Articles, Leading Stories
Quitting Time offers a safe haven
By Catherine Robertson Souter
It is the question that every medical facility administrator has to ask: What is it that makes a health program stand out? Many facilities have similar programs, from cancer screening programs to AIDs awareness to support groups or recovery programs. They run on similar modalities – education, therapeutic interventions, self-awareness exercises and more. But what makes a program succeed? For the administrators of the Quitting Time Program at Hampstead Hospital in N.H., the piece that really makes the difference is the staff. When it comes down to it the success of a program it depends on the intangible qualities contributed [More]
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Leading the way: A program for the new century
By Catherine Robertson Souter
The world today has become more complex and leaders must find a way to adapt to the changes, all the while being sensitive to the same cultural, emotional and economic issues that have always been part of the mix. This fall, the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology will initiate the first leadership program rooted primarily in psychology with ten students from across the world coming together to learn how to navigate and inspire in the world today. The four-year Doctor of Psychology in Leadership Psychology program was created by Erik Gregory, Ph.D., who is the executive director of the Media [More]
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Conversion disorder: medical mystery with psychological underpinnings
By Phyllis Hanlon
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition (DSM-IV) classifies conversion disorder as one of the somatoform disorders characterized by medically unexplained complaints of multiple physical symptoms, such as inability to speak, blindness, paralysis or numbness with underlying psychological issues or conflicts. In spite of the definition, conversion disorder, a rare occurrence, is difficult to diagnose and remains somewhat of a mystery to medical professionals. Christine T. Finn, M.D., director, Psychiatry Residency Training Program and director of Crises and Consultation Services in the department of psychiatry at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., says, “People don’t have the [More]
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Opposition to Taunton State’s closure intensifies
By Catherine Robertson Souter
Since the announcement of plans to permanently shutter Taunton Hospital at the end of 2012, opposition to the closure has intensified. With State Senator Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton) leading the way, legislators, labor, religious and advocacy groups have begun to call for additional studies to keep the hospital open. The hospital’s 169 inpatient beds will be moved primarily to a new state-of-the-art facility in Worcester with 45 going to Tewksbury Hospital. Pacheco has been joined in the drive to keep the hospital open by Patricia Haddad, (D-Somerset), House speaker pro tempore and representatives from Attleboro, Mansfield and Seekonk, among others. “We [More]
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Veterans treating veterans; a growing niche
By Phyllis Hanlon
Now that the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down, this country can expect a tremendous influx of returning veterans. With this surge comes a greater need to treat the invisible wounds of war, namely posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and a host of other psychological issues. A mental health crisis is likely in the next five to 10 years if appropriate attention is not given to war veterans and their families, according to Nicholas Covino, Ph.D., president of the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. “The general idea that those with military trauma will be served by the VA [More]
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Study: Manual changes could result in false-negative diagnoses
By Pamela Berard
Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital determined that recommended changes in the upcoming revision to the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fifth edition” (DSM-5) could result in false-negative diagnoses. In a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, the researchers examined the impact of deleting five personality disorders in the new DSM-5 – paranoid, schizoid, histrionic, narcissistic and dependent personality disorders. The deletions were among recommendations made by the DSM-5 Personality and Personality Disorders work group and were being looked at as a way to reduce the level of comorbidity among the disorders. (The work group has since decided to retain [More]
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Medical schools commit to Joining Forces initiative
By Janine Weisman
Marc B. Hahn, D.O., knows how fast the U.S. military can get a soldier injured overseas back on American soil. He was chief of pain management and an attending anesthesiologist on active duty at Walter Reed Army Medical Center during the first Persian Gulf War. “We were evacuating some injured servicemen so quickly back to stateside that we were dumping out sand from their boots in the operating room,” recalls Hahn, now dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of New England (UNE) in Biddeford, Maine. Hahn joined a group of medical school deans who met First [More]
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New commissioner outlines priorities
By Catherine Robertson Souter
Gov. Deval Patrick recently announced that Marcia Fowler, M.A., J.D., had been chosen to take on the role of commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH), replacing the departing Barbara Leadholm. Fowler had been serving as the DMH’s deputy commissioner and has had a cumulative 16 years with the agency. In congratulating her on the appointment, JudyAnn Bigby, M.D., the state’s secretary of health and human services, noted that Fowler was instrumental in implementing a new service code for contractors designed to create a better system of care for community services. A lawyer as well as a clinician, [More]
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Research Domain Criteria could enhance how clinicians diagnose
By Jennifer E Chase
For several years, a workgroup at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, Md., has been designing a framework for creating a new way to classify mental disorders; one built on decades of neuroscience-based research that is changing researchers’ understanding of how the brain produces adaptive behavior and how a patient’s functionality turns from normal to abnormal in forms of various mental disorders. Research Domain Criteria – or RDoC – would be a new organizational framework that would help researchers better listen to what the brain can tell them about classifying certain mental disorders rather than simply looking [More]
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SAMHSA merges approaches for one recovery definition
By Janine Weisman
Can recovery mean the same thing to someone with a mental health disorder and someone with a drug or alcohol addiction? The answer is ‘yes’ under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s new definition of recovery: “a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life and strive to reach their full potential.” “Those words were chosen very carefully so that they did reflect what we thought was a lived experience,” says Kathryn A. Power, M.Ed., SAMHSA’s regional administrator in Boston. Power says SAMHSA intends to use this new definition and an [More]
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