SMARTer CARE Newsletters
Sign up for our weekly SMARTer Care newsletter! Receive articles of interest with a wide variety of subjects associated with psychiatry and the practice of primary care medicine. Just add your email address below or email BHCS.provider@vistahill.org.
Occupational Therapy for Children and Youth with Mental Health Conditions 3/12/2021
With an eye toward issues of prevention and resiliency, but also with a view toward the challenges with recovery and inclusion, today’s E-Weekly explores the roles that occupational therapy and related activities may play in enhancing rehabilitation and adaptation for individuals with developmental and behavioral health disorders. The old adage that “if the only tool […]
Treatment Options for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Advantages and Disadvantages 3/5/2021
The following chart provides a helpful review guide of the advantages and disadvantages of various agents and therapies for treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorders.. Type of Treatment Advantages Disadvantages Psychological Therapies & Counseling All patients should be referred for evaluation and/or on-going psychotherapeutic treatment. Can be provided in concurrence with appropriate medications. Recommend first-line treatment […]
Drug Interactions Between Psychotropic Medications and Contraceptives 2/25/2021
Contraceptives are commonly used in women of childbearing age, many of who are also taking psychotropic medications for mental health concerns. It is important to be aware of the interactions between contraceptives and certain psychotropic medications as well as the psychiatric side effects of contraceptives themselves. Contraceptives have synthetic estrogen, progesterone or a combination of […]
Assessment & Treatment of ADHD in Adults 2/19/2021
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects about 1/3 of adults who had ADHD in childhood. It can be difficult to diagnose because of the overlap in symptoms of adult ADHD with depression, anxiety and substance abuse, and because of challenges in obtaining observational data beyond the patient’s self-report of symptoms. It is of note that studies of […]
Update on Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder: DMDD 2/11/2021
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) is one of the new diagnoses included in the current DSM V manual and it is generally seen as a helpful diagnosis to fill a gap for many children presenting with complex psychiatric symptom profiles involving severe emotional and behavioral dysregulation and disruption. It can be particularly helpful for youth […]
What Now? Management Strategies when a Suicide Screen is Positive 2/5/2021
Last week’s newsletter encouraged readers dealing with teenagers to conduct a screening inquiry for suicidality, noting the rationale for inquiry and the resistance most of us feel about opening a potential Pandora’s box. This week’s article pulls from prior newsletters and from feedback from readers to speak to the “What Now?” of suicide screening— discussing […]
Screening for Suicide Risk in Teens During the COVID Pandemic 1/28/2021
With the ongoing stressors of the pandemic and media reports of apparent increases in suicidal behaviors, concerns about suicide and about suicidal and self–harm behaviors is an ongoing concern for which the medical and mental health community needs to retain front-of-mind. Even prior to the pandemic suicide was the second leading cause of death in […]
Antidepressants and Movement Disorder Side Effects 1/21/2021
Although quite rare, this week’s newsletter discusses some of what is known about the various types of movement disorder that have been reported in association with the use of antidepressant medications that are regularly prescribed to treat depressive disorders and anxiety disorders along with some lower frequency psychiatric and non-psychiatric diagnostic indications. The data reported […]
Tobacco and Nicotine Dependence 1/7/2021
The good news is that the past 50 years have seen a tremendous decrease in the incidence of Americans who are smoking, with rates of prevalence dropping from over 40% in 1965 to roughly 15% in 2017. This said, 16 million Americans have a smoking-related health condition and smoking remains the #1 preventable cause of […]
Suicide Prevention Information & Resources for High Priority Groups 12/17/2020
This week’s newsletter provides a plethora of suicide prevention information and resources relevant to groups of youth for whom suicide prevention and intervention is of particular importance. We hope that our readers will retain this information in their files for potential future reference—both with respect to the resources for special populations but also for those […]