Columnists

December 16th, 2010

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...

December 16th, 2010

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,...

December 16th, 2010

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...

December 1st, 2010

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...

December 1st, 2010

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...

December 1st, 2010

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...

December 1st, 2010

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...

December 1st, 2010

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...

December 1st, 2010

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...

December 1st, 2010

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...