Quitting smoking requires a lot of motivation—something our patients don’t always have. Since money is a great motivator, various programs that pay patients to quit have been tried over the years. But how well does this technique work?

Choosing the “right” treatment for a given patient involves a large number of factors, including personal preference—both the clinician’s and the patient’s. Is there a better way?

Get advice on how to evaluate the methodology of biomarker studies in an interview with James Coyne, PhD, clinical health psychologist, professor emeritus of in the psychiatry with University of Pennsylvania and professor of health psychology, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Chances are good that we under-medicate alcoholics. According to one estimate, only 10% of alcoholics receive medications as part of their treatment (Jonas DE et al, JAMA 2014;311(18):1889–1900). That’s too bad, because these medications work. In this article, we focus strictly on medications that appear to be effective, both those approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and those that are commonly used off-label.

Learn about the ways positive psychology techniques can be used to help patients with addictions, in an interview with researcher Amy R. Krentzman, MSW, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work in St. Paul.

A recent study out of London found that users of high potency cannabis (also known as “skunk” weed) are three times more likely to experience a psychotic episode than those who never use cannabis; and those who use it daily are at a fivefold increased risk.

Drinking too much alcohol in a short period of time is proving deadly for many Americans.

Opioid overdoses have reached epidemic proportions. While the best solution would be to prevent opioid overdoses in the first place, an important piece in the effort to reduce these fatalities is to have a good way of preventing overdoses from leading to death. That’s where the opioid antagonist naloxone (Narcan) comes in.

David A. Frenz, MD discusses inpatient detox for alcohol, and the approaches used for determining the right therapies.

It’s often assumed that most excessive drinkers are alcohol dependent, but this is not necessarily the case.