Peter Forster, Author at Gateway Psychiatric

When We are Unable to Accept New Patients

Peter Forster — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 17:56:06 +0000

We are truly sorry. We are a small clinic and so, at times, we are not able to accept new patients. Our philosophy We don’t believe in waiting lists. We think that people should be seen when they need the help rather than being told to wait for a future appointment. So, when we are accepting new patients we are ...

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Orthostatic Vital Signs to Evaluate Medication Effects

Peter Forster — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 21:01:18 +0000

Many of the medications that psychiatrists prescribe can affect the body’s ability to respond to changes in blood pressure that occur naturally when you stand up, after being in a sitting or lying position for some time – orthostatic vital signs are taken as part of an evaluation of that risk. Heart rate and blood pressure should be obtained when ...

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Family Risk of Bipolar 1 and 2 Disorders and Schizophrenia

Peter Forster — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 19:39:03 +0000

Interesting study out of Taiwan that uses their fairly comprehensive population based data set to look at the relative risk of having different disorders in a family where one parent either has bipolar one or bipolar two disorder. I found this study interesting in that it suggests that bipolar one has a higher genetic loading for any kind of bipolar ...

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February 2022: COVID-19 or Coronavirus and GPS

Peter Forster — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 18:23:00 +0000

The current projections for COVID-19 coronavirus infections in California look hopeful. We track this using the IHME model. As of mid-February 2022, it appears that infections are likely to be back to the levels seen in the fall of 2021 by mid to late March 2022. Other sources of information mirror this prediction. For example, Covid in sewage tends to ...

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SSRI and Other Antidepressants and Pregnancy – 2020

Peter Forster — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 19:18:36 +0000

We have several other posts on this topic which trace the evolution of our thinking about the risks of using antidepressants during pregnancy. Generally, the data continues to support our view that the risks of depression during pregnancy, both in terms of effects on the mother and effects on the child, usually outweigh the risks of antidepressant use. Another large ...

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Jet Lag Calculator by Sleep Junkie

Peter Forster — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 19:39:30 +0000

Jet lag, although temporary affects both physical and mental performance. Travelling across multiple time zones disrupts your body’s circadian rhythm and a result it may cause fatigue, dizziness and other symptoms including changes in mood. We found this app that could help you recover from jet lag on a wonderful site called Sleepjunkie.org. You can use the calculator to change ...

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Psychotherapy is Important for Depression Prevention

Peter Forster — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 23:34:45 +0000

Psychotherapies — particularly cognitive-behavioral approaches used as adjunctive treatments — can play a critical role in helping people with a history of depression avoid relapse. For many people, major depression is a chronic illness. Even when they are no longer depressed, people who have had several episodes of depression have to be concerned about a significant risk of a recurrence ...

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Psilocybin-Assisted Supportive Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Major Depression

Peter Forster — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 20:22:00 +0000

We have been eagerly awaiting the results of controlled studies of psilocybin treatment of depression (used along with psychotherapy). A large multi-center study is still recruiting participants. Meanwhile a great deal of interest in this topic has been stirred up by Michael Pollan and his book How to Change Your Mind. But clinicians have had very little solid science upon ...

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Cost of Sending Medical Records from Gateway Psychiatric

Peter Forster — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 20:29:36 +0000

It is our policy to provide you and other health care providers ready access to necessary medical information. Fortunately, it is easy for us to create a summary of your care that includes our initial assessment, your diagnoses, and a complete record of any medication we may have prescribed. Unfortunately, if you want a complete copy of your record, due ...

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Life Insurance or Disability Insurance and Confidentiality – the MIB and Limits of HIPAA

Peter Forster — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 20:18:53 +0000

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has a few limitations that should be considered when you are applying for life insurance or disability insurance. Life insurance and disability or long term care insurance companies ask you for the names of all the doctors who have treated you and your consent to get records from the doctors. The consent ...

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