Finding Relief Beyond the Pill: Mindfulness Shows Promise for Military with Chronic Pain

adminBest Practices, Other Psychiatric Disorders, Physical Conditions and Health, Psychobiology, Self Care Leave a Comment

Chronic pain and opioid dependence can be a debilitating double whammy for military personnel and veterans. But a recent study offers a beacon of hope: mindfulness training, coupled with therapy techniques, can significantly reduce both pain symptoms and opioid use in this population. The research, published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, compared two approaches to treating chronic pain in …

Cannabis Use Psychosis

adminGeneral, Mental Health, Other Psychiatric Disorders, Physical Conditions and Health Leave a Comment

Frequent cannabis use linked to increased risk of psychosis Studies in Europe and the USA have uncovered a clear association of frequent non-medical cannabis use, and use of high-potency (high THC) cannabis with psychotic disorders.  The American study found that: “Self-reported psychotic disorders were significantly more prevalent among participants with any nonmedical cannabis use than those without (2001–2002: 1.65% compared …

Controlled Substance Prescriptions – Update January 2023

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FDA crackdowns and a shortage of staff in the pharmaceutical industry are making it harder to get controlled substance prescriptions filled. On October 12, 2022, the FDA announced a shortage of instant-release Adderall. Like many companies, Teva pharmaceuticals, the leading manufacturer of generic Adderall, has had trouble hiring people resulting in shortages of medications in pharmacies. The Adderall shortage has led to …

Psychedelic Medicine Association

Psychedelic Medicine Association Member

adminAbout GPS, Other Psychiatric Disorders, Treatments of Depression Leave a Comment

Gateway Psychiatric just joined the Psychedelic Medicine Association. This membership is a continuation of our longstanding interest in alternative treatments for depression. I have been working with Bay Psychiatric Associates and Roberto Estrada for nearly five years providing ketamine infusion and now nasal esketamine to patients with treatment resistant depression. This followed attending the 2017 Ketamine Conference which was held …

Crisis Resources in the Bay Area

Peter ForsterOther Psychiatric Disorders, Self Care Leave a Comment

Colleagues at UCSF shared this list of resources for people in a crisis in the Bay Area. We share this here in the hope that it can be helpful. Please let us know if there are corrections or updates… Alameda National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 1-800-273-TALK Substance Use Treatment & Referral Helpline: 1-844-682-7215 Crisis Support Services Suicide Prevention: (800) 309-2131 …

biofeedback

Biofeedback at Gateway Psychiatric

Nathaniel AbadAnxiety, Other Psychiatric Disorders, Physical Conditions and Health, Self Care Leave a Comment

Biofeedback is a stress management technique that uses devices that give you information about your body’s physiologic response to stress. The idea is to provide you with information that would ordinarily be outside of your conscious awareness, such as your body temperature, blood pressure, or heart rate.  Generally, there are three stages of biofeedback: Developing increased awareness of the body …

Brain Training for Bipolar

Peter ForsterBipolar Treatment, Other Psychiatric Disorders, Physical Conditions and Health Leave a Comment

Cognitive problems are the rule rather than the exception for people with bipolar disorder and so the idea of brain training for bipolar is an attractive one. There are a number of commercially available brain training courses. Probably one of the most comprehensive was developed by a company called Posit Science. Its current flagship product is a subscription-based online program …

Adult Onset ADHD

Adult Onset ADHD Symptoms – What Do They Mean?

Peter ForsterDiagnosis, Other Psychiatric Disorders Leave a Comment

Adult onset ADHD symptoms – symptoms of inattentiveness or hyperactivity that are present in adulthood but did not exist to a clinically significant degree in childhood – have been the subject of much controversy in the research literature in the last three years. Until recently,  it was understood that ADHD had to have its onset in childhood. In other words …

Transmission of Distress Across Generations

Peter ForsterBasic Science, Other Psychiatric Disorders, Psychobiology Leave a Comment

Transmission of Distress Across Generations Based on Epigenetic Changes Researchers looking at victims of severe trauma, such as concentration camp survivors, have long known that the effects of these events are transmitted in some fashion to the children and even the children’s children. The mechanism of this transmission has usually been assumed to be based on changes in parenting behavior …

psychosis risk prediction

Psychosis Risk Prediction

Peter ForsterBest Practices, Diagnosis, Other Psychiatric Disorders Leave a Comment

Accurate psychosis risk prediction might allow us to provide early intervention and prevention services to young people at risk of developing psychosis. However our current tools for identifying those at risk are not able to accurately predict and identify those who might benefit from these services. A major step forward was the development of the concept of an At Risk …