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Does Your Job Depress You?

Katina from OnlineCollege.org writes to inform us of a post about 10 Professions With The Highest Levels Of Depression. What I found interesting is the assumption that these jobs cause depression. For example:

Social Workers: If you had to deal with abused children, unkind foster parents and less-than-stellar family dynamics all day, you might be depressed too. Those working in this field are three times more likely to be depressed than the general population, and many are so focused on helping others they don’t get the help that they need themselves.

There’s nothing in the post that addresses the “chicken-or-egg” question. Maybe people with depression are drawn to certain fields? Artists are listed, with the statement that those who chose to work in the field “found it depressing.”

And everyone kind of gets it: Doctors, nurses, social workers, lawyers, artists, janitors, food service people, finance folks, and nursing home and childcare workers. What’s left? What’s the depression rate among bloggers?

*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*

A Doctor’s Guilt About Healthcare Costs

Times are tight and we’re all looking to save money, be it our own or someone else’s. Many will say that when it comes to the skyrocketing costs of healthcare, doctors are responsible for part of the problem.

Doctors order too many tests, either to cover ourselves in the event of a malpractice suit, or because patients pressure us, or because we genuinely believe that the tests are necessary for patient care, but in many circumstances, a cheaper option is available. We order medications that are expensive when cheaper medications are available. And psychiatrists offer care — like psychotherapy — that could be done by clinicians who are cheaper to educate and willing to work for less money. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*

Same Sex Vs. Opposite Sex: What’s The Rule On Friendship?

I’m stealing a post from Jay at Two Women Blogging entitled “Was Harry Right?” Here’s their post, and I discuss it below:

Was Harry Right?

Bluemilk got me started thinking about this. I first heard Harry’s thesis advanced by the resident I worked with on my med school psych rotation. She assured me that while I might think I had platonic friendships with men, the men didn’t see it that way. I was pretty sure they did see it that way. I wasn’t naive, I was engaged to be married and had done my share of dating and flirting — I knew what it felt like when a man was interested in me sexually and I knew the difference. I still know the difference, and I still have men friends. For most of my life, my closest friends have been men. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*

Single-Session Psychotherapy: The Cab Driver Story

Here’s a story that came out of the American Psychological Association (APA) conference:

I was in a cab going to dinner. The cab driver found out I was a psychiatrist so he told me about his life-changing experience with therapy.

At one time he was having an incredible problem with his life. He was using cocaine, couldn’t keep a job, and his relationships were going down the tubes. Therapy helped him quit cocaine and change all that. (Which was good, since he was the driver of my cab. I really wanted him not to be high or in distress.) This kind of turn-around story isn’t unusual for me — parolees will often come back and tell me about things they’ve done in free society that they’re proud of. The unusual part of this story is the fact that he made all of these changes after a single one-hour session. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*

What Makes A Conversation “Psychotherapy?”

Years ago I had a student who repeatedly asked me how psychotherapy works. “How is it different than a conversation?”

When I think of psychotherapy, I think in terms of the talking itself as being the aspect that helps — and yes, of course it can be used in conjunction with medications. I think of it as being structured — in terms of time and place and frequency — and being all about the patient. And whether or not it’s actually discussed, some of what works is about the relationship — most people don’t get better talking to someone they despise, and the warmth, empathy, feeling listened to and cared for, well, they’re all important. And I also think of it as being a process over time. These are all parts of my definition, however, and they may not be parts of yours. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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