January 21 (tomorrow) is National Hugging Day here in the US, and newspapers and other media outlets will be encouraging us to distribute hugs generously and indiscriminately. We will be “educated” on the benefits of hugs, not only to our emotional well-being, but to our health and welfare generally. In my local paper, I came… Continue Reading
Archives for January 2014
Training Of Psychiatrists: What The Future Holds
Joel Yager, MD, is a Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado at Denver School of Medicine. He started his career as a US Army psychiatrist in 1969, and has held a wide range of clinical and teaching positions in the intervening years. He has received numerous awards, including lifetime achievement awards from the National Eating… Continue Reading
Evaluating DSM-5: A Debate at Harvard
There’s a debate on this topic scheduled for 12:00 p.m., March 11, 2014, at Wasserstein Hall, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event is free, and open to the public. The debate is sponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center For Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. This is the same group that produced the recent… Continue Reading
Antidepressants and Suicide
There was an interesting article, Antidepressant regulations tightened following suicide, in the Copenhagen Post on January 7. Thanks to Mad in America for the link. It is reported that Danilo Terrida, aged 20, committed suicide in 2011 “…eleven days after he was prescribed antidepressants following an eight-minute-long conversation with a doctor.” The doctor has been deemed… Continue Reading