After reading these articles, you should be able to…

Alongside DSM, another conceptual model has risen, one based on concepts originally developed by Adolf Meyer and Karl Jaspers in the early 20th century. In the 1980s, these ideas were organized and later were described in the book, The Perspectives of Psychiatry, published in 1998 (Johns Hopkins University Press). The Perspectives of Psychiatry’s authors, Paul McHugh and Phillip Slavney, have steadfastly viewed the DSM system as fundamentally flawed and have consistently expressed concern about its negative impact on the field.

DSM-IV task force chair Allen Frances, MD, delves into the details of DSM-5.

Agitation is common in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and while antipsychotics are frequently given for agitation, they can also increase risk for cardiac and cerebrovascular events. What to do? A group of researchers recently investigated the possibility that an antidepressant, citalopram (Celexa), may be an alternative choice.

All antidepressants have the potential to cause physical adverse effects, such as dry mouth, drowsiness, and dizziness. But patients often report psychological and interpersonal effects, too, and the fear of these adverse reactions sometimes leads patients to refuse these drugs. How common are non-physical side effects, such as apathy and feelings of detachment?

A recent study shows that even though 83% of people who commit suicide have had healthcare services in the year before their deaths, only about half of these had a mental health diagnosis.

The Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention has released the details of a research plan aimed at reducing suicides in the US by 20% in five years. The public/private partnership (which works through grants from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA] and the Department of Health and Human Services [HHS]) examined the research that shows the most promise in reducing suicides and identified where gaps in current suicide research exist.

After reading these articles, you should be able to…

We’re all aware that neuroleptics and other dopamine-receptor blocking agents (DRBAs) can cause a variety of movement disorders, often referred to as extrapyramidal syndromes (EPS).

David Mintz, MD, explains how psychodynamic psychopharmacology considers patients’ individuality in making treatment decisions.