Psych Essentials

In Part 2 of our Listener Requests series, we will cover a variety of topics that will hopefully be of interest to you, our listeners! The topics included in this series were suggested topics from listeners who e-mailed, tweeted, or gave us feedback on our Facebook page or website. In this episode, we will discuss […]

In our new Listener Requests series, we will cover a variety of topics that will hopefully be of interest to you, our listeners! The topics included in this series were suggested topics from listeners who e-mailed, tweeted, or gave us feedback on our Facebook page or website. In this episode, we will discuss designer (or […]

In the final episode of our personality disorder series, we will dig deeper into cluster C personality disorders. We’ll review the three cluster C personality disorders (avoidant, dependent, and obsessive compulsive) and specifically focus on effective communication strategies to use when working with these patients. Using a few different clinical examples, we’ll highlight both helpful […]

In this episode of our personality disorder series, we will dig deeper into cluster B personality disorders. Many clinicians struggle working with patients who have cluster B personality disorders since they can trigger very intense emotional reactions in the providers who care for them! We’ll discuss the importance of cultivating empathy and describe common challenges […]

In this episode of our personality disorder series, we will dig deeper into cluster A personality disorders. We’ll specifically focus on effective communication strategies to use when working with these patients. Using a clinical example, we’ll highlight both helpful and less helpful ways to interact with patients who have cluster A personality disorders. Photo credit: […]

What is the difference between a personality and a personality disorder? When do personality disorders arise, and what do they look like?  In our new series on personality disorders, we’ll discuss all of this and more. We’ll review the 3 personality clusters (cluster A, cluster B, and cluster C) and describe the 10 different personality […]

In the final episode of our Picture This series on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, we discuss how to talk about suicide at both the individual and societal level. We’ll discuss how characters in the show react to Hannah’s  mental health crisis and then explore strategies for what to do when someone discloses suicidal […]

In the second episode of our Picture This series, we will use the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why as a vehicle for exploring and understanding reactions to suicide. The characters in the show have a wide range of reactions to suicide, which span from anger to grief to altruism. We discuss these different reactions in […]

In the first episode of our Picture This series, we will use the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why as a vehicle for discussing and understanding suicide. Why do people die by suicide or engage in suicidal behaviors? We will discuss several main theories including the interpersonal theory of suicide, Linehan’s theory of suicidal behavior, and […]

Check out the “trailer” for our upcoming new miniseries “Picture This.” There are tons of movies, songs, books, and other media that talk about mental health. We are going to discuss and analyze some of them from a psychiatric perspective. First up is 13 Reasons Why, a TV miniseries made by Netflix based on a […]

In the final episode of our second psychopharmacology series, we will discuss how to manage antipsychotic side effects. Side effects are quite common for patients taking antipsychotics unfortunately. Knowing how to manage common antipsychotic side effects is incredibly valuable for your patients as it can improve tolerability and treatment compliance. We’ll provide a broad overview […]

In today’s episode of our psychopharmacology series, we will discuss insomnia and treatments for insomnia. Most of the time, sleep medications are not the solution for addressing insomnia! We’ll briefly describe cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which is THE first line treatment for insomnia.  We will then review 6 different classes of medications used […]

In today’s episode, we will discuss benzodiazepines, a commonly used type of sedative-hypnotic medication. We will start by reviewing their mechanism of action, common indications for use, contraindications for use, and side effects. We’ll also discuss how to differentiate benzodiazepines based on their unique pharamacologic properties. Finally, we’ll explore some of the controversy around benzodiazepines, […]

We are revisiting psychopharmacology in our second psychopharm series. We will kick things off by talking about the “older antidepressants”- tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). While these medications are used less frequently than SSRIs due to their side effect profiles, both TCAs and MAOIs have their select uses in psychiatry (i.e. treatment […]

In the second episode of our series on somatic treatments in psychiatry, we will discuss transcranial magnetic stimulation, otherwise known as TMS. TMS is a newer procedure used to treat depression and represents an alternative to medications and ECT. We will review the mechanism of action for TMS, what is entailed in the procedure, indications […]

In the first episode of our series on somatic treatments in psychiatry, we will discuss electroconvulsive therapy, otherwise known as ECT. ECT is one of the few procedures used in psychiatry. Despite its excellent safety record and remarkable efficacy for treating many psychiatric disorders, there is still significant stigma around ECT. We’ll dispel some of […]

In the final episode of our psychotherapy series, we will discuss cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).  We’ll review the cognitive triangle and illustrate how our thoughts, behaviors, and feelings influence one another using a hypothetical scenario.  Finally, we’ll discuss the rationale behind key CBT concepts and techniques including monitoring, behavioral activation, relaxation, exposure, cognitive errors, and […]

In the second episode of our psychotherapy series, we will discuss supportive and psychodynamic therapy. To illustrate principles of supportive and psychodynamic therapy, we will do a role play and then afterward, use the role play to explore the difference between supportive and dynamic approaches to the situation. We will discuss how to use reflections […]

In the first episode of our miniseries on psychotherapy, we will provide an introduction to psychotherapy, one of psychiatry’s most powerful and misunderstood tools. We will discuss common misconceptions about therapy and provide you with a clear picture of what psychotherapy is and what it isn’t. We’ll discuss who goes to therapy, how to access […]

Now that we can identify common intoxication/withdrawal syndromes, we will shift our focus to substance use treatment in the second part of our two-part series on substance use. While therapies are a huge part of substance use treatment, we will primarily discuss medication management of withdrawal and relapse prevention. By the end of this episode, […]

In our two-part series on substance use, we will first discuss drugs of abuse and intoxication/withdrawal syndromes. We’ll provide a conceptual framework for how to differentiate common toxidromes frequently encountered in psychiatry. We’ll then reinforce your knowledge through a series of cases highlighting the clinical presentations of  sedatives, opioids, stimulants, hallucinogens, cannabinoids, and dissociatives. Come […]

In the fourth and final episode of our “Art of Psychiatry” series, we will discuss anxiety disorders. We’ll start by discussing the  purpose of anxiety, why it is often a normal reaction to stressful circumstances, and what it looks like when anxiety becomes more maladaptive and functionally impairing. We’ll provide an overview of common anxiety […]

In the third episode of our “Art of Psychiatry” series, we will discuss schizophrenia, a chronic mental illness that affects 1% of the population. We will focus especially on the patient experience of what it’s like to live with schizophrenia. We’ll start by reviewing the key symptoms of schizophrenia as well as other diagnoses to […]

In the second episode of our “Art of Psychiatry” series, we will discuss bipolar disorder, a chronic mood disorder that affects 1% of the population. We’ll start by reviewing the diagnostic criteria for bipolar 1 and bipolar 2 disorder. We’ll then spend some time discussing mania, a key feature of bipolar disorder. What is it […]

In the first episode of our “Art of Psychiatry” series, we will discuss depression, a common and debilitating mental illness. We will start by reviewing symptoms of depression. We will then discuss what it’s like to be depressed, how to better interact with someone who is depressed, and helpful questions to ask a depressed a […]

In the final episode of our introductory consult-liaison series, we are going to discuss catatonia, a surprisingly common condition seen on medical units as well as inpatient psychiatry. What is catatonia? What does it look like, and what conditions is it associated with? We’ll discuss the terminology associated with symptoms of catatonia. We’ll then discuss […]

In this episode, we will discuss how to assess decisional capacity using the widely referenced New England Journal of Medicine article by Dr. Paul Applebaum as our framework. We’ll review the four relevant criteria to assessing decision making capacity. We’ll also discuss several other common questions that often come up with capacity: How is decisional […]

In this episode, we are going to kick off our consult series by discussing delirium, a common bread-and-butter consult in psychiatry. We’ll discuss typical symptoms of delirium, risk factors for delirium, underlying causes, how to diagnose it, how to differentiate it from other psychiatric illnesses, and treatment options. We’ll break down our treatment discussion into […]

In the final episode of our psychopharmacology basics series, we are going to discuss commonly used mood stabilizers including lithium, valproic acid, lamotrigine, carbamazepine, and oxcarbazepine. What conditions are they used for? How do they work? What are their side effect profiles? How do we dose and monitor them? And what’s up with all these […]

Can’t tell your olanzapine from your risperidone from your quetiapine? Well, don’t you fret because we’re talking about the atypical antipsychotics in this episode. We’ll discuss specific medication side effects and scenarios when you might favor using one atypical antipsychotic over another. Finally, we’ll briefly review long-acting injectables! Photo Credit: Diana Mehrez, “Triangled,” Flickr Episode […]

Get ready to learn about the essentials of antipsychotics! In the first part of our introduction to antipsychotics, we are going to talk broadly about uses for antipsychotics, how they work, and common side effects. We’ll then discuss unique characteristics of specific medications within the typical class of antipsychotics. Photo Credit: Olivier Chateau, “Hasselblad Xpan,” […]

Get for ready for some fun psychopharm basics! In this episode, we will discuss commonly used antidepressants including SSRIs, SNRIs, and atypical antidepressants. We’ll review general indications, side effects, and clinical circumstances which might cause you to favor one antidepressant over another. Finally, we’ll help you to solidify your knowledge with some clinical cases.  Photo […]

In the final part of our Psychiatric Interview series, we’ll review the remainder of the psychiatric interview including psychiatric history, substance use history, medical history, family history, and social history. We’ll also give some tips on how to collect this information in a practical, nuanced, and efficient way! Photo credit: Lanie, “Listen,” Flickr Episode Music […]

In Part 2 of our Psychiatric Interview Series, we’ll focus on the the HPI and psychiatric review of symptoms. We’ll discuss how to organize your HPI and give you some examples of how to ask questions while taking a history. We’ll also talk about how to briefly screen for depression, mania, suicide ideation, homicidal ideation, […]

Do you find the psychiatric interview a little overwhelming or intimidating? Where do you start? What do you need to ask about? What do you do if it doesn’t go as planned? Well, breathe a sigh of relief because we at Psych Essentials are going to break it down for you in our three part […]

In the last episode of our Mental Status Exam series, we’ll explore the final two parts of the mental status exam- insight and judgment! In comparison to other parts of the mental status exam, these two domains can sometimes be a little murky for learners. What is insight and judgment exactly? And how do we […]

Get ready to take a closer look at the finer aspects of cognition! We’ll review how to formally (and informally) test the three main pillars of cognition- orientation, memory, and attention. We’ll also discuss how to test abstract thinking and general executive functioning.  Whether you’re asking about proverbs or guiding a patient through the clock […]

Get ready for a big, information-packed episode featuring two of the most interesting parts of the mental status-exam: thought process and thought content! This is where we get to explore the weird, wonderful, and wild things the mind can manifest. In this episode, we will first look at thought process by defining and providing examples […]