The Experts Speak - An Educational Service of the Florida Psychiatric Society

Andrew Cutler MD, a psychiatrist and clinical trial researcher, explains how new medications are found, the four clinical trial phases, how the process is monitored, the difference in placebo requirements, etc. In part 2 he will explain the various testing devices used, in particular for psychiatric studies. December 2010

Joan Magill, PsyD, examines the differences between depression and sadness, the need to reach out to people who may appear troubled during the holiday season, of our social needs, to honestly look at oneself, how these conditions may present in children or the elderly, and other aspects of what are commonly called the Holiday Blues.

Susan Brison, PhD, an associate professor of philosophy at Dartmouth College, was raped and left to die. She wrote a powerful and insightful book about her experience and how after the violence she rebuilt herself. She discusses those experiences in this interview..

Glenn Caddy, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who works and lives in both the United States and Australia. These are his observations in how these two counties differ in their approach to access to mental health care.

Vivian Burt MD, professor emeritus of psychiatry and founder/director of the Women's Life Center at the Geffen School of Medicine (UCLA), describes the science of menopause, the role of estrogen, the clinical presentations, psychiatric risk factors, role of body weight, etc, and treatments for menopause

Thomas Kostan, MD, from Baylor Medical College Department of Psychiatry, is involved with the development of a cocaine vaccine. He discusses the history, the science and the realities of a vaccine to the effects of cocaine.

Richard Weisler MD, from both the Duke University and University of North Carolina School's of Medicine, explains and outlines the enlarging epidemic of unintentional drug poisoning deaths. This has been called a pharmaco-epidemic. The numbers and trends are daunting, and it is a public health emergency.

Norman Fine, whose son died by suicide, and psychologist Garrie Thompson PhD, reveal the emotions and the honest, rational approaches involved after the death of a loved one by suicide.

Jeff Szymanski PhD, executive director of the International OCD Foundation, and on staff at McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, speaks of how OCD presents in children, the PANDAS concern, of conditions that look like OCD but are not, how to approach treatment,, and the range and concept of the OCD spectrum disorders.

Susan Strauss RN, MHS, VP of Hospice and Palliative Care of Cape Cod, explains the hospice benefit and philosophy. She speaks of the need to deal with both the patient and family, of special needs for children when they experience a death, when children are put into hospice, ethical issues, the changing demographics, and the creation of a treatment team to balance the medical, psychological and spiritual needs of all involved

Darryl Appleton MD, psychiatrist and sleep specialist, explains the changes in the sleep cycle across the ages. He also speaks of sleep hygiene and the role melatonin, phase shifts, the definition and nature of insomnia, treatment, etc.

David Brendel MD, associate director of the Pavilion at McLean Hospital, discusses the many practice, therapeutic and ethical issues of the use of social networking. This is a new world to explore. What does it mean when the doctor or patient "Google" each other? What if the found information is wrong? He discusses how this public information might impact the therapy, either for the better or worse, and so on.

Amado Suarez MD, a psychiatrist on the clinical staff of the staff of the University of South Florida, defines a treatment resistant depression, the nature of remission and response, when to change treatments, the statistics of initial treatment failure and ultimate success, and even the impact of diagnostic errors or cultural aspects of some response patterns.

Eric Pfeiffer, MD, a psychiatrist with a life-time of work in aging processes, speaks to the need to prepare for retirement and how to make one's aging process better. He speaks of the need for physical, social and mental activity, as well as to understand and work around the reality of getting older. Retirement is now a longer phase of life with many opportunities.

Karl Lanoche MD, from Portsmouth NH, discusses the many exciting new and growing aspects of TMS, it's history, it's use in depression, and what new uses are being explored with conditions such as OCD, pain, tinnitis, and even adolescent depressions. There is considerable interest in how TMS is helping to locate which parts of the brain are involved with different conditions.