Tag: Williams

Reading of the Week: Psychedelics vs Antidepressants – the New JAMA Psych Paper; Also, US Psilocybin Use and Hahn on the Work of Mental Illness

April 30, 2026 /

From the Editor

“Trump signs order to accelerate access to psychedelic drug treatments”

– Reuters, 18 April 2026

Last week, the U.S. president signed an executive order easing the way for more research on psychedelics for mental illness. It’s another example of the enthusiasm that many – policymakers, politicians, patients, families, members of the public – have for these drugs. Past work has indicated some effectiveness in treating depression. But how much of it can be explained by placebo? Psychedelics are, after all, challenging to study, in part because of difficulties with blinding (people can figure out whether they receive a psychedelic or placebo).

Dr. Zachary J. Williams (of the University of California, Los Angeles) and his co-authors attempt to shed light on this issue with a new, smart study published in JAMA Psychiatry. In it, they did a meta-analysis, comparing the effectiveness of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) and open-label traditional antidepressants (TADs) for the treatment of major depression, drawing on 24 studies. “These findings suggest that PAT is no more effective than TADs under equal-unblinding conditions for the treatment of depression and highlight the potential role of blinding integrity.” We consider the paper and its implications.

And, on the topic of psychedelics, Dr. Kevin H. Yang (of the University of California, San Diego) and his co-authors look to quantify the number of people using psilocybin in the United States. In a priority data letter for The American Journal of Psychiatry, they used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a survey with more than 59 000 respondents. “With approximately 8 million individuals estimated as having used in the past year, naturalistic psilocybin use is sufficiently prevalent that psychiatrists are likely to encounter patients who use it outside of clinical settings.”

And in the third selection, an essay from The Globe and Mail, Brandon Hahn writes personally about his experiences with mental illness, noting public intolerance and tolerance – and meaningful gestures. “Sometimes support looks like red tape and a pile of forms. Sometimes it looks like a chair that faces the window while holding a hand.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: How Will Venture Capital Change Psychiatry? Also, Gambling in Canada (CJP) and Dr. Bagley on Her Anxiety (JAMA)

May 6, 2021 /

From the Editor

Recently, one of patients raved about an app that she started to use. Talkspace offers her access to psychotherapy, unbound by geography, with a variety of therapist options.

The catch: she’s paying for it. In her opinion, it’s a good investment in her mental health. In Wall Street’s opinion, it’s a good investment in their financial health: that app has raised more than $110 million (USD) in venture capital. Other popular apps have also caught the eye and the backing of Wall Street – think Calm ($144 million USD) and Headspace ($167 million USD).

Is venture capital changing mental health care? And what are the potential problems? In the first selection, we consider a new Viewpoint paper by Drs. Ravi N. Shah (of Columbia University) and Obianuju O. Berry (of New York University). They write: “Although the value of this trend is yet to be fully realized, the rise in venture capital investment in mental health care offers an opportunity to scale treatments that work and address mental illness at the population level. However, quality control, privacy concerns, and severe mental illness are major issues that need to be addressed.”

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In our second selection, we look at a new paper by Robert J. Williams (of the University of Lethbridge) and his co-authors on gambling and problem gambling in Canada. Drawing on survey data, they find a surprising result: “Gambling and problem gambling have both decreased in Canada from 2002 to 2018 although the provincial patterns are quite similar between the 2 time periods.”

Finally, in our third selection, Dr. Sarah M. Bagley (of Boston University) discusses the problems of a newborn baby and its impact on his mother. The pediatrician isn’t writing about anyone – she is writing about her own experiences, and the resulting anxiety she experienced. “My story continues, but I hope that by sharing the issue of postpartum health can be better addressed among my colleagues and patients.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Cannabis, Cannabis, Cannabis – With Papers from Psychological Medicine, Psychiatric Services, and Annals of Internal Medicine

February 11, 2021 /

From the Editor

“It’s the only thing that works.”

So many of our patients swear by cannabis. It has become a popular choice for everything from anxiety to chronic pain. And though the literature is relatively young, now we know more about cannabis than before. This week, we focus on three new papers.

The first selection is a paper by Dr. Emmet Power (of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) and his co-authors from Psychological Medicine. Does frequent and dependent cannabis use in youth affect IQ? Doing a systematic review and meta-analysis, they find seven papers. They conclude: “We found that young people who use cannabis frequently or dependently by age 18 have declined in IQ at follow up and this may be due to a decline in verbal IQ.”

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In the second selection, we consider a new paper from Psychiatric Services. Dr. Corneliu N. Stanciu (of Dartmouth College) and his co-authors did a systematic review of cannabis for several disorders. “With only eight very small studies, insufficient evidence was found for efficacy of CBD and THC to manage affective disorders, anxiety disorders, or PTSD.”

Finally, in the third selection, we look at a paper from Annals of Internal Medicine. Drs. Arthur Robin Williams (of Columbia University) and Kevin P. Hill (of Harvard University) pose 15 questions about cannabis and answer them. The authors are practical and thoughtful. The clinical bottom line: “Millions more adults now meet criteria for cannabis use disorder in a given year, and all clinicians, not just mental health professionals, have vital roles in improving clinical management, from screening and diagnosis to overseeing treatment plans.”

DG

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