Vice President Biden Hails 'Astounding Possibilities' in BRAIN Initiative, Parity Law Understanding of the brain and treatment of mental illness and brain diseases are at a transformative crossroads. That’s what Vice President Joe Biden said today as he presented the William C. Menninger Memorial Convocation Lecture at APA’s 2014 annual meeting in New York City. >>read more

Assembly Election Results Announced
At their meeting this weekend, members of the APA Assembly chose Glenn Martin, M.D. (at right in photo), to be their next speaker-elect. >>read more





APA Says Thank You to New York City
At the Opening Session of APA’s 2014 annual meeting, APA President Jeffrey Lieberman, M.D., presented a check to Nancy Olecki, director of development of the Doe Fund, for $20,000. >>read more




Volkow Explains Link Between Substance Use Disorder, Obesity
Though obesity can be more complex than substance abuse disorder (SUD)—since obesity is regulated by multiple hormones—the two disorders share a common pathway involving dopamine, said NIDA Director Nora Volkow, M.D., yesterday at APA’s 2014 annual meeting. >>read more/>>watch video



Psychosis Expert Describes Staged-Treatment, Early Intervention Efforts in Australia
Psychiatrist Patrick McGorry, M.D., Ph.D.,. executive director of Orygen Youth Health in Melbourne, Australia, is a pioneer in early detection and intervention for individuals at risk for psychosis and other serious mental disorders. He talked to Psychiatric News about the need for a transformed system of mental health service delivery for young people. >>read more/>>watch video



Torrey Criticizes Failed Federal Mental Health Policy
In this video interview, E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., founder and director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, talks to Psychiatric News about the legacy of a broken mental health system and why there is hope for a better tomorrow for patients with psychosis and other serious mental illness. >>watch video



Kernberg Describes Major Breakthrough in Understanding, Classification of Personality Disorders
The classification of personality disorders proposed for DSM-5 included an important new development, namely, the agreement on a common basic factor of all personality disorders. That factor represents a major criterion for the assessment of the severity of any personality disorder: the integration or lack of integration of the self—that is, of normal identity—and the degree of normality or pathology of the individual’s relationships with others, according to Otto Kernberg, M.D. >>read more



Psychotherapy Still Vital to Psychiatry’s Treatment Armamentarium, Says Gabbard
Psychotherapy is a highly effective treatment of psychiatric disorders that have strong biological underpinnings. At a research symposium at APA’s 2014 annual meeting today, Glen O. Gabbard, M.D., shared data emerging from a number of different psychotherapy studies. >>read more




Experts Tackle Challenges of Mental Health in Military Populations
Members of the military have all felt the stresses of combat and deployment over the last dozen years. Researchers and clinicians have been looking for ways to increase access and provide mental health care for those who need it, reported Douglas Zatzick, M.D., and several colleagues in a symposium today at APA’s 2014 annual meeting. >>listen to interview with zatzick



Integration of Spirituality in Psychiatric Treatment May Boost Effectiveness
Emory researchers presented the first findings today of a randomized, controlled clinical trial of veterans with PTSD using virtual reality exposure therapy (VRE). The study was conducted with 156 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with combat-related PTSD and found that VRE reduces PTSD diagnoses and symptoms. After an introductory session, each veteran was randomly assigned to receive D-cycloserine, alprazolam, or a placebo before each of five sessions of VRE. >>read more




Emory Researchers Report First Findings of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Veterans With PTSD
Emory researchers presented the first findings today of a randomized, controlled clinical trial of veterans with PTSD using virtual reality exposure therapy (VRE). The study was conducted with 156 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with combat-related PTSD and found that VRE reduces PTSD diagnoses and symptoms. After an introductory session, each veteran was randomly assigned to receive D-cycloserine, alprazolam, or a placebo before each of five sessions of VRE. >>read more




Experts Describe Psychotherapy for Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Frank Yeomans, M.D., Ph.D., Otto Kernberg, M.D., Eve Caligor, M.D., and Diana Diamond, Ph.D., emphasized today at APA’s 2014 annual meeting that psychotherapy is an ever-evolving field with increasing specialization with regard to matching specific techniques to specific disorders. They proposed transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) as an approach to diagnosing and treating narcissistic patients that can offer hope to therapists who work with this challenging population. >>read more




Challenges in the Acute and Maintenance Treatment of Psychotic Depression
How long patients with major depression with psychotic features successfully treated with an antidepressant and an antipsychotic need to stay on the antipsychotic medication is not known, according to Anthony Rothschild, M.D., but researchers are looking for answers. >>read more

>>HIGHLIGHT FROM YESTERDAY'S MEETING

Alda, Kandel, Lieberman Discuss Communicating Science When scientists explain their work in ways that "regular folks" use to express themselves-through storytelling, humor, and emotion-people will listen, learn, and be changed. >>read more