“How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” Shakespeare’s arguably depressed and suicidal Prince Hamlet uttered those words to himself almost five centuries ago. But what if he had confessed them in his doctor’s office today, how would his... Read more →

In industrialized nations, health has changed from an era of infectious plagues and poor nutrition to chronic and often preventable morbidity. A combination of biotechnological advancements (e.g. vaccines) and mere improvement in personal and medical hygiene have eradicated diphtheria, typhoid fever,... Read more →

Despite the fact that science is now easing back the curtain and revealing the neuroanatomical correlates of mental illness, some insurance companies still refuse to cover mental health in their basic policies. During our previous roundtable, I related my disappointment over the health insurance industry’s... Read more →

Affecting 4 million people nationwide, Alzheimer’s disease has become the fourth highest killer in the United States. It robs a person of their identity while affecting entire families. With compassion and a sense of duty, researchers set out nearly a century ago to cure this disease. Though much... Read more →

Parkinson’s Disease. As soon as we hear this, we think “neurodegenerative”, “dopamine”, “Levodopa”, “tremor”, “basal ganglia”, and so on. However, it is odd for one to associate Parkinson’s to Personality. Some common personality... Read more →

The tragedies of Columbine and similar incidents have led to impassioned calls for increased mental health services for children and adolescents. While there is little doubt that increases are needed and long overdue, this focus alone overlooks an important fact. Even when services are available, children... Read more →

Last night I decided to hide from the subfreezing temperatures outside by settling down with a warm cup of mint tea and my newly arrived health insurance policy. In a effort to make my task more tolerable, I decided that I would read it through a biopsychosocial lens. Most noticeable among the stacks... Read more →

Engel’s commitment to revolutionizing the health care sector remains important, for we are all affected as consumers, patients, practitioners, or administrators. His message is notably broad, for the scope of the holistic biopsychosocial model is virtually limitless - from psychiatry, immunology,... Read more →

Health is traditionally equated to the absence of disease. A lack of a fundamental pathology was thought to define one’s health as good, whereas biologically driven pathogens and conditions would render an individual with poor health and the label “diseased”. However, such a narrow... Read more →

A Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) just might be your family practitioner, cardiologist or even your obstetrician. Surprise! They are not all M.D.s. The increasingly growing hand of biopsychosocial medicine is pulling back the curtain on various types of medical fields. An example is osteopathic medicine.... Read more →

BRAIN BLOGGER (TONY): Hello Carol, On behalf of Brain Blogger and the GNIF, I’d like to welcome you to our forum entitled Anti-Stigmatization. Our intent is to analyze and resist the societal tendency to stigmatize neurological and psychiatric patients. Further, we’d like to focus on how... Read more →