Nassir Ghaemi | |
---|---|
Born | 1966 |
Academic background | |
Education | McLean High School |
Alma mater | George Mason University (B.A.) Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University (M.D.) Tufts University (M.A.) Harvard School of Public Health (MPH) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | psychiatrist |
Notable works | A First-Rate Madness |
Website | http://www.nassirghaemi.com/ |
Nassir Ghaemi (born 1966) is an academic psychiatrist,author,and Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and Lecturer on Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He has written several books on mental illness and mood disorders,and has contributed to many scientific journals and other published works. Among his other views,Ghaemi is a proponent of the concept of manic depressive illness in the original Kraepelinian sense,an advocate for lithium therapy,and a critic of the DSM diagnostic system,which he views as largely unscientific and invalid.
He immigrated to the United States at the age of 5 from Tehran,Iran and attended McLean High School in McLean,Virginia. He received his B.A. from George Mason University in 1986,and later a medical degree from Medical College of Virginia. He then went on to get an MA in philosophy from Tufts University in 2001,and a MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2004. [1]
Bipolar disorder,previously known as manic depression,is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that each last from days to weeks. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with psychosis,it is called mania;if it is less severe,it is called hypomania. During mania,an individual behaves or feels abnormally energetic,happy or irritable,and they often make impulsive decisions with little regard for the consequences. There is usually also a reduced need for sleep during manic phases. During periods of depression,the individual may experience crying and have a negative outlook on life and poor eye contact with others. The risk of suicide is high;over a period of 20 years,6% of those with bipolar disorder died by suicide,while 30–40% engaged in self-harm. Other mental health issues,such as anxiety disorders and substance use disorders,are commonly associated with bipolar disorder.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common language and standard criteria. It is the main book for the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in the United States and is considered one of the principal guides of psychiatry,along with the International Classification of Diseases ICD,CCMD,and the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual. However,not all providers rely on the DSM-5 as a guide,since the ICD's mental disorder diagnoses are used around the world and scientific studies often measure changes in symptom scale scores rather than changes in DSM-5 criteria to determine the real-world effects of mental health interventions.
A mental disorder,also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder,is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is also characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition,emotional regulation,or behavior. It is usually associated with distress or impairment in important areas of functioning. There are many different types of mental disorders. Mental disorders may also be referred to as mental health conditions. Such features may be persistent,relapsing and remitting,or occur as single episodes. Many disorders have been described,with signs and symptoms that vary widely between specific disorders. Such disorders may be diagnosed by a mental health professional,usually a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist.
McLean Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Belmont,Massachusetts. It is noted for its clinical staff expertise and neuroscience research and is also known for the large number of famous people who have been treated there. McLean maintains the world's largest neuroscientific and psychiatric research program in a private hospital. It is the largest psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical School,an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital,and part of Mass General Brigham,which also includes Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Anti-psychiatry,sometimes spelled antipsychiatry,is a movement based on the view that psychiatric treatment is often more damaging than helpful to patients,highlighting controversies about psychiatry. Objections include the reliability of psychiatric diagnosis,the questionable effectiveness and harm associated with psychiatric medications,the failure of psychiatry to demonstrate any disease treatment mechanism for psychiatric medication effects,and legal concerns about equal human rights and civil freedom being nullified by the presence of diagnosis. Historically critiques of psychiatry came to light after focus on the extreme harms associated with electroconvulsive treatment or insulin shock therapy. The term "anti-psychiatry" is in dispute and often used to dismiss all critics of psychiatry,many of whom agree that a specialized role of helper for people in emotional distress may at times be appropriate,and allow for individual choice around treatment decisions.
Biological psychiatry or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biological function of the nervous system. It is interdisciplinary in its approach and draws on sciences such as neuroscience,psychopharmacology,biochemistry,genetics,epigenetics and physiology to investigate the biological bases of behavior and psychopathology. Biopsychiatry is the branch of medicine which deals with the study of the biological function of the nervous system in mental disorders.
Lisa Dixon is a professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Director of the Division of Behavioral Health Services and Policy Research within the Department of Psychiatry. Her research focuses on improving the quality of care for individuals diagnosed with serious mental illnesses. She directs the Center for Practice Innovations (CPI) at the New York State Psychiatric Institute,where she oversees the implementation of evidence-based practices for individuals with serious mental illnesses for the New York State Office of Mental Health. She leads OnTrackNY,a statewide treatment program for adolescents and young adults experiencing their first episode of psychosis.
Samuel Barry Guze was an American psychiatrist,medical educator,and researcher. A graduate of City College of New York and Washington University School of Medicine,he was an influential psychiatrist. He worked at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis for most of his career. In addition to twice serving as department chair,he led the School of Medicine as Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs (1971-1989).
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The classification of mental disorders,also known as psychiatric nosology or psychiatric taxonomy,is central to the practice of psychiatry and other mental health professions.
Johann Christian August Heinroth was a German physician and psychologist who was the first to use the term psychosomatic. Heinroth divided the human personality into three personality types in his scholarly papers and published books in the 1800s,describing the Uberuns (conscience),the Ich and the Fleish.
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The Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale (BSDS) is a psychiatric self-rating scale created by Ronald Pies in screening for bipolar disorder (BD). Its initial version consists of a descriptive narrative aimed to capture the nuances and milder variants of BD. Upon revision by Nassir Ghaemi and colleagues,the scale was developed into two sections for a total of 20 questions. The BSDS is widely accepted as an important measure of bipolar disorder alongside other diagnostic tools such as the Mood Disorder Questionnaire and the Bipolar Depression Rating Scale.
Ronald Robert Fieve was an American psychiatrist known for his work on the use of lithium in treatment of mood disorders. He has authored four popular science books,"Moodswing","Bipolar II","Prozac" and "Bipolar Breakthrough".
Psychiatry is,and has historically been,viewed as controversial by those under its care,as well as sociologists and psychiatrists themselves. There are a variety of reasons cited for this controversy,including the subjectivity of diagnosis,the use of diagnosis and treatment for social and political control including detaining citizens and treating them without consent,the side effects of treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy,antipsychotics and historical procedures like the lobotomy and other forms of psychosurgery or insulin shock therapy,and the history of racism within the profession in the United States.
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John Gunder Gunderson was a professor of psychiatry at Harvard University and a director at the Borderline center at McLean Hospital.
Mauricio Tohen is a Mexican American research psychiatrist,Distinguished Professor,and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry &Behavioral Sciences at the University of New Mexico. Tohen's research has focused on the epidemiology,outcome,and treatment of bipolar and psychotic disorders,and is especially known for innovating the design of clinical trials and the criteria to determine outcome in such diseases. Tohen has edited several books on his specialties. His social awareness has been noted in the promotion of programs to improve mental health care in areas such as substance abuse,bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Susan Lynn McElroy is Chief Research Officer at Lindner Center of HOPE.