Therapeutic Assignments: Structured Framework for Interaction Between Medical Students and Patients on Psychiatry Clerkships

Medical students enjoy high level of patient contact on psychiatric clerkships. They have felt that forming a relationship with a patient can have therapeutic effects by imparting hope, decreasing their isolation and providing individualized attention. However students have encountered difficulties forming alliance with their patients, either due to acuity of illness such as psychosis or due to character pathology, addiction etc. They need to feel comfortable dealing with more difficult situations such as extremes of emotion or breaks with reality. Interviewing skills must be continually developed. We hope that Therapeutic Assignments (TA) will: provide a medium for students to improve their interviewing skills; enhance their comfort around communicating with patients about sensitive topics; form a therapeutic alliance with their patients, which will support the growth of empathy and be an important aspect in the patient’s treatment

Does psychosis increase the risk of suicide in patients with major depression? A systematic review

OBJECTIVE: Over the years studies have shown conflicting results about the risk of suicide in psychotic depression (MD-psych). To understand this association, we undertook a comprehensive review of the literature to ascertain whether individuals with MD-psych have higher rates of completed suicides, suicide attempts or suicidal ideation compared to those with non-psychotic depression (MD-nonpsych). METHODS: We searched Pubmed, PsycINFO and Ovid in English language, from 1946-October 2015. Studies were included if suicidal ideation, attempts or completed suicides were assessed. RESULTS: During the acute episode of depression, patients with MD-psych have higher rates of suicide, suicide attempts, and suicidal ideation than patients with MD-nonpsych, especially when the patient is hospitalized on an inpatient psychiatric unit. Studies done after the acute episode has resolved are less likely to show this difference, likely due to patients having received treatment. LIMITATIONS: Diagnostic interviews were not conducted in all studies. Many studies did not report whether psychotic symptoms in MD-psych patients were mood-congruent or mood-incongruent; hence it is unclear whether the type of delusion increases suicide risk. Studies did not describe whether MD-psych patients experienced command hallucinations encouraging them to engage in suicidal behavior. Only 24 studies met inclusion criteria; several of them had small sample size and a quality score of zero, hence impacting validity. CONCLUSIONS: This review indicates that the seemingly conflicting data in suicide risk between MD-psych and MD-nonpsych in previous studies appears to be related to whether one looks at differences during the acute episode or over the long-term

Decisional Capacity in Pregnancy: A Complex Case of Pregnancy Termination

Case report about a complex case of perinatal psychiatric illness

A scoping review of social media in child, adolescents and young adults: research findings in depression, anxiety and other clinical challenges.

BACKGROUND: Social media and other technologies are reshaping communication and health. AIMS: This review addresses the relationship between social media use, behavioural health conditions and psychological well-being for youth aged <25 years. METHOD: A scoping review of 11 literature databases from 2000 to 2020 explored research studies in youth in five areas: clinical depression and anxiety, quantitative use, social media mode, engagement and qualitative dimensions and health and well-being. RESULTS: Out of 2820 potential literature references, 140 met the inclusion criteria. The foci were clinical depression and anxiety disorders (n = 78), clinical challenges (e.g. suicidal ideation, cyberbullying) (n = 34) and psychological well-being (n = 28). Most studies focused on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Few studies are longitudinal in design (n = 26), had comparison groups (n = 27), were randomised controlled trials (n = 3) or used structured assessments (n = 4). Few focused on different youth and sociodemographic populations, particularly for low-income, equity-seeking and deserving populations. Studies examined association (n = 120; 85.7%), mediating (n = 16; 11.4%) and causal (n = 4; 2.9%) relationships. Prospective, longitudinal studies of depression and anxiety appear to indicate that shorter use (≤3 h/day) and purposeful engagement is associated with better mood and psychological well-being. Depression may predict social media use and reduce perception of support. Findings provide families, teachers and providers ways to engage youth. CONCLUSIONS: Research opportunities include clinical outcomes from functional perspective on a health continuum, diverse youth and sociodemographic populations, methodology, intervention and privacy issues. More longitudinal studies, comparison designs and effectiveness approaches are also needed. Health systems face clinical, training and professional development challenges