There is a need for new effective treatment options for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as many people with PTSD do not fully recover despite current treatments. 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AT) is emerging as a new treatment option. We assessed the current body of MDMA-AT evidence for effectiveness in treating PTSD, associated impairments, and...
OBJECTIVE: Muslim communities in North America face significant mental health challenges that are exacerbated by Islamophobia, social isolation, and spiritual incongruence. Spiritually adapted mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) tailored to Islamic principles have emerged as promising approaches. This scoping review explores how Islamic mindfulness practices are defined and implemented to...
Learning Objectives: After participating in this CME activity, the psychiatrist should be better able to: Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) is characterized by perceptual phenomena that either linger after substance-use cessation or recur as reperceptions or flashbacks. These symptoms may be either mild and transient or long-lasting and severely burdening. Since evidence for...
INTRODUCTION: First-line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) includes exposure and response prevention behavioral therapy and serotonin reuptake inhibitors, particularly in combination. New and more effective treatments are needed, give that recent studies suggest that glutamatergic neurotransmission contributes to the pathophysiology of the disorder. In these circumstances,...
Abstract The prevalence of cannabis use among older adults (aged 65 and above) for both recreational and medicinal purposes has significantly increased in recent years. Information regarding the safety of cannabis in this population is important since aging is associated with metabolic changes, multiple morbidities, increases in prescription medication use, and an overall decline in...
Abstract Initiating and maintaining behavior change is key to the prevention and treatment of most preventable chronic medical and psychiatric illnesses. The cultivation of mindfulness, involving acceptance and nonjudgment of present-moment experience, often results in transformative health behavior change. Neural systems involved in motivation and learning have an important role to play. A...
OBJECTIVES: This article presents a brief overview of the empirical evidence of well-established mindfulness interventions and an in-depth review of less-established compassion-based interventions (CBIs) and loving-kindness meditation (LKM). Definitions, cognitive and physiological mechanisms, and methods of assessment are discussed. METHOD: A literature review using the databases Google...
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: After participating in this activity, learners should be better able to evaluate the evidence supporting the antidepressant effects of glutamatergic modulators.Both preclinical and clinical studies have implicated glutamatergic system dysfunction in the pathophysiology of mood disorders such as bipolar depression and major depressive disorder. In particular, rapid reductions...
Abstract Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent conditions in psychiatry. Patients who do not respond to traditional monoaminergic antidepressant treatments have an especially difficult-to-treat type of MDD termed treatment-resistant depression. Subanesthetic doses of ketamine—a glutamatergic modulator—have shown great promise for rapidly treating patients with the most...
Mood disorders such as bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder are common, chronic, and recurrent conditions affecting millions of individuals worldwide. Existing antidepressants and mood stabilizers used to treat these disorders are insufficient for many. Patients continue to have low remission rates, delayed onset of action, residual subsyndromal symptoms, and relapses. New therapeutic...
While auditory hallucinations (AH) are prototypic psychotic symptoms whose clinical presence is often equated with a psychotic disorder, they are commonly found among those without mental illness as well as those with nonpsychotic disorders not typically associated with hallucinations in DSM-IV. This incongruity presents a significant challenge for clinical work and efforts to revise the next...
Over the past 30 years the practice of meditation has become increasingly popular in clinical settings. In addition to evidence-based medical uses, meditation may have psychiatric benefits. In this review, the literature on the role of meditation in addressing psychiatric issues, and specifically substance use disorders, is discussed. Each of the three meditation modalities that have been most...
This article outlines the philosophical background to spiritual psychology and selectively reviews Western and Eastern literature on the subject. The world views of theism, atheism, and agnosticism are defined and critiqued, and the boundaries of scientific knowledge discussed. The views of James, Jung, and Freud are reviewed, and the contributions of humanistic psychology noted. Contemporary...
The recreational drug "ecstasy" (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA) is widely used by young people throughout the world. Experimental studies indicate that MDMA damages serotonergic neurons in animals and possibly in humans. Repeated use may induce long-term neurotoxic effects, with cognitive and behavioral implications. We reviewed both the preclinical and the clinical literature to...
Conceptual dichotomies between mind and brain, psychology and neuroscience, meaning and causation, and fact and value confound thinking in philosophy of mind, clinical psychiatry, and psychiatric ethics. Paul Churchland's theory of eliminative materialism highlights these dichotomies, stating that advances in neuroscience have restricted, and eventually will eliminate, any need for psychology....
As practitioners seek more personalized approaches, exploring how patients' environments, relationship templates, and mindsets factor into symptom burden can help broaden understanding of how psychotropic medications facilitate recovery. Despite increasing focus on medications to provide relief, there is an important and undeniable influence the therapeutic environment has on shaping outcomes,...
Sexual hallucinations are little known, yet often extremely burdening, phenomena. In this systematic review, we summarize what is known about their phenomenology, prevalence, etiopathology, ensuing distress, and treatment options. Sexual hallucinations can be experienced as genital or orgasmic sensations, although other sensory modalities can also be involved. With the notable exception of...