There are many times I escort a patient back to my front desk Shouting things like “Never give up! Never surrender!”
I tell them how I was taught to say that when I was on active duty with the US Army Medical Corps.
“Think of whatever inspires you!” If a psychiatrist wonders if a patient is “untreatable,” then all we are really saying is that THAT patient is, at THAT moment, untreatable by THAT psychiatrist. Read more on The Untreatable Patient?…
Filed under News, Psychiatrists, Psychology, Psychotherapy by on Feb 6th, 2018. Comment. 
Beneath the University hospital that was associated with the medical school I attended in Amiens, France there was a seemingly infinite maze of interlocking concrete passages that connected all of the different “pavilions” (“units”) of the hospitals. I remember how my feet echoed as I walked along those corridors.
They had been constructed during World War II, to bring the hospital safely underground in case of German Bombing.
One day I was walking in step with all the other surgeons, echoing together, with a regular beat. Read more on They Don’t Need To Understand — They Are Peasants!…
Filed under Alternative Medicine, Diagnosis, Doctors, News, Research by on Feb 5th, 2018. Comment.
One of the strange things that happen when you are getting older is that they change the rules while you are playing the game.
One of the things that happened while I was not looking is that the playing field for women in male-dominated roles does seem to have improved a bit. Read more on …
Filed under life, News by on Jan 26th, 2018. Comment.
When one is designated as an “adult” psychiatrist,” that basically means the person who walks into your office (or is wheeled in or staggers in) has the insurance for which you are approved and an age somewhere between 18 and infinity.
Those who are closer to 18 usually have as at least one of their complaints, “I guess I need to go to school or find a job or something.” Read more on What Do You Want To Do When You Grow Up?…
Filed under News, Psychiatrists, Psychology, Research, Self-esteem, Society by on Jan 25th, 2018. Comment.
I distinctly remember the first time I saw a “retirement clock.”
It was on the desk at the home workstation of a psychiatric nurse who had already worked about ten years in the outpatient clinic of one of the VA medical centers where I had once worked. Read more on Stuck In A Job You Hate?…
Filed under military, News by on Jan 24th, 2018. Comment.
I am recommended News Fasts a lot these days.
I don’t think people have a clue what is going on in their brains and spirits when they watch television news.
Watching television News is like hypnosis, but with even less control about the kind of content that washes over your brain. Read more on You May Need A News Fast…
Filed under culture, Family, News by on Jan 23rd, 2018. Comment.
One of the hardest things to do as a psychiatrist is to get patients to tell the truth. The absolute hardest thing to do is to get patients to ask the questions that they really find on their mind but are scared of asking.
Me, I do everything I can to break down the communication barriers that exist between me and my patients.
For one thing, I do not even own a doctor’s white coat. Read more on FAQ: Antidepressants…
Filed under medicine, News, prescription drugs by on Jan 22nd, 2018. Comment.
Our Fashionista just LOVES to go shopping. And she does it frequently to keep her fans happy. Another thing she does to keep you happy is she writes things every day.
If you read the things she writes and like what you read — then you will be overjoyed to see that she also writes interesting things on Facebook. If you haven’t checked her out there, you should really put this link on your daily “TO DO” list!
Filed under News by on Jan 21st, 2018. Comment.
No, mental health care is not what it used to be. Especially inpatient units.
Even though this is a 2014 article, and British, it may articulate the losses more clearly than anything else I have read recently. Read more on …
Filed under medicine, Mental Illness, News, Psychotherapy by on Jan 19th, 2018. Comment.
“I got low self-esteem.”
It is a surprisingly common initial complaint for new patients, especially younger ones.
If they make it to my office, folks often think a medication is going to fix this. What the folks who complain about this are more likely to get, from me at least, is a response more like “Sorry, honey, if I had a pill for low self-esteem, I would have sold it out years ago.” Read more on …
Filed under depression, medicine, News by on Jan 18th, 2018. Comment.