of profound personal harm. Our efforts are recognized and applauded.” Now, they argue, is the moment for action.

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Are people with schizophrenia at particular risk during this pandemic? In the second selection, we consider a new Schizophrenia Bulletin paper by Dr. Nicole Kozloff (of the University of Toronto) and her co-authors, who answer this question with a convincing yes. “We suggest that thoughtful consideration of the implications of COVID-19 for people with schizophrenia may not only reduce the burden of the global pandemic on people with schizophrenia, but also on the population as a whole.” They offer recommendations.

Finally, in the third selection, a reader responds to last week’s Reading. Rachel Cooper (of the University of Toronto) considers the inpatient experience. “Those of us who have spent time on psychiatric units, particularly while on forms (or held involuntarily), can speak to the immense isolation and feelings of violation of having our basic liberties removed. In this time of COVID, those with the privilege of not having had the experience of being in hospital involuntarily are getting a small taste of that isolation.”

Please note that there will be no Reading next week.

DG

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Reading of the Week: ‘Sister First, Doctor Second’ – Dr. Sediqzadah’s NEJM Paper on Her Brother and His Illness

July 11, 2019 /

From the Editor

“‘I think your brother has schizophrenia,’ she said.

“I was entering my third year of medical school when I received a phone call from my brother’s friend.”

So begins a perspective paper published in today’s issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. The essay is deeply moving. Written by Dr. Saadia Sediqzadah, a fifth year psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto, the author discusses her brother’s schizophrenia and her family’s efforts to get him care – for Dr. Sediqzadah, dealing with mental illness is not just part of her training.

inclusion-programs-18Saadia Sediqzadah

This week, we consider Dr. Sediqzadah’s paper.

Note that for some of our younger colleagues who have just finished their medical training and begun their specialty training in psychiatry, this week will be your first Reading. Welcome to the conversation.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Prevention Works – the New JAMA Psychiatry Paper on MIs & Mortality in Patients with Schizophrenia

November 1, 2018 /

From the Editor

Statistically, people with major mental illness have a life expectancy that is decades shorter than those without. Not only is that gap significant, but it may be growing. In a 2013 paper, drawing on Danish data, Nielsen et al. showed that the expansion of life expectancy seen in the general population over the past 30 years hasn’t been enjoyed by those with schizophrenia.

Why the gap? And what can be done? A major new paper in JAMA Psychiatry considers the treatment of myocardial infarction. Like Nielsen et al., Aalborg University’s Pirathiv Kugathasan and his co-authors use Danish national databases. They focus on the use (or lack of use) of cardioprotective medications, like statins, after MI. Interestingly, they find that when people with schizophrenia have cardioprotective medications, they can match the outcomes of those without mental illness.

Female doctor with the stethoscope holding heartIs heart health the way to address the gap?

In this week’s Reading, we consider the Kugathasan et al. paper, as well as the accompanying editorial. Then we consider the big question: what can be done?

DG

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