Most of us who prescribe benzodiazepines (BZs) have a love-hate relationship with them. On the one hand, they work quickly and effectively for anxiety and agitation, but on the other hand, we worry about sedative side effects and the fact that they can be difficult to taper because of withdrawal symptoms.

While psychotherapy remains the gold standard for treatment of post traumatic stress disorder, medications are often used to alleviate the symptoms of the illness.

Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is an extremely effective therapy. You can say with conviction that if a patient commits to this therapy, it really has a good chance of reducing suffering.

Some of the CBT techniques that have proven effective for panic disorder include breathing retraining, cognitive restructuring, and relaxation training.

Anxiety disorders are commonly seen in primary care, whether they present on their own, or comorbid with other illnesses. There’s good evidence for both cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy in anxiety disorders, but many patients don’t receive such treatment.

Demonstrating the value of genetic testing in psychiatry is a tricky proposition. The latest case in point is the debate over whether determining variations in the gene coding for the serotonin transporter pump (5-HTTLPR) is useful for predicting future risk for depression.

response rates in depressed patients who were put on citalopram (Celexa) for eight weeks. Recently, some clinicians have advocated starting depressed patients with a combination of antidepressants, in the hopes that targeting multiple neurotransmitters will boost efficacy.

After reading these articles, you should be able to…

Lurasidone (Latuda) was approved by the FDA for schizophrenia in October 2010 and is the 10th atypical antipsychotic in our toolbox. The key question is: does lurasidone have any advantages over existing agents, or is it just another “me-too” drug?

In what ways, if any, are cognitive problem a distinct feature of schizophrenia? And how can we use this information to guide treatment?