Background Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains a challenging condition to treat. Nonpsychedelic pharmacotherapies have modest efficacy, and trauma-focused therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) demonstrate higher response rates than medications, yet they suffer from high dropout rates (25–35%) and limited...
Ketamine has demonstrated early promise for treating substance use disorder (SUD). Despite the emerging evidence for ketamine-based approaches for SUD, little has been published on the integration of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) with existing pharmacologic, psychosocial, and peer-support approaches to treatment and recovery, including 12-step programs. Here, we present the case of a...
Psilocybin use has been increasingly popular in the United States, and its use as a novel therapeutic treatment for psychiatric conditions has led to greater public acceptance as a recreational substance. Consequently, clinicians are faced with managing complications and adverse effects associated with psilocybin use. We present three cases seen in a dual diagnosis inpatient psychiatry unit...
Approximately 15-30 % of individuals diagnosed with PTSD experience high levels of dissociation, a condition categorized in the DSM-V as a dissociative subtype of PTSD (PTSD-D). Despite the rising number of studies supporting mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for the treatment of PTSD, literature on mindfulness and dissociation remains scarce and discording. While best practices for...
Rapid Cyclic Bipolar Disorder (RCBD) is a debilitating condition that manifests as four or more episodes of depression, mania, or hypomania in a span of one year, with depression being the predominant event. RCBD is prevalent among individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is associated with elevated suicide risk, prolonged disease duration, unfavorable clinical outcomes, and cognitive...
Though usually mild, neuropsychiatric side effects of intravenous ketamine for depression occasionally result in treatment discontinuation. Two small clinical trials of healthy subjects have indicated that lamotrigine pre-treatment may attenuate these side effects, though two other trials, one in patients with unipolar depression and one in healthy male volunteers, did not support these...
Background: Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a complex and controversial psychiatric condition in which one person maintains at least two separate and distinct personalities. Patients with DID often report a history of childhood abuse and may have other comorbid psychiatric conditions. Psychosocial stressors may be triggers for DID inception or recurrence. While anesthetic agents, in...
Several studies have been conducted and more are underway examining psilocybin-assisted therapy as a treatment for various psychiatric conditions including depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, and alcohol use disorder. However, many studies have been limited by small sample size and have not comprehensively evaluated treatment risks outside of controlled settings. To this point, we present...
There is widespread support of cannabis for therapeutic purposes (CTP) despite lack of federal oversight and inconsistencies in screening, consenting, and authorizing use. Young people may have increased vulnerability to adverse effects including psychosis, substance use disorder, reduced academic achievement or other symptoms. We describe a case of a 20 year old who was prescribed CTP in the...
This article describes a case of a teenager with early complex trauma due to chronic domestic violence. Cannabis use triggered auditory hallucinations, after which the teenager was diagnosed with an acute schizophrenia-like psychotic disorder. Antipsychotic medication did not fully resolve symptoms. Eventually the teenager chose to self-medicate with LSD in order to resolve a suicidal...