Yesterday I had the honor at presenting at the First International E-Mental Health Summit 2009 in Amsterdam, where I’ve spent the week exploring the wonderful cities of Bruges and Amsterdam in my first visit to northern Europe. It is a wonderful place and we’ve met some of the nicest and friendliest people here. So being that I’m in no hurry to get back into the office, here’s some wonderful articles that have appeared on Psych Central in the past.
12 Years Ago on Psych Central
- The Drugging of Our Children: Over-diagnosis Leads to Over-prescription of Ritalin
I can’t believe I wrote this 12 years ago, calling out the too-quick diagnosis of ADHD in children seen for only a few minutes by overworked family doctors and pediatricians. It’s not the doctor’s fault — the parents are sitting there, waiting for an answer. ADHD is always a simple one to give (regardless of whether it’s right or wrong for that particular child). This articles note the tripling of Ritalin prescriptions over 5 years (1990-1995), and not surprisingly, prescriptions for ADHD medications have grown exponentially since then. Is ADHD a serious problem in children? Absolutely. But can it be too-quickly diagnosed without a thorough mental health evaluation of the child? Yes, even today.
5 Years Ago on Psych Central
- A Patient’s Suicide, a Psychiatrist’s Pain
Five years ago we highlighted this story from The New York Times, where a psychiatrist describes his first experience with one of his patients committing suicide. While not for the feint of heart, it remains a poignant story worth reading.
- FDA Orders Strong Antidepressant Warnings
The first black box warnings hit antidepressant medications 5 years ago, and despite warnings about the sky falling (from falling prescription rates), the sky held fast and people continue to be prescribed (and take) more antidepressants than ever before. The warning was to alert people to the link between the drugs and increased suicidal thoughts and behavior among children and teens taking them.
1 Year Ago on Psych Central
- Top Ten Bipolar Blogs 2008
While we’re working on the list for 2009, I thought it might be a good time to revisit the list from last year so you can revisit and view some of the best blogs on the Internet on bipolar disorder.
- Is Grief a Mental Disorder? No, But it May Become One!
Dr. Ronald Pies shared a great entry with us about grief, which garnered many comments and interesting responses. As he noted at the time, “Not all of these are occasions for a medical diagnosis or professional treatment — most are not. But there are times when a simple cut can become infected, and there are also times when so-called “normal” grief can become a very nasty beast called clinical depression.” I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment.
- Golden Gate Bridge To Get a Suicide Net
We expressed our appreciation and gratitude, on behalf of the thousands who’ve lost their lives to this infamous landmark, for the Bridge’s board of directors to finally agree to a suicide barrier. The Golden Gate Bridge is the most popular place in the country to commit suicide. Sadly, a year later, there’s not a whole lot to update, as the plan winds its way through the planning and approval processes (they signed a Memorandum of Agreement between all of the agencies responsible for the project on July 31, 2009; that’s the last update on their site).
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5 Comments to
“Friday Flashback for October 16, 2009”
Hi John,
I do hope that you will be our ‘ace’ reporter, supplying us all with the new and innovative evidence-based developments, research studies that exist in the field of e-mental health as we know it today. –
Enjoy your ‘jolly’ I mean research and have a safe journey home.
Take care
Linda Cooper
Hi John,
I would be really interested in reading some feedback regarding a few of the presentations;
“The future of sustainable mental vitality”. Heleen Riper, PhD and Lucien Engelen.
“Guided Internet treatment”. Prof. Gerhard Andersson.
Are they offering any podcasts?
If you get the chance visit the “Van Gogh” Museum; Paulus Potterstraat 7
1071 CX Amsterdam, you will not be disappointed.
Regards
Dawn Pugh
Enjoy your ‘jolly’ I mean research and safe journey home.
Linda
How nice to see a picture on a blog I follow, of the town where I’m living in! 
) I live in Bruges and yes, I agree, it’s a wonderful place to see. I still like it here very much, since I came here +/- 3 years ago. I hope you had a good time in Bruges and maybe you have eaten the wonderful Frensh (actually, Belgian) fries of one of the 2 green frietkotjes (Chips stands) on the marketplace (the one of the picture)…
greetings from Bruges!
John McManamy said…
“Hi, Lucy. Part Two:
As to best of web from PsychCentral, Grohol went over to the dark side some time ago. He has been Dawdy’s chief legitimizer since day one. Grohol gets a weird kick out of hanging out with the bad boys. Grohol frequently cites Dawdy as an authority, and at least twice he has bashed me citing Dawdy as the authority and linking to his blog and not mine. Screw that for a joke. Grohol can burn in hell. In July, Grohol actually handed out an outstanding journalism award to Dawdy.
You and I and other intelligent people can see right through Dawdy. For instance: Dawdy spent two years telling people about this Zyprexa story that HE worked on. All he did was re-report a NY Times piece. Grohol fell for it and handed him an award. Where Grohol gets off thinking he can hand out awards is beyond me. Like Dawdy, he doesn’t know his ass from his elbow, doesn’t do his homework, doesn’t get out in the real world.
Grohol tries to set himself up as the middle-of-the-road commentator, which is a lie. At least with Dawdy, what you see is what you get. Grohol should just declare himself in the antipsychiatry camp once and for all, but then his advertisers would desert him.”
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 6 Oct 2009
