For many people, the word “recovery” means being in AA or another 12-step program where the goal is to stay abstinent. It’s a culture of mutual support where people help and assist each other toward the goal of sobriety.

As director of psychiatry at Hebrew SeniorLife for 18 years, Dr. Metzger has witnessed a number of changes in how we manage agitation and other elements of BPSD. In this article, he outlines current thinking about such symptoms, as well as the latest techniques—both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic—for managing them.

The latest official statement on psychotherapies from the American Psychological Association more or less states that all techniques are equally effective, and it’s likely that the skills of individual therapists are as important as the specific technique they choose. This is all well and good, but meanwhile, in the real world, we need to make decisions about how to treat specific patients. If we wait for the definitive answers from research, we will be waiting for a very long time. This article details certain well-known techniques drawn from the broad umbrella of cognitive behavior therapy.

Insomnia is so ubiquitous and misunderstood with respect to its health consequences and “treatability.” At the core of this is the widespread misconception that insomnia is primarily a symptom of other things. Insomnia is also identified in DSM-5 as an independent disorder (780.52) which, when occurring with other DSM-5 disorders, is considered a comorbid disorder rather than a symptom.

Tourette’s disorder (TD), also known as Tourette syndrome, is a fascinating yet complex neurodevelopmental disorder that can be challenging to treat. Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette, a French neurologist who described the first nine cases in 1885, had it right when he described the “peculiar” symptoms as a syndrome, later reporting that “fears, phobias, and arithmomania” were part of the picture.

As marijuana has gained acceptance—it can now be prescribed to treat a wide variety of medical conditions in 28 states and Washington, DC—there has also been a shift in attitudes toward other mind-altering substances that, despite their reputation as drugs of abuse, show promise as therapeutic agents.

Ms. Petitt’s manages the program that selects and trains researchers for the MDMA-assisted psychotherapy protocols MAPS Public Benefit Corporation is conducting. The program has reviewed 300 applicants, and is in the midst of training 80 people who will work on therapy teams for Phase 3 trials. In addition to the training program, Ms. Petitt has also served as co-therapist on the MAPS-sponsored Phase 2 trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with life-threatening illness.

Patients receiving buprenorphine for opioid use disorder are typically also referred for psychotherapy, either individual or group. However, several studies have failed to show that therapy improves outcomes in buprenorphine treatment program

The post-test for this issue is available for one year after the publication date to subscribers only. By successfully completing the test you will be awarded a certificate for 2 CME credits.

Pornography addiction is more of a process or behavioral addiction where the effect on the brain is the same, but you’re not putting a foreign chemical into your body. Pornography is just one behavior that we would put under that umbrella of sexual addiction. And for some people who become sex addicts, it actually starts out with pornography—as a sort of gateway drug.