Today’s conversation about “smart drugs” is fundamentally different and refers to the use of medications by people without psychiatric disorders who seek a boost or cognitive edge.

Informed consent—whether it be for psychotherapy, prescribing a medication, or performing a surgical procedure—is an ethical principle firmly established in law and medicine. While there has been no formal research on this subject, my experience suggests that many addiction treatment programs fail to obtain valid informed consent.

The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change has become almost universally accepted in addiction treatment. Like all dogmas, it is rarely critically examined, leading to blind belief and unskilled use.

About 1.6 million Americans use cocaine every year, and roughly one-quarter of them meet diagnostic criteria for a cocaine use disorder (CUD) under DSM-5 criteria. Fortunately, CUD responds to many of the same psychosocial interventions as other substance use disorders.

Relapse usually does not occur suddenly, nor do people plan their return to addictive substance use. From the client’s point of view, it just seems to happen. But there are always indictors that trouble is brewing.

Can a single infusion of ketamine treat depression? Dr Sanjay Mathew explores the buzz around this treatment.

We know how frequently our patients complain of anxiety. Anxiety disorders are common, chronic conditions. They also increase the risk for mood and substance disorders, and complaints of anxiety are found in a wide range of other psychiatric and medical conditions, as well.

The epidemic of psychiatric comorbidity has been a problem since DSM-III appeared way back in 1980. Not much has been done to improve this area in the subsequent editions of the manual.

The new DSM-5 will change the way clinicians diagnose substance use disorders (SUD) and could have far-reaching consequences for patients seeking treatment and clinicians and organizations offering that treatment.

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