Sy Atezaz Saeed

Empirical evidence on the use and effectiveness of telepsychiatry via videoconferencing: Implications for forensic and correctional psychiatry

A growing body of literature now suggests that use of telepsychiatry to provide mental health services has the potential to solve the workforce shortage problem that directly affects access to care, especially in remote and underserved areas. Live interactive two-way audio-video communication-videoconferencing-is the modality most applicable to psychiatry and has become synonymous with telepsychiatry involving patient care, distance education, and administration. This article reviews empirical evidence on the use and effectiveness of videoconferencing in providing diagnostic and treatment services in mental health settings that serve child, adolescent, and adult populations. Descriptive reports, case studies, research articles, and randomized controlled trials related to clinical outcomes were identified and reviewed independently by two authors. Articles related to cost-effectiveness, technological issues, or legal or ethical aspects of telepsychiatry were excluded. The review of the evidence broadly covers mental health service provision in all settings, including forensic settings. Given the sparse literature on telepsychiatry in forensic settings, we discuss implications for mental health care across settings and populations and comment on future directions and potential uses in forensic or correctional psychiatry.

Anxiety Disorders in Persons with Developmental Disabilities: Empirically Informed Diagnosis and Treatment Reviews Literature on Anxiety Disorders in DD Population with Practical Take-Home Messages for the Clinician

Anxiety disorders are common in individuals with developmental disabilities (DDs), although they may not be diagnosed and treated as often as they are in patients without DDs. Patients with mental retardation, autism, and other pervasive developmental disorders may exhibit comorbid anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), phobias, and other anxiety symptoms at much higher rates than in the general population, but identification of these comorbid anxiety disorders may be made more difficult by the presence of the DD and concurrent difficulties with communication, other behavior problems, the lack of standardized assessments specific to diagnosing patients with DDs and psychiatric comorbidities, and the need for greater collateral sources of assessment information. In addition, systematic study of the treatment of anxiety in patients with DD is limited to a relatively small number of empirical studies done specifically in these patients along with case reports and theoretical reviews on the extension and modification of more well-studied treatments used for anxiety in patients without DDs. The present article reviews the literature on the prevalence, features, assessment and diagnosis of anxiety disorders in individuals with DDs, and also reviews empirical studies of pharmacological and psychological treatment of patients with comorbid anxiety and DD and summarizes the findings. Recommendations are made to guide treatment and further research in this area.

An update on mindfulness meditation as a self-help treatment for anxiety and depression

In recent years, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments have increased in popularity. This is especially true for treatments that are related to exercise and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the treatment of both mental and physical illness. MBIs, such as Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which are derived from ancient Buddhist and Yoga philosophies, have become popular treatments in contemporary psychotherapy. While there is growing evidence that supports the role of these interventions in relapse prevention, little is known about the role that MBIs play in the treatment of acute symptoms of depression and anxiety. Even less is known about the importance of specific components of MBIs (eg, mindfulness meditation [MM]) and the overall impact that these interventions have on the experience or expression of psychological distress. Moreover, few studies have rigorously evaluated the dose-response relationship that is required to effect positive symptom change and the mechanisms of change that are responsible for observed improvements. This review will define meditation and mindfulness, discuss the relationship between stress and health and how MM relates to therapeutically engaging the relaxation response, and review the empirical findings that are related to the efficacy of MM in the treatment of depression and anxiety symptoms. Given the paucity of research that examines the applications of these treatments in clinical populations, the limitations of applying these findings to clinical samples will be mentioned. A brief review of the issues related to the possible mechanisms of change and the dose-response relationship regarding MBIs, particularly MM, will be provided. Finally, limitations of the extant literature and future directions for further exploration of this topic will be offered.

Telepsychiatry and e-Mental Health Services: Potential for Improving Access to Mental Health Care

Reforming mental health care is a focus of many ongoing initiatives in the United States, both at the national and state levels. Access to adequate mental health care services is one of the identified problems. Telepsychiatry and e-mental health services could improve access to mental health care in rural, remote and underserved areas. The authors discuss the required technology, common applications and barriers associated with the implementation of telepsychiatry and e-mental health services.

Treatment Models for Treating Patients with Combined Mental Illness and Developmental Disability

The presence of co-occurring psychiatric disorders among individuals with developmental disability (DD) requires clinicians to adjust and modify standard mental health assessment and treatment planning. In particular, assessment includes input from a multi-disciplinary team and as a result, diagnosis is frequently a synthesis of data from many different points of view. Treatment planning and implementation commonly include a collection of highly specialized, individualized programs that focus on the long term management of both disorders. Crises and recurrence of mental disorders are commonplace in part due to the presence of ongoing risk and vulnerability factors for mental disorders. As a result, the need for emergency interventions, specialized respite services, hospitalization and other transition services is extensive. The quality, availability and access to these services vary considerably. Many programs are concentrated in metropolitan or university-based centers and pose hardships based on geographic distance. The availability and utilization of services is affected by political, economic, socio-cultural and psychological forces that impact both the willingness to use services and the distribution of professionals trained and qualified to manage individuals with dual diagnoses. The complex interaction between each of these factors determines the structure, function, and capacity for innovation built into current service models.

Lessons Learned in Implementing Evidence-Based Practices: Implications for Psychiatric Administrators

Factors related to the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) are discussed. Extensive effort is required to successfully implement and sustain EBPs that improve clinical outcomes. There is a rapid rate of discovery of new EBPs. Examples of large-scale implementations of EBPs in mental health are described with emphasis on the factors thought critical for success. The need for designing systems which can cost-effectively implement new EBPs is highlighted. Finally, the implications for psychiatric administrators are discussed.

Bright Light Therapy as Augmentation of Pharmacotherapy for Treatment of Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Bright light therapy has demonstrated efficacy and is an accepted treatment for seasonal depression. It has been suggested that bright light therapy may have efficacy in nonseasonal depressions. Also, there is evidence that bright light therapy may improve responsiveness to antidepressant pharmacotherapy. Data Sources We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, CINAHL, EMBASE, Scopus, and Academic OneFile for English-language literature published between January 1998 and April 2016, using the keywords bright light therapy AND major depression, bright light therapy AND depress*, bright light therapy AND bipolar depression, bright light therapy AND affective disorders, circadian rhythm AND major depression, circadian rhythm AND depress*, and circadian rhythm AND affective disorder. Study Selection and Data Extraction Studies that reported randomized trials comparing antidepressant pharmacotherapy with bright light therapy ≥ 5,000 lux for ≥ 30 minutes to antidepressant pharmacotherapy without bright light therapy for the treatment of nonseasonal depression were included. Studies of seasonal depression were excluded. Following review of the initial 112 returns, 2 of the authors independently judged each trial, applying the inclusionary and exclusionary criteria. Ten studies were selected as meeting these criteria. Subjects in these studies were pooled using standard techniques of meta-analysis. Results Ten studies involving 458 patients showed improvement using bright light therapy augmentation versus antidepressant pharmacotherapy alone. The effect size was similar to that of other accepted augmentation strategies, roughly 0.5. Conclusions Analysis of pooled data from randomized trials provides evidence for the efficacy of use of bright light therapy ≥ 5,000 lux for periods ≥ 30 minutes when used as augmentation to standard antidepressant pharmacotherapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder and bipolar depression without a seasonal pattern.

Training Residents in the Use of Telepsychiatry: Review of the Literature and a Proposed Elective

Many regions in the United States are deficient in mental health services, especially those in rural areas. As a result of these deficiencies, many patients in need of psychiatric services are often left untreated. Although it is clear that telepsychiatry has great potential in improving patient access to mental health care in areas where psychiatric services are deficient, the lack of familiarity with the technology and inadequate training are current barriers to expanding the use of telepsychiatry. A review of telepsychiatry, its clinical applications, and evidence-based literature regarding competencies in graduate medical education related to telepsychiatry are provided. An approach to implementing telepsychiatry into a curriculum is suggested. We also propose an elective clinical experience with resources for didactics or independent study that will enable residents to develop a knowledge base and competence in the practice of telepsychiatry.

Role of Leadership in Narrowing the Gap between Science and Practice: Improving Treatment Outcomes at the Systems Level.

It’s been well documented that health care does not reliably transfer what we know from science into clinical practice. As a result, Americans do not always receive the care suggested by the scientific evidence. Despite the best intentions of a dedicated and skilled healthcare workforce, this can often lead to poor clinical outcomes. As research and technology rapidly advance, this gap between science and practice appears to be widening. There is an increasing public concern about a lack of access to appropriate treatment, pervasiveness of unsafe practices, and wasteful uses of precious health care resources leading to suboptimum treatment outcomes. Leadership has a critical role in creating and sustaining the environment that supports health services for individuals and populations that increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge. Leadership has some responsibility to improve outcomes by insuring effective use of evidence-based treatment guidelines; measurement-based care; knowledge and skills management; care coordination; and information technologies. This paper addresses leadership issues in these components of a system’s ability to improve treatment outcomes.

Use of Telepsychiatry in Psychodynamic Psychiatry

This article reviews the organization, infrastructure basics, applications, effectiveness, outreach, and implementation barriers related to telepsychiatry. We highlight the tremendous potential and promise that this technology holds and also discuss the importance that telepsychiatry may play in the field of psychodynamic psychiatry. Given the growing effectiveness evidence base for therapy delivered over the Internet, telepsychiatry holds a large unexplored territory to help psychodynamically minded patients connect with psychodynamically oriented psychiatrists. This economically advantageous medium can be utilized to deliver psychodynamically guided approaches to the patient, alone or in combination with pharmacological and other psychosocial interventions. We hope, this article will help psychodynamically trained psychiatrists to consider bridging the gap with the remotely located, chronically mentally ill population which oftentimes has scarcity of resources.