A major, new study in The New England Journal of Medicine considers psilocybin and its potential for refractory depression. It’s received enthusiastic media coverage. Breakthrough drug? Overhyped headlines? Today, on Quick Takes, Dr. David Gratzer is joined by one of the study co-authors, Dr. Ishrat Husain Tier 2 Canada Research Chair and lead of the Mood Disorder Service at CAMH, to delve deeper into this headline-grabbing research.

During their discussion we learn:

• how to talk to your patients asking about using psilocybin therapeutically
• the encouraging results of the study – and the adverse effects as well
• how practical it would be to scale up the study into current treatment algorithms
• and if microdosing is really all its hyped-up to be.

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Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

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On this episode of Quick Takes, Dr. David Gratzer enjoys a conversation with retiring psychiatrist, Dr. David Goldbloom. They discuss research, stigma, Dr. Goldbloom’s optimism for the future of psychiatry, and, yes, his retirement plans (spoiler alert: he’s thinking about writing a book and no mention of golf).

As he heads into retirement Dr. Goldbloom shares his thoughts  on:

• Therapeutics: He is frustrated with the slow progress on their development.
•The state of psychiatry today: He is excited by the shift among younger psychiatrists towards the care of people with severe and persistent mental illness.
• The future: He is optimistic on the acceleration in the quality and sophistication and reach of research and our ability to forge new paradigms.
• And he leaves us all with some sage advice:
     o “See as many patients as you can because the exposure to a wide variety of people and wide variety of journeys is both humbling and profoundly educational.”
     o “We don't seek second opinions as often as we should, and there's no way on earth we can be right all the time.”

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Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.

To discuss how simulation is changing the world of med-ed, Dr. David Gratzer hosted Dr. Petal Abdool, Medical Director of the CAMH Simulation Centre, and Stephanie Sliekers, Manager of Simulation and Digital Innovation at CAMH.

You’ll hear all about:

• the new Simulation Centre at CAMH

• VR courses already developed for suicide assessment

• another VR project in the works for opioid overdose treatment

• and the aspirations of the Centre to implement AI in future training.

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.

In this episode of Quick Takes, Dr. David Gratzer speaks with Dr. David Castle, Director of the CAMH Centre for Complex Interventions, about the upwards trend in crystal methamphetamine use, its impact on health care visits and the risk of violence, the medication and psychological interventions available, and, yes, the Australian experience (no mention of digeridoos, however).

You’ll learn a lot in this 28-minute episode, including:
• why there's been that sharp rise in use here in Canada
• its impact on emergency departments and on staff physical and mental health
• steps to take when dealing with an agitated patient
• medications that work in different scenarios
• and the evidence for psychological and psychosocial interventions.

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Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.

During this discussion you will learn:
• the incredible recovery rate of IAPT patients
• the trackable outcomes are nearly 100%
• how the program has become more equitable
• and just they do with all the data the program collects.

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Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.

Today’s conversation on Quick Takes between Dr. David Gratzer and former National Institute of Mental Health Director, Dr. Thomas Insel, delves into what’s right and what’s wrong with the current state of mental health care.

Some highlights of this conversation include:

• acknowledgement that existing treatments work, but the system is not delivering care well.
• treatment tends to focus on drug therapies for symptom reduction rather than on plans for long-term recovery
• care is often unaffordable and unavailable, particularly for those who need it most and are experiencing homelessness
• and the key to recovery involves the three Ps – people, place, and purpose.

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Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.

Cannabis continues to be a topic of interest to clinicians and in this episode of Quick Takes Dr. David Gratzer sits down with Dr. Kevin Hill of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School to discuss where we are at with using cannabinoids in treatment.

In this discussion we learn:
• there is a link between patients with AUD and OUD and long-term cannabis use
• some “droplets” of data that cannabis is effective as an adjunct pharmacotherapy for schizophrenia do exist
• the science isn’t keeping up with patients’ desire to use it therapeutically
• and, for the most part, the doses of CBD and THC that people might need for the disorders that they are trying to receive a relief from are much higher than what most people are taking.

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Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.

This episode of Quick Takes kicks off a new series on mental health care innovations. These are short and focused episodes we hope you will enjoy.

In this episode Dr. Gratzer speaks with Dr. Ainslie Heasman, about her about her program aimed at preventing  sexual abuse, Talking for Change.

In this discussion we learn:
• How important this program is to intervene with the individuals who may engage in abuse, as opposed to offering services to children to prevent their own abuse.
• The difficulty in measuring the impact of both anonymous and non- anonymous interventions.
• How well-suited this program is to the world of digital mental health care.

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Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.

After another year of pandemic, the topic of physician burnout is more relevant than ever. On this episode of Quick Takes Dr. Gratzer speaks with award-winning medical educator and bestselling author Dr. Jillian Horton(of the University of Manitoba) about identifying signs of burnout and strategies to deal with it. The conversation is very personal – Dr. Horton, a practicing internist, talks about her own experiences.

In this discussion with Dr. Horton, we talk about:
• ways to identifying and combat burnout
• how you may not fit the clinical mold for the definition of burnout, but you could still be experiencing it
• the stigma around talking about burnout is gradually lifting
• organisational and systemic factors are the primary drivers of burnout, period.

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Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.

Can the wearable on your patient’s wrist help prevent their next manic episode?

On this episode of Quick Takes Dr. Gratzer hosts Dr. John Torous, digital psychiatry expert and the first guest to appear on 3 podcast episodes. They always have plenty to talk about as the field of digital mental health care continues to expand. This time, the primary focus is on wearables and data collection.

They discuss how data captured on devices (especially related to sleep and exercise) can potentially improve care – and overall health; the types of “passive data” that can be collected; and the pros (behaviour and environment) and cons (privacy, privacy, privacy!) that come with it.

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During another fascinating tech talk between Drs. Gratzer and Torous we learn about:

• the implications of wearables in mental health care
  • what forms they currently take (watches, rings, phones)
• the types of data that can be collected
  • some can benefit treatment of schizophrenia and depression
  • others would help provide accurate social determinants data
  • but, in all cases, there may be risk to data and patient privacy to consider
• how COVID ignited synchronous digital mental health care via telehealth
• and how an asynchronous care using data from wearables and apps is due to ignite next.

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Hear more from Dr. John Torous on previous episodes of Quick Takes:
Episode 3: What all physicians need to know about digital psychiatry.

Episode 11: What all physicians need to know about mental health apps.

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THANKS FOR LISTENING!

Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

Follow CAMH Education on X (formerly known as Twitter) @camhEdu

Follow and subscribe to Reading of the Week where, every week, Dr. David Gratzer reviews research papers from the world of psychiatry.