Columnists
Ebenezer Scrooge and the Season of Second Chances
By Alan Bodnar Ph.D.
What I love most about the dark cold days of December is the opportunity they give us to notice and enjoy glimpses of contrasting light and warmth. Outdoors the cold makes...
Crimes against children are decreasing
By Catherine Robertson Souter
If you took the nation’s pulse only by reading newspapers, you’d probably believe that bullying and crimes against children are on the rise. In fact, those reports,...
Bill would extend technology assistance to mental health providers
By Pamela Berard
Time is running out, but Congress is considering legislation that would amend the Public Health Service Act and the Social Security Act to extend health information technology...
CDC adds depression module to behavioral risk survey
By Nan Shnitzler
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included a depression questionnaire in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey for the first time in...
Shared decision making embraces consumers
By Nan Shnitzler
Shared decision making (SDM) is an interactive, collaborative process between consumers and their health care providers about decisions pertinent to the consumer’s...
Guidelines for depression treatment revised
By Ami Albernaz
The American Psychiatric Association recently revised its guidelines for treating Major Depressive Disorder, covering everything from clinician-patient rapport to the full...
Medicare cuts: detrimental to both psychologists and clients
By Phyllis Hanlon
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final payment rule on November 2 that affirmed a 21 percent Medicare reimbursement cut effective December 1 and...
Telemedicine protocol helpful to depressed elderly people
By Ami Albernaz
A telemedicine-based protocol for treating depression among homebound elders has shown promise in a preliminary study, pointing the way for more rigorous research.
The...
Unit uses softness to connect with kids
By Jennifer E Chase
A Massachusetts-based child inpatient psychiatric unit is breaking from the traditional use of restrictions and seclusion for managing troubled patients with a much softer...
Q&A: Strengthening emotional well-being is primary goal
By Catherine Robertson Souter
Mental health is not just the absence of mental illness. Mental health is about being resilient, having strong relationships with others and yourself and carrying a sense of...