Depression - Articles - Page 16

A Practical Guide to Light Therapy

November 15, 2019

Chris Aiken, MD. Editor-in-Chief of The Carlat Psychiatry Report. Practicing psychiatrist, Winston-Salem, NC.

Few natural therapies perform well when stacked head-to-head with medication. Light therapy is an exception. When used correctly, it can treat winter and non-winter depression and augment antidepressants. Learn which lightboxes work, how to use them, and a new light therapy protocol for bipolar depression.

Highlights From This Issue

October 3, 2019

Quick hits on what you’ll find in this issue.

Outpatient Management of Opioid Addiction

October 3, 2019

Sandra Gomez-Luna, MD

Sandra Gomez-Luna, MD

Child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist in Darien, CT. Medical Director of Parent Child Support Center, a subsidiary of Behavioral Health Care (BHcare)

Dr. Gomez-Luna has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

The opioid crisis demands that child psychiatrists understand more about outpatient treatment in adolescents as more of us are asked to participate in assessment and treatment planning for this population. In this QA, we discuss some of the well-laid-out approaches for child psychiatrists to manage opioid treatment within the child or teen’s community.

Assessing and Treating Cannabis Use Disorder

October 3, 2019

Gabriella Gobbi, MD, PhD

Gabriella Gobbi, MD, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University; Psychiatrist and Clinical Scientist at the McGill University Health Center

Dr. Gobbi has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Child psychiatrists are grappling with the problem of pervasive use of marijuana in an age where legalization of use for adults has led to even greater use in teens. In this QA, we discuss the impact of cannabis, its interaction with depression, and the conundrum of cannabis withdrawal so that child psychiatrists can gain tools for addressing marijuana use and addiction in their outpatient practice.

Anti-Inflammatories as Antidepressants?

October 3, 2019

Edmund S. Higgins, MD.

Edmund Higgins, MD Dr. Higgins has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

A host of anti-inflammatory medicines are effective in treatment-resistant depression, particularly celecoxib.

Mirtazapine Augmentation: Running Low on Rocket Fuel

August 30, 2019

Thomas Jordan, MD and Chris Aiken, MD.

Thomas Jordan, MD and Chris Aiken, MD. Dr. Jordan and Dr. Aiken have disclosed that they have no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Dubbed “California Rocket Fuel” by Stephen Stahl, the combination of venlafaxine and mirtazapine seemed to hit all the right receptors. The hype may have gotten a little ahead of the evidence on this one, however, as three new studies reveal.

l-Methylfolate for Depression: Costly Mistake or Good Thinking?

August 1, 2019

Folic acid and l-methylfolate are two versions of the same vitamin. Both are popular for antidepressant augmentation, but one is a expensive prescription. We compared them side-by-side and found that one has a slight advantage.

A New Treatment for Bipolar Depression

August 1, 2019

With Vrylar’s new approval, there are now four atypicals antipsychotics with an indication in bipolar depression. Only two of these, however, are known to work in mania as well as depression. None of the atypicals stands out as the perfect choice for bipolar depression, but there are pros and cons to each that make them fitter better with certain patients.

The Carlat Report Goes to APA Part II

July 29, 2019

More highlights from the American Psychiatric Association's 2019 meeting in the final installment of this two-part series. Expert interviews with Manpreet Singh on childhood mood disorders and Nikhil Rao on novel medications for sleep. Learn what to do when children get worse on antidepressants, and how to use clonidine...

Editor's Choice: An Antidepressant Diet Expert Q&A

July 11, 2019

Chris Aiken, MD

I was a reader of The Carlat Psychiatry Report before I was an editor, and there were two things that led me to subscribe to it:1) They cover topics that get missed in the psychiatric press, like practical tips and treatments that aren't backed by a promotional budget.2) They give...