Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners.

This episode covers the topic of grief with Dr. Cindy Grief, a Geriatric Psychiatrist at Baycrest Health Sciences in Toronto, where she is the Medical Director for Mental Health Services. She is also an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and has played active roles in postgraduate and continuing education.

The learning objectives for this episode are as follows

1. Explain how acute grief becomes integrated over time, and how the dual process model helps us understand this adaptive process.
2. Recognize the clinical features of Prolonged Grief Disorder, understand factors that may increase vulnerability, and distinguish it from trauma-related disorders and depression.
3. Structure a bereavement-focused clinical history, differentiate the management of normative grief from Prolonged Grief Disorder, and approach suicide risk assessment in the context of grief.

Guest: Dr. Cindy Grief

Hosts: Ahmad Khan (incoming PGY1), Dr. Angad Singh (PGY2), and Sara Abrahamson (MS3)

Audio editing: Dr. Angad Singh

Resources:

• T⁠he Center for Prolonged Grief (https://prolongedgrief.columbia.edu/)
• Canadian Virtual Hospice  (MyGrief.ca)Association for Death Education and Counseling (https://adec.org)
• What’s Your Grief (https://whatsyourgrief.com/)
• Podcasts: AllThere Is; Griefcast

⁠⁠Books/Memoirs:

• Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking
• Helen Macdonald, H Is for Hawk
• C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed
• Chimamand Ngozi Adichie, Notes on Grief

Articles:

• A.C. Shilton, “There Is No Vaccine for Grief,” New York Times, March 2, 2021
• M. Stroebe, “The Poetry of Grief: Beyond Scientific Portrayal,” OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying, 2018, 78(1), 67–96

References:

1. Shear, K., Frank, E., Houck, P. R., & Reynolds, C. F., III. (2005). Treatment of complicated grief: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 293(21), 2601–2608. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.293.21.2601

2. Simon, N. M., & Shear, M. K. (2024). Prolonged grief disorder. New England Journal of Medicine, 391(13), 1227–1236. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMcp2308707

3. Zisook, S., & Shear, K. (2009). Grief and bereavement: What psychiatrists need to know. World Psychiatry, 8(2), 67–74. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2051-5545.2009.tb00217.x

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This episode covers cultural concepts of distress.

The learning objectives for this episode are as follows:

1. Define cultural concepts of distress and describe how they are framed in DSM-5

2. Differentiate cultural concepts of distress from psychiatric diagnoses

3. Appreciate the varied clinical takeaways from cultural concepts of distress

Hosts: Sara Abrahamson (MS3), Grant Yao (MS4), Dr. Angad Singh (PGY2)

Audio editing: Dr. Angad Singh (PGY2)

References:

1. Lewis-Fernández, R., & Kirmayer, L. J. (2019). Cultural concepts of distress and psychiatric disorders: Understanding symptom experience and expression in context. Transcultural Psychiatry, 56(4), 786-803.

2. Patel, R., Ashraf, A., Myers, N., & Bhatt, N. (2025). Cultural Concepts of Distress: A Dive into Presentation and Avenues for Management. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, 22(7-9), 14.

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠), Facebook (⁠⁠⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠⁠⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠⁠⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners.

This episode is part of the PsychEd Book Club, a forum where we discuss books of interest to psychiatry learners from a variety of disciplines. We invite you to read along with us and contribute to our discussion.

This short introductory episode gives you a heads-up about our upcoming book club on How Can I Help? A Week in My Life as a Psychiatrist by David Goldbloom and Pier Bryden. Stay tuned for a longer episode in a few months where we’ll share our thoughts on the book.

If you’d like to share your thoughts or questions about the book, email us at [email protected] or reach out on social media.

Hosts:

Dr. Angad Singh, PGY2

Dr. Alastair Morrison, PGY2

Dr. Matthew Cho, PGY1

Sara Abrahamson, MS3

Dr. Sena Gok, international medical graduate and scientist

Dr. Nikhita Singhal, staff psychiatrist

Audio Editing: Dr. Matthew Cho, PGY1

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠),  Facebook (⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠ ⁠⁠psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers the basics of extrapyramidal symptoms.

Hosts:

Jo Kikukawa (MS2)

Dr. Matthew Cho (PGY1)

Sena Gok (Scientist)

Audio Editing: Dr. Matthew Cho (PGY1)

References:

Dayalu, P., & Chou, K. L. (2008). Antipsychotic-induced extrapyramidal symptoms and their management. Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, 9(9), 1451–1462. https://doi.org/10.1517/14656566.9.9.1451

Drake, R. E., & Ehrlich, J. (1985).Suicide attempts associated with akathisia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142(4), 499–501. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.142.4.499

Pringsheim, T., Gardner, D., Addington, D., Martino, D., Morgante, F., Ricciardi, L., Poole, N., Remington, G., Edwards, M., Carson, A., & Barnes, T. R. E. (2018). The assessment and treatment of antipsychotic-induced akathisia. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 63(11), 719–729. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743718760288

Poyurovsky, M., Pashinian, A., Weizman, R., Fuchs, C., & Weizman, A. (2006). Low-dose mirtazapine: A new option in the treatment of antipsychotic-induced akathisia. A randomized, double-blind, placebo- and propranolol-controlled trial. Biological Psychiatry, 59(11), 1071–1077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.11.004

Links to Scales Featured in Episode:

https://simpleandpractical.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Barnes-Akathisia-Rating-Scale-BARS.pdf

https://www.psychdb.com/_media/meds/antipsychotics/sas_simpson_angus_scale_modified.pdf

https://www.ohsu.edu/sites/default/files/2019-10/%28AIMS%29%20Abnormal%20Involuntary%20Movement%20Scale.pdf

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠⁠), Facebook (⁠⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠⁠.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners.

This episode covers interventional psychiatry with Dr. Sean Nestor, an interventional psychiatrist and clinician-scientist at the University of Toronto, where he serves as Assistant Director of the Psychiatry Program and oversees the Clinician Researcher Track (CResT) residency within the Department of Psychiatry. His research program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre focuses on advancing the clinical application of neuromodulation therapies to improve outcomes across a wide range of psychiatric disorders.

The learning objectives for this episode are as follows

1. Define interventional psychiatry and distinguish it from traditional pharmacologic and psychotherapy-based approaches
2. Describe the role of interventional psychiatry in clinical practice, including identifying patient populations most likely to benefit from neuromodulation treatment
3. Identify pathways to become involved in research and scholarly work within the field of interventional psychiatry

Guest: Dr. Sean Nestor

Hosts: Dr. Pooja Sankar (PGY1), Michael Wang (MS4), Dr. Kate Braithwaite

Audio editing: Dr. Kate Braithwaite

Time Stamps:

(2:25) - Defining Interventional Psychiatry (IP) and its role in Psychiatric practice

(4:20) - Evolution of Interventional Psychiatry (IP)

(8:40) - Patients who will benefit from IP modalities

(12:35) - Other factors to consider when assessing a patient for IP 

(15:30) - rTMS

(19:15) - Description of a typical rTMS session

(23:50) - ECT

(26:45) - Ketamine

(29:05) - Other Investigational Modalities

(30:45) - Maintenance treatment

(35:30) - Medication and IP

(37:55) - Addressing stigma of ECT

(43:15) - Discussion on place of IP in Depression management decision tree

(47:00) - How to get involved in IP

(50:10) - Rewarding aspects of working in IP

(52:25) - Challenges of working in IP

(53:40) - Future of the field 

Resources:

⁠Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT) | Stanford Health Care⁠

⁠CTMSS | International medical society dedicated to optimizing clinical practice, supporting research, and increasing access to high quality, evidence-based Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

⁠The Interventional Psychiatry Consortium⁠

References:

Andrade, J. & Brito, M.. (2023). When the SAINT goes marching in – A novel transcranial magnetic stimulation protocol shows miraculous promise. European Psychiatry. 66. S835-S835. 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.1768. 

⁠Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2023 Update on Clinical Guidelines for Management of Major Depressive Disorder in Adults | CANMAT⁠

Conway, C. R., & Sackeim, H. A. (2022). Interventional Psychiatry: The revolution has arrived. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry. ⁠https://doi.org/10.47626/1516-4446-2022-0046⁠ 

Rakesh, G., Cordero, P., Khanal, R., Himelhoch, S. S., & Rush, C. R. (2024). Optimally combining transcranial magnetic stimulation with antidepressants in major depressive disorder: A systematic review and Meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 358, 432–439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.037

Yavi, M., Lee, H., Henter, I. D., Park, L. T., & Zarate, C. A., Jr (2022). Ketamine treatment for depression: a review. Discover mental health, 2(1), 9. ⁠https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-022-00012-3⁠

Zaidi, A., Shami, R., Sewell, I. J., Cao, X., Giacobbe, P., Rabin, J. S., Goubran, M., Hamani, C., Swardfager, W., Davidson, B., Lipsman, N., & Nestor, S. M. (2024). Antidepressant class and concurrent rTMS outcomes in major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine, 75, 102760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102760 

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠⁠), Facebook (⁠⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠⁠

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers the basics of neuroleptic malignant syndrome.

Hosts: 

Eric Yu (MS3)

Dr. Angad Singh (PGY2)

Dr. Shaoyuan Wang (PGY5)

Audio Editing: 

Dr. Angad Singh (PGY2)

References:

1. Park, J., Tan, J., Krzeminski, S., Hazeghazam, M., Bandlamuri, M., & Carlson, R. W. (2017). Malignant catatonia warrants early psychiatric‐critical care collaborative management: two cases and literature review. Case Reports in Critical Care, 2017(1), 1951965.

2. Simon, L. V., Hashmi, M. F., & Callahan, A. L. (2023). Neuroleptic malignant syndrome. In StatPearls 

[Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.

2. Tan, C. M., & Kumachev, A. (2023). Neuroleptic malignant syndrome. CMAJ, 195(43), E1481-E1481.

4. Trollor, J. N., & Sachdev, P. S. (1999). Electroconvulsive treatment of neuroleptic malignant syndrome: a review and report of cases. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 33(5), 650-659.

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠), Facebook (⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners.

This episode covers Working with Borderline Personality Disorder in the Emergency Department with Dr. Bruce Fage, a psychiatrist in Toronto working in emergency and acute care psychiatry, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. His interests include the relational and systems issues that shape psychiatric care in crisis settings. He is also a former founding member of PsychEd!

The learning objectives for this episode are as follows:

1. Explain how the emergency department environment influences presentations of borderline personality disorder

2. Know when to apply the diagnosis of borderline personality in the emergency setting

3. Demonstrate effective management strategies for patients with BPD in the ED

4. Evaluate appropriate use of emergency and inpatient care for BPD presentations

Guest:

Dr. Bruce Fage

Hosts:

Sara Abrahamson (MS3)

Shelly Palchik (MS4)

Angad Singh (PGY2)

Audio editing:

Angad Singh (PGY2)

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠@psyched.podcast⁠), Facebook (⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠), X (⁠@psychedpodcast⁠), and Bluesky (⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠). You can email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ and visit our website at⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers the basics of serotonin syndrome.

Hosts: 

Eric Yu (MS3)

Dr. Angad Singh (PGY2)

Dr. Shaoyuan Wang (PGY5)

Audio Editing: 

Dr. Angad Singh (PGY2)

References:

1. Boyer, E. W. (2024). Serotonin syndrome (serotonin toxicity). In UpToDate.

2. Buckley, N. A., Dawson, A. H., & Isbister, G. K. (2014). Serotonin syndrome. Bmj, 348.

3. Dunkley, E. J. C., Isbister, G. K., Sibbritt, D., Dawson, A. H., & Whyte, I. M. (2003). The Hunter Serotonin Toxicity Criteria: simple and accurate diagnostic decision rules for serotonin toxicity. Qjm, 96(9), 635-642.

4. Foong, A. L., Grindrod, K. A., Patel, T., & Kellar, J. (2018). Demystifying serotonin syndrome (or serotonin toxicity). Canadian Family Physician, 64(10), 720-727.

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠@psyched.podcast⁠), Facebook (⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠), X (⁠@psychedpodcast⁠), and Bluesky (⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠). You can email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ and visit our website at⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This is our second book club episode centered around the novel Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health by Thomas Insel, MD.

This book is a part memoir / part manifesto written by one of our generation’s most important leaders in neuroscience and psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Insel. Dr. Insel served as the director of the NIMH for 13 years from 2002-2015. Healing is replete with his reflections on personal and clinical experiences as well as epidemiological data, research, and policies related to mental health. Dr. Insel argues that medicine’s failure to significantly reduce the mortality and morbidity of psychiatric illnesses is less due to a lack of scientific progress, and more a result of poor implementation of existing interventions that are already well supported by the evidence.

Guest: Dr. Thomas Insel

Hosts: Dr. Gaurav Sharma - Staff psychiatrist working in Nunavut, Canada

Dr. Kate Braithwaite - Family doctor from South Africa

Ahmad Khan - MS4 at Western University

Dr. Sophie Gregoire-Mitha - PGY1 Psychiatry resident in Manitoba

Audio editing: Dr. Gaurav Sharma

Episode Evaluation: Dr. Angad Singh

Our discussion is divided into 3 main sections:

(2:48): Main themes from the book

(15:58): Clinical application of strategies discussed in the book

(41:30): Reflections on the book in the current Psychiatric landscape

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (@psyched.podcast), Facebook (PsychEd Podcast), X (@psychedpodcast), and Bluesky (@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬). You can email us at [email protected] and visit our website at psychedpodcast.org.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers harm reduction principles.

Hosts: Dr. Andrew Nguyen, Dr. Zakia Hussain, and Shelly Palchik

Audio editing: Dr. Kate Braithwaite

Episode Evaluation: Dr. Angad Singh

Resources:

1. Chapter 4: Substance Use and Addictive Disorders. In Kaplan & Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry: Behavioral Sciences

2. Serving Clients Who Use Substances: A guide for community workers

3. A Harm Reduction Approach (Alberta Health Services)

References:

1. Alberta Health Services. A Harm Reduction Approach: Key Principles.

2. BC Centre for Disease Control (2023). Harm Reduction Services & Supply Guidelines.

3. Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario. Harm Reduction.

4. Ontario Ministry of Health (2018). Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction Guideline.

5. NL Centre for Applied Health Research (2020). Harm Reduction 101.

6. Public Health Agency of Canada. Reducing Stigma Toward People Who Use Drugs.

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (@psyched.podcast), Facebook (PsychEd Podcast), X (@psychedpodcast), and Bluesky (@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬). You can email us at [email protected] and visit our website at psychedpodcast.org.