Because of the lengthy period of training, doctors begin their first “real” jobs 8–10 years after many of their friends from college. And, depending on specialty, burnout may cause a physician to retire a few years earlier than the average American. Both these factors lead to a compressed retirement saving timeline.

It seems like an endless debate: When a patient does not respond to the first trial of an antidepressant, what should we do? Switch to something else? Augment with another agent? If the latter, how often should that augmenting agent be an atypical antipsychotic?

Somatic symptom disorder (formerly known as hypochondriasis) is pretty common, with a prevalence of 5%–7%, and is much more likely to afflict women than men, with a gender ratio of about 10:1. While both psychotherapy and SSRI treatment are helpful, there is limited evidence about the efficacy of combining therapy with medication. A new study sought to remedy this gap.

After reading these articles, you should be able to…

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 1 CME credit.

A welcome note from Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Daniel Carlat, MD, and a list of take home points from related to this special double issue.

Prescribing psychotropic medications in patients with intellectual disability (ID) requires certain nuances in approach that may be unfamiliar to some psychiatrists. In this article, we’ll discuss some aspects of assessment and treatment that you may find useful when you encounter and work with such patients.

Psychotherapy is all about communicating, yet people with intellectual disability often have significant limitations in their communication skills, depending on their level of cognitive functioning. Is it possible for us to help these patients? If so, how? Julie Gentile, MD (www.juliegentile.com) has been looking at these questions for 20 years.

Patients with intellectual disability often have difficulty controlling their emotions, which is what leads to so-called “challenging behaviors.” These behaviors include a range of aggressive and impulsive interactions, such as assault to self or others, stealing, fire-setting, sexual offenses, and other problematic situations.