You have seen movies in which characters have acted violently. Many times, these characters also have a mental illness. Violence is one common stereotype of psychological disorders, along with rebellion and child-like behavior. In The Dark Knightand Me, Myself, and Irene, a character has multiple personality disorder, which is said to cause demonic or mean behavior. Harvey Dent develops a second, evil personality called Two-Face, while Charley Baileygates is known to lash out at random due to his other, less friendly, personality. In each character, mental illness is shown to bring out violence, instead of many other possible behaviors. As such, these movies add to the stigma that surrounds mental disorders. Read more →

Depression is a major health concern worldwide, and is the second leading cause of disability for people of reproductive age (15 to 44 years), according to the World Health Organization. Women experience depression two to three times more frequently than men. Depression can be devastating for these women in general, but it can lead to significant consequences when experienced before and during pregnancy. A new report, published jointly by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), evaluates and summarizes the risks associated with depression and antidepressant therapy during pregnancy, and offers new guidelines for treatment decisions. On the whole, the report advises that many women consider discontinuing therapy with antidepressants before and during pregnancy. Read more →

The existence of post-partum psychosis and post-partum depression has been hotly contested publicly. Tom Cruise’s denouncement of Brooke Shields’ diagnosis of post-partum depression is perhaps the most visible example of the controversy among laypeople, but in the medical literature the reality of both post-partum depression and post-partum psychosis is much more well-established. Read more →

In “The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind,” Julian Jaynes suggested back in 1976 that schizophrenia — like spirit possession and imaginary playmates — was a vestige of our brain’s bicameral heritage. Jaynes believed that in man’s early history, the left and right hemispheres of the brain did not “talk” to each other. They failed to communicate effectively across the corpus callosum, the bridge from one hemisphere to another. The result was, to Jaynes, obvious: People used to hear voices. Nowadays, most people who hear voices inside their head are diagnosed as schizophrenics. Read more →

The explosion of the Internet allows people to use their computer for things that previously needed to be done in person. Now, communicating with friends and family, networking with business contacts, shopping, banking, and a host of other activities, can be done from almost anywhere in the world. While the convenience of these Internet activities is self-evident, is psychotherapy an appropriate trend to hit the Internet?

A recent issue of The Lancet reports that real-time online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective in treating patients with depression. Read more →

More than 50 years ago, the first antipsychotic medications appeared in the United States. While these drugs -– fluphenazine, haloperidol, chlorpromazine, and others — were effective in treating a variety of psychiatric conditions, their safety and tolerability presented many drawbacks. It was not until the 1990s when a new class of antipsychotic medications emerged that presented a decreased risk of serious side effects. The newer class of so-called atypical antipsychotics — as opposed to the first-generation “typical” or “conventional” drugs — has not had a new member in more than a decade. Now, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first new atypical antipsychotic in many years. Read more →