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If a patient comes in and says, “doc, I think I need to go to rehab,” what should you do? Most people think of rehabs as residential facilities, but these days, the term “rehab” includes a broad spectrum of treatment settings, most of which, in fact, are not residential—only 10% of people receiving specialized addiction services go to residential rehab.

Carly Simon swears by it. The daytime show “The Doctors” gave it a glowing review. Ads for it seem to be invading psychiatrists’ Google search results. We’re talking, of course, about the Fisher Wallace Stimulator and the similarly touted Alpha-Stim device. How do these devices work? Are they actually effective? And where do they fit into the rapidly expanding array of neuromodulators?

Getting meds just right is challenging in autism. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes it doesn't work out so well. No two people with Autism Spectrum Disorder are alike, meaning that our medication choices have to be individualized even more so than in most other psychiatric syndromes.

When kids come to us with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), we know that first-line treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). But then what? What about the kids who don’t respond to CBT or SSRIs? This research update discusses studies measures, treatments and medications for to take to help your younger OCD patients.

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.

Over the decades, finding a truly useful objective diagnostic test in psychiatry has proven both elusive and frustrating.

Your typical patient with a gambling disorder may not fit yesterday’s stereotype.

Why has Vyvanse become by far the most prescribed stimulant in the United States? Great marketing? A great product? Some combination of the two?

The ASAM Criteria—the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s guidelines for addiction treatment—are not just a tool for program administrators and insurance bureaucrats. They provide a useful conceptual framework for thinking about your patients and what kind of care they need.