Children and adolescents of depressed parents are four to six times more likely to develop depressive symptoms themselves than children of non-depressed parents. This translates to approximately 61% of children of parents with depression developing a psychiatric disorder during their life. Strikingly,... Read more →

The growing prevalence of autism worldwide has parents and clinicians searching for effective treatment options. Though not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of autism, a common class of antidepressants is often prescribed to treat the symptoms of autism in... Read more →

With the reign of the Bush administration at an end, one issue that has plagued his legacy is the government-sanctioned acts of torture. The United States government was involved with several controversial actions ranging from the indefinite detention of so-called enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay,... Read more →

Cognitive theorists postulate how information is processed. For example, is it like a computer where all the information is broken down into bits, processed, and then reassembled for output? Or is processing handled in a completely different manner? One prevalent way to test theories of cognitive psychology... Read more →

Depression creates significant physical, psychological, and social burdens for all age groups. Depression can lead to decreased daily functioning, the onset of chronic illnesses, mortality, and increased use of health care services. Older adults are not immune to depressive symptoms or its negative effects,... Read more →

The exact causes of many psychiatric illnesses are not known, and few risk factors exist for many of them. Scientists have long been trying to decipher the genetic from environmental factors that influence the development of psychiatric illnesses. Many studies have reported that certain mental illnesses... Read more →

Anxiety disorders are among the most common diagnoses in children and adolescents. Anxiety problems that begin in childhood are often quite damaging, leading to low self-esteem, social isolation, inadequate social skills, academic difficulties, and physical manifestations such as headaches and stomachaches.... Read more →

I love the beginning of a new year, full of hope and promise and the idea that the slate has been wiped clean and a new start can be achieved. All over the world as the clock strikes midnight and amidst the streamers and celebrations, millions make resolutions to change in the New Year. The more popular... Read more →

The National Institute of Mental Health recently cited a study published in the December 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The study was cited as providing evidence that supports the idea that adolescents with major depressive disorder (i.e., depression)... Read more →

During the holiday season, I was reminded of the old myth that suicide rates increase over the holidays. This medical myth has been debunked numerous times and it was one of the topics covered in a recent BMJ story about medical myths. For many years, people believed this myth because they felt that... Read more →

“John” was referred to me for counseling services by his primary physician. John’s primary complaint: Panic attacks one to two times per day. I conducted a standard intake interview, asking him about all areas of his life. He had never experienced any panic attacks until one night a few months... Read more →