September 2021
Dear Friends and Colleagues:

I am pleased to share with you our PULSE from Michigan Psychiatry!

I hope that you and your loved ones are coping with the ongoing uncertainties that confront us. In this newsletter, you will find updates on selected research, clinical, and educational activities in the department. Several entries relate to adjusting to the continued impact of the pandemic as our children and teens return to school, and we continue to balance necessary public health practices with our wish to put the pandemic behind us. We are re-doubling our efforts to reach out and provide education to our communities as well, recognizing that the challenges before us can cause the kind of stress leading to mental health crises.

Are you unsure of what to do when you or a loved one are experiencing a mental health crisis? I would like to invite you to a 3-part webinar series this fall that we are organizing together with NAMI Washtenaw County and CMH: "Navigating a Mental Health Crisis: Before, During, and After." This series will cover early intervention, what to do during a crisis, and what recovery looks like. Each topic will be discussed by a NAMI peer, a CMH representative, and an expert from our department. Please register here.

Best wishes and good health for the rest of the year,
Gregory Dalack, M.D.
Daniel E. Offutt, III Professor & Chair
A guide to tackle issues affecting you and your families during this pandemic. Please share these resources with your family, friends, and those we treat and educate.
We hope that you all stay safe and healthy.
Q&A with our Family Support Group leaders
Abbey Callard, LLMSW, and Alex Kritzmacher, LLMSW, answer questions about their work, education and interests 
These support groups are free and open to the public. Learn more.
ECT
Kathy and Julie both thought they had exhausted options to treat their sons’ medication-resistant psychiatric conditions. Then they discovered ECT.
Addiction and Substance Use
Addiction and substance use. Depression. Anxiety. Loneliness. As the fight to combat the spread of COVID-19 took center stage internationally, its effect on mental health slowly began to tighten its grip on many in quarantine.

The Addiction Center's Allison Lin, M.D., M.S., is one of the experts highlighted in the latest advertising campaign for Michigan Medicine.
While more people in the U.S. with opioid use disorder are receiving evidence-based treatment, there are still considerable gaps in care along racial lines, according to a new analysis.

“Opioid use disorder can be treated, just like any other disease, but treatment is most successful when the patient has regular, unimpeded access to trained clinicians who can not only treat the disorder, but also oversee the rest of their health care.” - Kara Zivin, Ph.D.
Dr. Avinash Hosanagar & colleagues provide perspective and an update on the literature
Depression
Michelle Riba, M.D., shared her insights in this WebMD article.

"Everyone is unique. Just picking a medication off the shelf won't do it. … You have to do a really good evaluation and medical examination and look at the medical history."
Geriatric Psychiatry 
Women, people in their 50s and early 60s, and those in fair or poor health most likely to report worse depression, anxiety, sleep and overall mental health in past year.
Sleep
Genetic predisposition plays a role in individuals’ reaction to abrupt change in sleep schedule; findings could have implications for other situations.

"These data from direct monitoring and genetic testing allows us to directly see the effect, and to see the differences between people with different circadian rhythm tendencies that are influenced by both genes and environment." - Margit Burmeister, Ph.D.
Anxiety
Katherine Rosenblum, Ph.D., Co-Director of the Zero to Thrive initiative, is cited in this care.com article
Dr. Emily Bilek is quoted in this Metro Parent article

“Whether kids were fully remote, hybrid or in some in-person learning, it was not how kids were learning before. Going back to school, probably with some sense of normalcy in fall 2021, will be a challenging transition for a large proportion of kids.”
Videos & Podcasts
Pediatric Meltdown Podcast Features Two of our Experts

Dr. Rena Menke provides her insight in an episode about Infant Mental Health
Dr. Samantha Shaw provides her insight in an episode about Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Meet McCoy -- our newest 'staff member'
Therapy dog McCoy will now serve in the psychiatry adult inpatient unit, partial hospital program, and psych emergency service. Donors David and Kathy Cozad helped make this possible through their longtime generosity to the department. "Therapy dogs have a proven record of helping patients both physically and mentally. The Cozad’s gift will not just benefit our patients, but also their families, visitors, and even our staff.” Read more.
Please join us in making a brighter future possible by supporting our efforts across patient care, research, and training. Contact Courtney Metzger for more information.
To help primary care clinics, the U-M Department of Psychiatry created a FREE ONLINE TOOLKIT that draws on the expertise of our researchers.
Join us for this 3-part webinar series:
Sept. 30 / Oct. 7 / Oct. 14, 2021
7 to 8 p.m. Register Here.
Are you unsure of what to do when you or a loved one are experiencing a mental health crisis? This 3-part webinar series will cover early intervention, what to do during a crisis, and what recovery looks like after. Each topic will be discussed by a NAMI WC peer, a CMH representative, and a Michigan Medicine Psychiatry expert with time for Q&A from the audience.

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