December 2021
Dear Friends and Colleagues:

As another pandemic year comes to a close, and in the wake of the recent tragedy at Oxford High School, our work in mental health has never been as important as it is right now. The recent declaration of a national emergency of rising mental health concerns among young people underlines this. This worsening crisis in child and adolescent mental health is inextricably tied to the stress brought on by COVID-19 and the ongoing struggle for racial justice. In this last e-newsletter edition for 2021, read more about what MC3, one of our programs, is doing to help providers treat young patients with behavioral health concerns. We are also highlighting several other news, podcasts, webinars and events that our psychiatry experts are involved in.

From our Michigan Medicine family to yours, wishing you a joyful and warm holiday season,
Gregory Dalack, M.D.
Daniel E. Offutt, III Professor & Chair
Open talk, open door:
Helping kids, teens after a school shooting
Our experts give advice on how to deal with grief and trauma after the recent mass shooting at Oxford High School

Kids & Adolescents
MC3 -- Michigan-wide effort connecting primary care providers with psychiatrists and behavioral specialists for consultation and training supports their ability to provide care in local clinics.
Geriatric Psychiatry 
Dr. Lauren Gerlach is quoted in this article by The Christian Science Monitor.
Stress, depression, isolation and more seen in national survey; researchers call for health care institutions to take heed when making decisions about COVID-19 policies regarding caregivers
Addiction and Substance Use
For those who are taking prescription medications, abstaining from alcohol is often recommended.

Dr. Anne Fernandez is quoted in this Fox News piece.
Lawmakers introduce bill to examine opioid use in veterans
Dr. Allison Lin's study of the rise in veteran opioid overdose deaths was cited by The Hill in this story. This statement from two members of Congress led to this story.

You can read more about this research by Dr. Lin in this Michigan Health Lab press release: As Opioids Kill More Veterans, Study Shows Treatment Needs 
Study in veterans by Dr. Lara Coughlin & colleagues shows many fatal overdoses involved multiple substances; 70% of those who died with stimulants in their systems had not received recent addiction treatment.

“The fact that so many of those who died of an overdose had not received substance use disorder treatment is especially concerning.”
Treatment Magazine shared an article written by Meghan Martz, Ph.D., about new research published in Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience. 

"Overall, findings from this study demonstrate that latent profile analysis applied to brain function can be used to identify distinct neural profiles that may explain heterogeneity in substance use outcomes and may inform more targeted substance use prevention and intervention efforts."
Telehealth
Study findings represented the experiences of 1,004 patients from rural clinics in Arkansas, Michigan and Washington

"One of the major contributions of this study is what we knew to be effective for depression and anxiety we now know also achieves good outcomes for patients with PTSD and bipolar disorder,” said Paul Pfeiffer, M.D., M.S.."
Sleep
“Some individuals say they’ve been sleeping much better and are more productive because of the flexibility in their schedules. For example, night owls who found it difficult to work a 9-to-5 job have embraced the flexibility brought on by the pandemic. They’ve been able to sleep according to their body’s circadian timing.” - Leslie Swanson, Ph.D.
Helen Burgess, Ph.D., is quoted in this Salon story.
Podcasts & Videos
Tune in to these podcasts and webinar recordings to learn more about different mental health topics:

Michigan Answers Podcast: Questions About Anxiety - Emily Bilek, Ph.D., answers some of the most searched questions on the internet about anxiety


Michigan Minds Podcast - John McCarthy, Ph.D., talks about 'Collaborative and Innovative Approaches to Mental Health Care for Veterans'

'Navigating a Mental Health Crisis' -- Before / During / After - The recorded videos of this 3-part educational series are now available.
Nurse’s book tells of life raising special-needs child
Kelly Miltimore is a registered nurse who works at Michigan Medicine in our psychiatry inpatient units:
“It was so easy to write (this book) because it was literally telling what happened and saying to others going through it, ‘You’re not alone, it’s horrible and awful and amazing and made me the best version of myself.” Read the interview with Kelly and learn more about her book.
Long-term study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, shows recent first-year residents had smaller jump in depression symptoms, possibly due to more sleep, fewer work hours and more mental health care.
Doctoring and parenting in a pandemic: Women bore the brunt
“Mothers across professions have been torn between their careers and their home lives during the pandemic,” said Srijan Sen, M.D., Ph.D. Learn more about this study.
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