Not Alone Radio Program, Oct. 12, 2010: Dr. Daniel Carlat, Author of “Unhinged”

Daniel J. Carlat, M.D. is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine, and is the Editor-in-Chief of The Carlat Psychiatry Report, a monthly newsletter on psychopharmacology widely read by psychiatrists and nurses in the United States. He joined Not Alone to discuss his most recent book, Unhinged: The Trouble with Psychiatry – A Doctor’s Revelations about a Profession in Crisis.

Dr. Carlat’s well documented book calls for psychiatrists to take a deep look at their practice, which basically consists of periodic medication checks for people with mental health challenges, and to return to their essential purpose which is to understand the human mind. He reminds us that psychiatrists can heal mental illnesses and not just treat symptoms, and laments the fact that too many psychiatrists have stopped doing psychotherapy and confined themselves to only medicating symptoms. Dr. Carlat feels that the practice of psychiatry has become “unhinged”, pried away from its original mission, which is to discover the causes of mental illness and to treat those causes, not merely the symptoms.

In his book, Unhinged: The Trouble With Psychiatry  –  A Doctor’s Revelations About a Professional Crisis, Dr. Carlat laments that very few psychiatrists do psychoanalysis mostly due to reimbursement issues;  insurance companies don’t pay as much for counseling, so that treatment component is often referred on to licensed mental health practitioners including psychologists, social workers, etc. Patients would be better served, continues Dr. Carlat, if we took a more integrated approach and combined both medications and psychotherapy with both disciplines working more closely on the patients’ behalf.

Dr. Daniel Carlat will be in Omaha October 19, 2010 for a meeting with the Nebraska Psychiatric Society, and October 20 doing Grand Rounds for physicians and medical students through Creighton University Medical School, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Alegent Health System, Faith Regional Medical Center in Norfolk, and the VA Hospital System in Nebraska.

Click on the button below to listen to the October 12 Not Alone broadcast featuring the Dr. Carlat, or download the file and listen later. To listen to past broadcasts, visit The Kim Foundation Web site Not Alone Archive page.

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October 12 – Daniel Carlat, M.D.

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Airing every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (CST on station KCRO, channel 660 AM based out of Omaha, Neb.), Not Alone is a live talk radio program focused on behavioral health and recovery. Developed by The Kim Foundation through the support of C&A Industries, Inc., Not Alone works to reduce the stigma often associated with mental illness. The show seeks to assure individuals, families, and communities that they are not alone, mental illness affects us all, hosting a variety of guest from across the country.