Internet Counseling Aids Mental Health

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 9, 2010

A new study has found that psychiatrists can accurately assess a patient’s mental health by viewing web-based or e-mail files.

Specifically, University of California at Davis investigators found psychiatrists could diagnose and counsel individuals after viewing videotaped interviews that are sent via telecommunications lines.

The approach, called asynchronous telepsychiatry, uses store-and-forward technology, in which medical information is retrieved, stored and transmitted for later review using e-mail or Web applications.

Source: UC Davis

PTSD And Depression Common In Returning Combat Soldiers

How often do soldiers returning after seeing combat in Iraq and Afghanistan develop mental disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder and depression?

A new study funded by the U.S. Army finds 8 to 14 percent of infantry soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan return seriously disabled by mental health problems. Between 23 and 31 percent return with some impairment.

About half the soldiers with either PTSD or depression also misused alchohol or had problems with aggressive behavior.

Psychiatrists from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research anonymously surveyed more than 18,000 soldiers who served in regular army units and the National Guard. The surveys were taken both 3 months and 12 months after their return from service abroad.

The researchers conclude that it's clear even a year after deployment, "many combat soldiers have not psychologically recovered." Because the time between deployment is often only a year to 18 months for active soldiers, a "sizable proportion" are likely returning to with lingering mental health issues.

Article by Scott Hensley/NPR

Montana mental health court shows early successes

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- Officials say a new adult mental health court in Billings is showing some modest successes in its first year.

The mental health court is designed to help criminal defendants with clinical mental health disorders learn to treat their illnesses and live within the law. The program is only available to 14 people this year, but planners hope to expand the court to serve 40 people in its second year and 70 people in its third.

Billings Police Lt. Mark Cady says he's seen the court lead people who were frequently in trouble to change their ways. The program is still new in Billings, but early numbers suggest that only 10 percent of participants are going on to re-offend.

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Information from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com

Have Your Say On New Psychiatric Manual

By Alix Spiegel

Finally, after years of work, the American Psychiatric Association has put out the list of mental illnesses it intends to include in its new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Have your say on a new psychiatric guide.

A new guidebook to the psychiatrist's couch is coming.

The DSM, as it's called for short, is incredibly influential. Doctors use it to diagnose patients, of course, but insurance companies also consult it in their decisions about reimbursements. Courts, schools, governments and researchers also turn to the manual for guidance on behavior that deviates from normal.

The manual and the secretive process for its drafting have attracted their share of controversy over the years. And the APA has been careful to say that this is a "proposed draft" of the new DSM, the fifth edition. For the first time, the group is inviting "public input."

Anyone--including you--can log on and tell the nice people working on DSM their thoughts about, say, the new proposed Temper Dysregulation Disorder. You have 10 weeks to speak up.

The people at the APA say they are doing this because they want to be transparent and take advantage of the Internet, but doing this could create some problems.

There are quite a few hot-button changes like the elimination of Asperger's that are sure to inflame passions. What will the APA do if Asperger's groups rally the troops and organize a write-in campaign? Will Asperger's be put back?

The APA has made a big deal of the DSM being the product of an intense scientific process. So if the group changes the contents based on interest group politics, they open themselves to fresh criticism that the DSM is less scientific than claimed.

Fish oils 'beat mental illness'

Taking a daily fish oil capsule can stave off mental illness in those at highest risk, trial findings suggest.

A three-month course of the supplement appeared to be as effective as drugs, cutting the rate of psychotic illness like schizophrenia by a quarter.

The researchers believe it is the omega-3 in fish oil - already hailed for promoting healthy hearts - that has beneficial effects in the brain.

A "natural" remedy would be welcomed, Archives of General Psychiatry says.

"The finding that treatment with a natural substance may prevent, or at least delay, the onset of psychotic disorder gives hope that there may be alternatives to antipsychotic drugs," the study authors said.

“ If young people can be treated successfully with fish oils, this is hugely preferable to treating them with antipsychotics ”
Alison Cobb Mind

Antipsychotic drugs are potent and can have serious side effects, which puts some people off taking them.

Fish oil supplements, on the other hand, are generally well tolerated and easy to take, say the scientists.

The international team from Austria, Australia and Switzerland tested the treatment in 81 people deemed to be at particularly high risk of developing psychosis.

Natural choice

Their high risk was down to a strong family history of schizophrenia, or similar disorders, or them already showing mild symptoms of these conditions themselves.

For the test, half of the individuals took fish oil supplements (1.2 grams of omega-3 fatty acids) for 12 weeks, while the other half took only a dummy pill. Neither group knew which treatment they were receiving.

Dr Paul Amminger and his team followed the groups for a year to see how many, if any, went on to develop illness.

Two in the fish oil group developed a psychotic disorder compared to 11 in the placebo group.

Based on the results, the investigators estimate that one high-risk adult could be protected from developing psychosis for every four treated over a year.

They believe the omega-3 fatty acids found in the supplements may alter brain signalling in the brain with beneficial effects.

Alison Cobb, of the mental health charity Mind, said: "If young people can be treated successfully with fish oils, this is hugely preferable to treating them with antipsychotics, which come with a range of problems from weight gain to sexual dysfunction, whereas omega-3s are actually beneficial to their general state of health.

"These are promising results and more research is needed to show if omega-3s could be an alternative to antipsychotics in the long term."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8490937.stm

Published: 2010/02/02 00:02:02 GMT

© BBC MMX

Tough economy can take its toll on your health

The Dallas Morning News - September 07, 2009

Sep. 7--The longest recession since World War II has wreaked havoc on consumers' personal finances and thrown millions out of work.

The emotional upheaval from the sick economy also has resulted in physical ailments, such as headaches, backaches, neck aches and insomnia.

In other words, the economy can be bad for your health.

"We are seeing more people who are feeling overwhelmed," said Dr. Charles Herlihy, a psychiatrist and medical director at Texas Health Springwood Hospital. "It begins to take a toll on them emotionally, physically."

The margin for economic security is razor-thin these days, raising the stress level for many.

"Retirees are worried about having enough income to pay their bills. Some question if they can stay retired," said Lynn Lawrance, a certified financial planner at Financial Network Investment Corp. in Dallas.

"Many who are still employed are kicking like crazy to keep their head above water now, let alone worry about retirement," she added.

One of the worst scenarios is when people feel that they've lost control of their personal finances.

"They really spiral down into significant depression when they don't have control over their finances," said Dr. Art Mollen, an osteopathic family physician and author of Healthonomics: The Handbook for Balancing Your Physical & Financial Checkbooks.

"Once it affects mental function, it's going to affect their physical function," he said. "They may lose weight, they may gain weight, depending on how the depression is affecting them."

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine questioned 250 homeowners going through foreclosure in Philadelphia and found that 47 percent showed symptoms of depression, with 37 percent exhibiting signs of major depression.

The rate was especially high considering previous research showed that only about 12.8 percent of people living in poverty were depressed, the study found.

"Although the health status of homeowners has traditionally tended to be better than that of renters, the financial and emotional stress of foreclosure may undermine the potential benefits of homeownership," said the study, which will appear in the October edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

It's no surprise that the researchers found deep attachment to homes.

"There is a sense of hope when people buy their homes," said Craig Evan Pollack, an internist who recently completed a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and is now an associate scientist at Rand Corp.

"The difference between those dreams and hopes and [the] reality that people are finding themselves in may be part of the stress that people are feeling, and a sense of sadness as well."

Losing control

Money and all its aspects are important symbols of success, power, dominance and accomplishment.

"Everyone likes to have a certain amount of control in their life, and all of a sudden when they're losing their home, they're losing their job, that affects their overall self-confidence," said Mollen, medical director and founder of the Mollen Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The first step in regaining control over your finances is acknowledging what you've lost, said Todd Mark, vice president of education at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas.

"If you've got a financial crisis, what is the root cause?" he said. "Is it lack of income or has your income been steady? Is it an unplanned expense that you weren't prepared for?"

For example, if you got caught with an unexpected car repair bill, you can avoid that in the future by stashing away savings for emergencies.

Likewise, if your debt is out of control, stop charging on credit cards and start paying off that bill. If you're having trouble making payments, contact your creditors quickly and see if they will work with you.

Action plan

"You can only regain control once you analyze where you are, what your potential challenges are and develop an action plan of tackling those as a goal of moving forward positively," Mark said.

Make a brutally honest assessment of your finances and be patient.

"Say to yourself, 'It took me years to get into this debt, and it will take me years to get out of it,' " Mark said.

There are certain aspects of your finances you can't control.

"When stuff happens, what you do or don't do is critical," Lawrance said. "If you're passive, it's easy to feel that you have no control. If you become proactive and take charge of what you can, you'll feel like you still have some control."

Her remedy?

Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. "In the first column, write what you can control or influence. In the other column, put what you can't control."

For example, you can't control the economy, but you can cut back your spending and do side jobs to increase your income.

"You may have to work longer hours," Lawrance said, but you should balance that with exercise, a healthy diet and plenty of sleep.

"Make sure you include items for your career, for your physical, financial and mental health and relationships," she said.