Psychiatrists have long wondered whether someday we might have an objective way to diagnose depression, in much the same way an internist orders a blood test or X-ray. A recent article suggests that just such a test might be on the horizon. Is it the real deal?

After reading these articles, you should be able to…

Patients who identify themselves within the broad category of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning) are an increasingly visible population. Research has consistently shown that LGBTQ-identified individuals suffer higher rates of depression, suicide, anxiety, smoking, substance abuse, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than the general population.

Most psychiatrists have not been specifically trained in treating transgender patients. This is a problem, because as society has become more accepting of sexual and gender diversity, more of your patients are likely to divulge to you their transgender identity.

Dr. Olson, you are a psychiatrist with a special interest in sexuality, but from a personal perspective, you also wrote a book about your own experience coming out as gay later in life.

True thyroid dysfunction can present with symptoms as wide-ranging as depression, mania, psychosis, or poor cognition.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has suddenly begun popping up in both the medical journals and the mainstream media as a potential treatment for treatment resistant depression.

After reading these articles, you should be able to…

Marsha Linehan developed DBT to help patients with BPD (Linehan MM, Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. New York, NY: The Guilford Press;1993), and over the past two decades it has received strong empirical support.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and bipolar disorder frequently co-occur (numbers range from 8% to 18%), although they are distinct clinical entities (Paris J et al, Compr Psychiatry 2007;48(2):145–154). A proper diagnosis guides the most effective treatment, but you’ve probably faced the difficult challenge of diagnosing these conditions, which share several clinical features.