As mass shootings continue to horrify our communities, we seek explanations. Politicians seem to believe that mental health experts have the solution. Do we? Gun violence is 20-25 times higher in the United States than in other higher income countries. What accounts for that difference? Spokesperson for Psychiatrists 4 Gun Violence Prevention and adult inpatient psychiatrist, Dr. Rebecca Capasso, joins us to provide answers and to discuss the work her group is doing.

Hosts: Eyrn, Toshia

Guests: Rebecca Capasso, MD, Imaan Alaidroos, MD

References:

Psychiatrists 4 Gun Violence Prevention website: https://www.psychgvp.org/

Statement from the American Psychiatric Association on Firearm Violence: https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/apa-statement-on-firearm-violence

APA Position Statement on Firearm Access, Acts of Violence and the Relationship to Mental Illness and Mental Health Services: https://www.psychiatry.org/getattachment/8b32e119-1995-4ac6-bc66-5c3972cb221f/Position-Firearm-Access-Acts-of-Violence-and-the-Relationship-to-Mental-Health.pdf

Psychologist Dr. Judy Reaven returns to the show to share her evidence-based program to help teachers, school administrators, and parents provide an education constructed to help students with autism thrive in the classroom. Dr. Reaven developed the Facing Your Fears program for children with ASD and anxiety.

Hosts: Eyrn, Toshia, Al

Guest: Judy Reaven, PhD

Adaptation to a neurotypical environment comes in many forms. But what is meant by "masking" or "camouflaging" within the autism community? We invite autism intervention expert, Dr. Judy Reaven, to provide some insight into these concepts and how one's identity is shaped by these experiences.

Hosts: Eyrn, Toshia, Al

Guest: Judy Reaven, PhD

Join us as we discuss the reasons for grief and healthy ways to manage it with Dr. M. Katherine Shear, a leading expert on grief and therapeutic interventions for the bereaved. We also discuss important cultural differences in the expression of grief.

Hosts: Eyrn, Al

Guests: M. Katherine Shear, MD, Yasmine Dakhama, MS4

References:

Support the GRIEF Act: https://www.hospiceactionnetwork.org/take-action/#/

Dr. Shear returns to the show for a deep dive into the evidenced-based therapy she and her colleagues developed. Given the enormous losses from the pandemic and the DSM 5-TR Committee's recent decision to add Prolonged Grief as an identifiable disorder, our interview of her is certainly timely.

Hosts: Eyrn, Toshia

Guests: M. Katherine Shear, MD, Yasmine Dakhama, MS4

In our final episode with Dr. Roukaya Benjelloun, she highlights various psychiatric subspecialties and considers the future direction of psychiatry in the country. Dr. Benjelloun is Department Chair of Mental Health at Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences, Psychiatry Residency Program Director, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Casablanca, Morocco.

Hosts: Toshia, Alan

Guests: Roukaya Benjelloun, MD, Yasmine Dakhama, MS4

References:

1. Benjelloun R,  Otheman Y, El Kettani C. Consultation liaison   psychiatry for COVID-19  inpatients: A novel care delivery program in   Morocco. Curr Psychol.  2022;41(8):5731-5733. doi:   10.1007/s12144-020-01200-6.  Epub 2020 Nov 16. PMID: 33223784; PMCID:   PMC7669262.

2. Barrimi M, Serraj  K, Rammouz I, Alouane R, Messaoudi N, Bellaoui   M. Prevalence of and  Risk Factors for Suicide Attempts Among Patients   With Severe Psychiatric  Disorders in Eastern Morocco. Crisis. 2021   Oct  22. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000825. Epub ahead of print. PMID:    34674543.

3. Mekki-Berrada A. 'Ayn mika:  Traumatic experience, social   invisibility, and emotional distress of  sub-Saharan women with   precarious status in Morocco. Transcult  Psychiatry. 2019   Dec;56(6):1170-1190.  doi: 10.1177/1363461518757798. Epub 2018 Mar 8.   PMID: 29516775.

4. Zandi T, Havenaar  JM, Limburg-Okken AG, van Es H, Sidali S, Kadri   N, van den Brink W,  Kahn RS. The need for culture sensitive  diagnostic  procedures: a study  among psychotic patients in Morocco.  Soc  Psychiatry  Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2008 Mar;43(3):244-50. doi:    10.1007/s00127-007-0290-0. Epub 2007 Nov 30. PMID: 18060339.

5. Zarrouq B, Abbas  N, Hilaly JE, Asri AE, Abbouyi S, Omari M, Malki   H, Bouazza S,  Moutawakkil SG, Halim K, Ragala ME. An investigation of   the association  between religious coping, fatigue, anxiety and   depressive  symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco: a   web-based  cross-sectional survey. BMC Psychiatry. 2021 May   22;21(1):264. doi:  10.1186/s12888-021-03271-6. PMID: 34022849; PMCID:   PMC8140317.

In our second episode of this three-part series, Dr. Benjelloun joins us as we dive further into our discussion on culture and cultural sensitivity as it relates to psychiatric practice in Morocco. Dr. Roukaya Benjelloun is Department Chair of Mental Health at Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences, Psychiatry Residency Program Director, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Casablanca, Morocco.

Hosts: Toshia, Alan

Guests: Roukaya Benjelloun, MD, Yasmine Dakhama, MS4

References:

1. Benjelloun R,  Otheman Y, El Kettani C. Consultation liaison  psychiatry for COVID-19  inpatients: A novel care delivery program in  Morocco. Curr Psychol.  2022;41(8):5731-5733. doi:  10.1007/s12144-020-01200-6.  Epub 2020 Nov 16. PMID: 33223784; PMCID:  PMC7669262.

2. Barrimi M, Serraj  K, Rammouz I, Alouane R, Messaoudi N, Bellaoui  M. Prevalence of and  Risk Factors for Suicide Attempts Among Patients  With Severe Psychiatric  Disorders in Eastern Morocco. Crisis. 2021  Oct  22. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000825. Epub ahead of print. PMID:   34674543.

3. Mekki-Berrada A. 'Ayn mika:  Traumatic experience, social  invisibility, and emotional distress of  sub-Saharan women with  precarious status in Morocco. Transcult  Psychiatry. 2019  Dec;56(6):1170-1190.  doi: 10.1177/1363461518757798. Epub 2018 Mar 8.  PMID: 29516775.

4. Zandi T, Havenaar  JM, Limburg-Okken AG, van Es H, Sidali S, Kadri  N, van den Brink W,  Kahn RS. The need for culture sensitive diagnostic  procedures: a study  among psychotic patients in Morocco. Soc  Psychiatry  Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2008 Mar;43(3):244-50. doi:   10.1007/s00127-007-0290-0. Epub 2007 Nov 30. PMID: 18060339.

5. Zarrouq B, Abbas  N, Hilaly JE, Asri AE, Abbouyi S, Omari M, Malki  H, Bouazza S,  Moutawakkil SG, Halim K, Ragala ME. An investigation of  the association  between religious coping, fatigue, anxiety and  depressive  symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco: a  web-based  cross-sectional survey. BMC Psychiatry. 2021 May  22;21(1):264. doi:  10.1186/s12888-021-03271-6. PMID: 34022849; PMCID:  PMC8140317.

Culture’s impact on the practice of psychiatry can have many implications as it relates to stigma, access to treatment, diagnostic clarity, and treatment planning. In this episode, we invited Moroccan psychiatrist, Dr. Roukaya Benjelloun, and American-Moroccan medical student, Yasmine Dakhama, to guide our discussion on the interplay between culture and psychiatry in Morocco. Dr. Roukaya Benjelloun is the Department Chair of Mental Health at Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences, Psychiatry Residency Program Director, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Casablanca, Morocco. In collaboration with a research team, Yasmine conducted medical anthropological research assessing the psychosocial, cultural, and economic factors implicated in kidney transplantation in the Sous-Massa region of Morocco in 2021.

Hosts: Toshia, Alan

Guests: Roukaya Benjelloun, MD, Yasmine Dakhama, MS4

References:

1. Benjelloun R,  Otheman Y, El Kettani C. Consultation liaison psychiatry for COVID-19  inpatients: A novel care delivery program in Morocco. Curr Psychol.  2022;41(8):5731-5733. doi: 10.1007/s12144-020-01200-6.  Epub 2020 Nov 16. PMID: 33223784; PMCID: PMC7669262.

2. Barrimi M, Serraj  K, Rammouz I, Alouane R, Messaoudi N, Bellaoui M. Prevalence of and  Risk Factors for Suicide Attempts Among Patients With Severe Psychiatric  Disorders in Eastern Morocco. Crisis. 2021  Oct 22. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000825. Epub ahead of print. PMID:  34674543.

3. Mekki-Berrada A. 'Ayn mika:  Traumatic experience, social invisibility, and emotional distress of  sub-Saharan women with precarious status in Morocco. Transcult  Psychiatry. 2019 Dec;56(6):1170-1190.  doi: 10.1177/1363461518757798. Epub 2018 Mar 8. PMID: 29516775.

4. Zandi T, Havenaar  JM, Limburg-Okken AG, van Es H, Sidali S, Kadri N, van den Brink W,  Kahn RS. The need for culture sensitive diagnostic procedures: a study  among psychotic patients in Morocco. Soc Psychiatry  Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2008 Mar;43(3):244-50. doi:  10.1007/s00127-007-0290-0. Epub 2007 Nov 30. PMID: 18060339.

5. Zarrouq B, Abbas  N, Hilaly JE, Asri AE, Abbouyi S, Omari M, Malki H, Bouazza S,  Moutawakkil SG, Halim K, Ragala ME. An investigation of the association  between religious coping, fatigue, anxiety and depressive  symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco: a web-based  cross-sectional survey. BMC Psychiatry. 2021 May 22;21(1):264. doi:  10.1186/s12888-021-03271-6. PMID: 34022849; PMCID: PMC8140317.

As we see more patients who have had Covid-19, we ask psychiatrist, Dr. Imaan Alaidroos, to speak with us about the neuropsychiatric impact of the disease. In this episode, Dr. Alaidroos outlines the treatments that are currently being studied for the neuropsychiatric symptoms of Covid-19. We also chat about the implications of these symptoms for the field of mental health.

Hosts: Alan, Toshia

Guest: Imaan Alaidroos, MD

References:

7. Qureshi, A. I., Baskett, W. I., Huang, W., Shyu, D., Myers, D., Raju, M., Lobanova, I., Suri, M., Naqvi, S. H., French, B. R., Siddiq, F., Gomez, C. R., & Shyu, C. R. (2021). Acute Ischemic Stroke and COVID-19: An Analysis of 27 676 Patients. Stroke, 52(3), 905–912. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.031786

8. Helms J, Kremer S, MerdjiH, Clere-JehlR, Schenck M, KummerlenC, et al. Neurologic features in severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. N EnglJ Med. 2020;382:2268–2270. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2008597.

9. FerrandoSJ, KlepaczL, Lynch S, TavakkoliM, DornbushR, BaharaniR, Smolin Y, Bartell A. COVID-19 psychosis: a potential new neuropsychiatric condition triggered by novel coronavirus infection and the inflammatory response? Psychosomatics. 2020;61:551–555. doi: 10.1016/j.psym.2020.05.012.

10. Parra A, JuanesA, LosadaCP, Álvarez-SesmeroS, Santana VD, Martí I, et al. Psychotic symptoms in COVID-19 patients. A retrospective descriptive study. Psychiatry Res. 2020;291:113254. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113254.

11. Farooq, S., Tunmore, J., Wajid Ali, M., & Ayub, M. (2021). Suicide, self-harm and suicidal ideation during COVID-19: A systematic review. Psychiatry research, 306, 114228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114228

12. Stefano, G. B., Büttiker, P., Weissenberger, S., Ptacek, R., Wang, F., Esch, T., Bilfinger, T. V., & Kream, R. M. (2021). Biomedical Perspectives of Acute and Chronic Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Sequelae of COVID-19. Current neuropharmacology, 10.2174/1570159X20666211223130228. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.2174/1570159X206662112231

13. de Erausquin, G. A., Snyder, H., Carrillo, M., Hosseini, A. A., Brugha, T. S., Seshadri, S., & CNS SARS-CoV-2 Consortium (2021). The chronic neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19: The need for a prospective study of viral impact on brain functioning. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 17(6), 1056–1065. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12255

14. PashaeiY. Drug repurposing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors: Could these drugs help fight COVID-19 and save lives? J. Clin. Neurosci. 2021;88:163–172. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2021.03.010.

15. Dąbrowska, E., Galińska-Skok, B., & Waszkiewicz, N. (2021). Depressive and Neurocognitive Disorders in the Context of the Inflammatory Background of COVID-19. Life (Basel, Switzerland), 11(10), 1056. https://doi.org/10.3390/life11101056

Kępińska AP, Iyegbe CO, Vernon AC, Yolken R, Murray RM, Pollak TA.  Schizophrenia and Influenza at the Centenary of the 1918-1919 Spanish  Influenza Pandemic: Mechanisms of Psychosis Risk. Front Psychiatry.  2020 Feb 26;11:72. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00072. PMID: 32174851;  PMCID: PMC7054463.

As we see more patients who have had Covid-19, we ask psychiatrist, Dr. Imaan Alaidroos, to speak with us about the neuropsychiatric impact of the disease. In this episode, Dr. Alaidroos explains the mechanisms behind the neuropsychiatric symptoms and the specific neuropsychiatric symptoms that have been associated with Covid-19. 

Hosts: Alan, Toshia

Guest: Imaan Alaidroos, MD

References:

1.Méndez, R, Balanzá-Martínez, V, Luperdi, SC, Estrada, I, Latorre, A, González-Jiménez, P, Feced, L, Bouzas, L, Yépez, K, Ferrando, A, Hervás, D, Zaldívar, E, Reyes, S, Berk, M, Menéndez, R (La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital, Valencia; Health Research Institute La Fe, Valencia; University of Barcelona, Barcelona, University of Valencia, CIBERSAM, Valencia; La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital, Valencia; University of Valencia, Valencia; Health Research Institute La Fe, Valencia, Spain; Barwon Health, Deakin University, Geelong; The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Center for Biomedical Research Network in Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain). Short-term neuropsychiatric outcomes and quality of life in COVID-19 survivors. J Intern Med 2021; 290: 621– 631.

2.Nakamura, Z. M., Nash, R. P., Laughon, S. L., & Rosenstein, D. L. (2021). Neuropsychiatric Complications of COVID-19. Current psychiatry reports, 23(5), 25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-021-01237-9

3.Banerjee, D., & Viswanath, B. (2020). Neuropsychiatric manifestations of COVID-19 and possible pathogenic mechanisms: Insights from other coronaviruses. Asian journal of psychiatry, 54, 102350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102350

4.Borah, P., Deb, P. K., Chandrasekaran, B., Goyal, M., Bansal, M., Hussain, S., Shinu, P., Venugopala, K. N., Al-Shar'i, N. A., Deka, S., & Singh, V. (2021). Neurological Consequences of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Concurrence of Treatment-Induced Neuropsychiatric Adverse Events in COVID-19 Patients: Navigating the Uncharted. Frontiers in molecular biosciences, 8, 627723. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2021.627723

5.Jansen van Vuren, E., Steyn, S. F., Brink, C. B., Möller, M., Viljoen, F. P., & Harvey, B. H. (2021). The neuropsychiatric manifestations of COVID-19: Interactions with psychiatric illness and pharmacological treatment. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine& pharmacotherapie, 135, 111200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2020.111200

6.Roy, D., Ghosh, R., Dubey, S., Dubey, M. J., Benito-León, J., & Kanti Ray, B. (2021). Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic. The Canadian journal of neurological sciences. Le journal canadien des sciences neurologiques, 48(1), 9–24. https://doi.org/10.1017/cjn.2020.173