Release date: December 29th, 2023

Welcome back to Psychiatry Unbound, the podcast from the Publishing department of the American Psychiatric Association. In this episode, Dr. Laura Roberts is joined by Dr. John Barry, and Dr. “Dr.” Sepideh Bajestan to discuss their careers in the realms of Neuropsychiatry and Neurology, and their roles in the creation of the Concise Guide to Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurology, Third Edition.

In this episode:

Introduction (0:45)
The background to the book’s creation and Neuropsychiatry (3:42)
Bias in diagnosing and treating patients (14:28)
Dr. Barry’s professional journey (20:20)
Dr. Bajestan’s professional journey (23:32)
When to reach for a second opinion (27:55)
Thinking Fast and Slow (33:15)
Keeping the curiosity ‘on’ and the importance of saying “I don’t know” (38:10)
Empathy (39:12)
Last thoughts (42:20)

Show Notes and Resources:
Concise Guide to Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurology, Third Edition
(American Psychiatric Association Publishing) 2023

John J. Barry, M.D., is Fellowship Director of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurology, Director of the Neuropsychiatry Clinic, Co-Director of the Individual Psychiatry Clinic, and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford University Hospital in Stanford, California.

Sepideh N. Bajestan, M.D., Ph.D., is Chief of Neuropsychiatry Services, Associate Director of the Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurology Fellowship, Co-Director of the Individual Psychotherapy Clinic, and Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California.

Transcript and Further Episodes here.

Dr. Laura Roberts is joined by Art Walaszek to discuss his recent book Late-Life Depression and Anxiety, which he created using a rich and deep team of contributors. The conversation explores our preconceptions of the aging population and their “default mindset”, how to identify the early-warning signs, mitigating the risk of suicide, access to medical and MH services, and thoughts about the motivations our writers have while creating their books.

In this episode:
Introduction (0:32)
Why we need this book (2:24)
Our assumptions about mindset in an aging population (4:30)
Early warning signs – what to look out for (8:18)
What should a primary care physician look for? (14.10)
Suicide risk reduction and social isolation (19:32)
Access to services (25:56)
Principles of management (31:04)
Community action and responses (39:10)
Writing books to reinforce and support (44:48)
Exciting news about the future of Unbound! (47:15)

Show Notes and Resources:
Late-Life Depression and Anxiety by Dr. Art Walaszek
(American Psychiatric Association Publishing) 2023
Learn more about Dr. Art Walaszek.
Transcript and More Episodes:
https://psychiatryonline.org/psychiatry-unbound

Release date: October 27th, 2023

Dr. Laura Roberts is joined by Dr. Carolyn Rodriguez and Dr. Randy Frost, authors of the new book Hoarding Disorder – A Comprehensive Clinical Guide, which tackles a condition which has been part of the zeitgeist for a while now (just ask fans of Marie Kondo) yet was only codified as a disorder in the DSM-5 in 2013. This is therefore a pioneering new work in the field, and the authors discuss the book’s genesis and their ambitions for understanding and treating a condition now thought to be more prevalent than OCD.

In this episode:

Introduction (0:30)
Why did the world need this book? (2:27)
The Collyer Brothers (4:45)
The natural history of the condition in younger patients (7:00)
The status of research in the area (10:25)
the tipping point (14:24)
Who’s psychologically uncomfortable here? (22:10)
How do we do a better job of recognizing this disorder earlier? (28:10)
Hoarding, affluence and popular culture (37:03)
Understanding the nature of the attachments that people have (38:50)

Show Notes and Resources:
Hoarding Disorder – A Comprehensive Clinical Guide by Dr. Carolyn Rodriguez and Dr. Randy Frost
(American Psychiatric Association Publishing) 2023

Learn more about Dr Rodriguez and Dr Frost.
Read more about the Collyer Brothers.

Transcript and More Episodes:
https://psychiatryonline.org/psychiatry-unbound

Release date: June 30th, 2023

Dr. Laura Roberts is joined by Ezra Griffith, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and recipient of the 2023 Chester Pierce Human Rights Award, to discuss his book Race and Excellence: My Dialogue with Chester Pierce, the culmination of his personal and professional relationship with Pierce. In the second of two episodes, Ezra looks back on his own journey into psychiatry, his life’s work, and his own legacy.

In this episode:

Introduction (0:46)
Ezra’s journey (2:40)
Interest in the black question (09:25)
Thinking about injustice (11:35)
On becoming a psychiatrist (18:40)

Show Notes and Resources:
Race and Excellence: My Dialogue with Chester Pierce by Ezra Griffith
(American Psychiatric Association Publishing) 2023

Learn more about Dr. Ezra Griffith.

Transcript and More Episodes:
https://psychiatryonline.org/psychiatry-unbound

Dr. Laura Roberts is joined by Ezra Griffith, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and recipient of the 2023 Chester Pierce Human Rights Award, to discuss his book Race and Excellence: My Dialogue with Chester Pierce, the culmination of his personal and professional relationship with Pierce, (1927 – 2016) a tenured professor of education and psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, the first African-American full professor at Massachusetts General Hospital, and past-president of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Orthopsychiatric Association. Pierce was a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a senior consultant for the acclaimed educational children's television series Sesame Street and coined then developed the term "microaggression". In the first of two episodes in the company of Ezra Griffith, he discusses the life of the pioneering psychiatrist Pierce, and explores his legacy.

In this episode:

Introduction (0:41)
Why the book had to be put together (3:41)
“Who was Chester Pierce to you?” (7:07)
How Ezra came to speak regularly with Chester (9:23)
The notion of dignity (12:45)
Leadership (17:05)
On microaggressions (19:00)
Contribution by, and legacy of, Chester Pierce (29:43)

Show Notes and Resources:
Race and Excellence: My Dialogue with Chester Pierce by Ezra Griffith
(American Psychiatric Association Publishing) 2023
Learn more about Dr. Ezra Griffith.

Transcript and More Episodes:
https://psychiatryonline.org/psychiatry-unbound

Release date: April 7th, 2023

Dr. Laura Roberts is joined by Fredric N. Busch, M.D. -a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in New York City specializing in Depression, Panic and other Anxiety Disorders, and Bipolar Disorder- to discuss his new book: Problem-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy published by American Psychiatric Publishing. Amongst the topics they discuss: how the psychodynamic approach can seem initially overwhelming, that the key concepts are easy to assimilate and can be applied with confidence by trainees, and, in a slam-dunk of a tangent, how Freud helped revive the composer Mahler’s sex life.

In this episode:

Adaptability of the approach (0:01)
Introduction (2:17)
Why the world needed this particular book (3:24)
An example of a presenting problem (5:47)
Conceptual Framing (11:07)
What other principles can the book convey to practitioners? (14:20)
Mahler’s potency (16:30)
Challenges confronted in creation of the book (20:19)
The Chief Complaint (24:40)
Problems faced during the creation of the book (29:10)
Trauma (33:25)
Importance of doctor and client working together to define the problem (36:50)

Show Notes and Resources:
Problem-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (American Psychiatric Association Publishing) 2023

Learn more about Fredric N. Busch.

Transcript and More Episodes:
https://psychiatryonline.org/psychiatry-unbound

‘Timmy was never in the well. Yet, the phrase “Lassie! Timmy’s in the well,” inspired by a 60-yearold television show, lives on.’ With a foreword by Patricia McConnell, author of The Other End of the Leash, APA is very excited to publish a brand-new book on Companion Animals. In this 22nd episode of Psychiatry Unbound, Nancy R. Gee, Ph.D., editor of The Role of Companion Animals in the Treatment of Mental Disorders sits down with Dr. Laura Roberts to go between the covers of this fabulous book -a passion project for Nancy and the contributors- which examines the therapeutic bond between humans and animals. Gee also discusses her work at the Centre for Human Animal Interaction at VCU.

In this episode:

Introduction (1:00)
Dr. Gee reflects on the book’s creation (1:52)
Pookie the dog’s influence on APA editorial policy (2:50)
What’s it like to be surrounded by psychiatrists? (3:11)
Therapy dogs (5:09)
Partnering with animals in the context of mental health (8:00)
The role of aquariums in boosting the caloric intake of seniors (10:40)
Dr. Gee’s background in psychology (13:10)
Intended take-aways from the book (15:40)
End credits (18:28)

Show Notes and Resources:
The Role of Companion Animals in the Treatment of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association Publishing) 2023

Learn more about Nancy R. Gee, Ph.D.

Transcript and further episodes:
https://psychiatryonline.org/psychiatry-unbound

Release date: November 25th, 2022

Dr. Laura Roberts is joined by Shashank V. Joshi, M.D., FAAP, DFAACAP, and Andrés Martin, M.D., M.P.H. to discuss their new book, Thinking About Prescribing, which explores the psychology of psychopharmacology with diverse youth and families. They discuss the creation and editorial approaches taken, their hopes for the book, and what areas of the work might endure as the profession and practices evolve over the coming years. This is an erudite and incisive conversation about a book whose appeal to a wide-ranging readership is -already- beyond question.

 In this episode:

Introduction (0:23)
Reasons for writing the book (2:49)
“The B.P.V.” (6:40)
Sold out! (7:34)
Hitting a nerve (8:25)
Focus on diversity (10:15)
Structure of the book (17:40)
Who this book is for (24:30)
Back… to the Gerund (30:45)

Show Notes and Resources:
Thinking About Prescribing (American Psychiatric Association Publishing) 2022

Learn more about Dr. Shashank Joshi and Dr. Andrés Martin.

Transcript and More Episodes here