After reading these articles, you should be able to…

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is no longer just for depression, with 6 FDA approvals and 7 different devices to choose from. Adam Strassberg looks at how well this intervention stacks up against ECT and medications. Includes a buyer’s guide to the latest machines.

What do you do when a patient comes to you on a high dose of Adderall and Klonopin without any clear reason to be on them? Swapnil Gupta tackles this in part II of our interview on deprescribing, and describes how to fine-tune and microdose antidepressants and benzodiazepines to manage withdrawal symptoms.

Now that guanfacine ER (Intuniv) and clonidine ER (Kapvay) have gone generic, we review the 40-years of research that earned them FDA approval in ADHD. Along the way we’ll consider their off-label use in anxiety, addiction, insomnia, and self-harm. Plus: When to use the ER, the instant release, or the oft-forgotten transdermal patch.

The study is not without flaws, but it raises some concerns about the long term health-effects of antipsychotic augmentation.

Oxytocin levels tend to fluctuate in synchrony when people are in strong, connected relationships, from the mother-child bond to romantic partnerships. A new study extended that to the therapist-patient dyad by comparing the change in oxytocin levels for patient and therapist during each session of psychotherapy for depression. The greater the synchrony in the oxytocin flux, the better the therapy outcomes.

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After reading these articles, you should be able to…

Buspirone (Buspar) is approved for generalized anxiety disorder, but its efficacy there is often questioned. Here we find out how it stacks up against the benzos and SSRIs, and explore its off-label potential in depression, sexual dysfunction, alcoholism, traumatic brain injury, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.