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 …

ketamine long term effects

Long Term Effects of Ketamine

Peter ForsterMajor Depression, Treatments of Depression Leave a Comment

One of my patients asked me what the long term effects of ketamine are. She was particularly interested in long-term adverse effects. The last time I did a review of the literature I noted that there seem to be very little information available. This is not surprising with the psychiatric literature since ketamine and its use for chronic depression are …

Blue Blocking Glasses for Mania

Blue Blocking Glasses for Mania

Peter ForsterBipolar Treatment 1 Comment

Blue blocking glasses may be a useful adjunct to medications for mania. Bright light is one of the most rapidly effective treatments for depression and may be helpful for depression even in people without a clear seasonal pattern (winter depression). A recent study suggests that the opposite may be true, that avoiding light may treat mania. The portion of the …

ADHD Medication Reduces Accidents

Peter ForsterOther Psychiatric Disorders, Physical Conditions and Health

ADHD medication reduces accidents significantly according to a study in JAMA Psychiatry. Chang and colleagues analyzed data in the Truven Health Analytics MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database to identify people aged 18 and older who had received an ADHD diagnosis or ADHD medication between January 2005 and the end of December 2014. The researchers compared the number of emergency department visits …

Integrated Care

Peter ForsterAbout GPS, Best Practices

We have a passion for providing the most effective treatment at Gateway and that passion is illustrated by the efforts that we make to ensure that we deliver integrated care. Integrated care is a very simple idea. In fact it is probably something that you expect your treatment providers are already delivering. It means that the different providers who are …

Long Acting Injectable Aripiprazole for Bipolar

Peter ForsterBipolar Treatment

Long acting injectable aripiprazole for bipolar one patients has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of a recurrence of a mood episode in a 52 week placebo controlled clinical trial. Poor adherence to treatment is a significant problem in patients with bipolar disorder, putting patients at increased risk of recurrence of mood episodes, hospitalization, and suicide. One other study …

CBT for Insomnia Somryst

CBT for Insomnia Reduces Depression – Somryst

Peter ForsterBest Practices, Insomnia, Insomnia Treatment

An online sleep program using CBT for insomnia (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia – CBTi) has been shown to reduce depression in a study published in the April 2016 edition of Lancet Psychiatry. CBT for Insomnia CBTi is the most effective program for treating chronic insomnia and chronic insomnia is a major risk factor for developing depression. Unfortunately, CBTi is …

Depression and Inflammation: Treatment Options

Peter ForsterMajor Depression, Physical Conditions and Health, Treatments of Depression

A host of conditions have been associated with mild to moderate levels of inflammation in the body. Depression is one of these. Elsewhere in this blog we have discussed the relationship between depression and inflammation, evidence that treatment with an antidepressant (escitalopram) reduces inflammation in depression, and talked about how exercise prevents depression. We have also noted that elevated levels of inflammation (simple …

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Bipolar

Peter ForsterBipolar Treatment, Treatments of Depression

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Bipolar May Reduce Anxiety and Improved Cognitive Function Researchers in the Departments of Biology and Psychiatry at University of Cape Town, in Western Cape, South Africa, recently reported results from a study in which 23 bipolar patients received neuropsychological tests and functional MRI scans before and after a Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy 8 week program. The study showed increased …

Genetic Tests for Depression Updated 2023

Peter ForsterBest Practices, Major Depression, Psychobiology, Testing

Do Genetic Tests Help? Are genetic tests for depression treatment worthwhile? Or is this an expensive technology that is not ready for routine use? Peter Roy-Byrne, writing in NEJM Journal Watch seems to say that they aren’t worth it. Although some clinicians may argue that such testing “can’t hurt and might help,” current psychopharmacological practice is complex, usually including combinations …