Cyberbullying and Adolescent Suicide

Today’s youth are exposed to the Internet through the ubiquitous presence of smartphones, social networking, and messaging, carrying a simultaneous devaluation of face-to-face and telephone communication. This rapid expansion of online socialization has introduced new complications to old problems, including the progression of bullying into cyberbullying and cyberbullicide.

Risk of suicide after discharge from inpatient psychiatric care: a systematic review

The findings of this review suggest that significant suicide predictors both common and unique to those established for suicide in the general population exist and can be utilised in a clinically meaningful way, despite the difficulties inherent in studying this population.KEY POINTSThe risk of suicide after psychiatric hospitalisation is high.Factors that predict suicide after psychiatric […]

Risk of Suicide Increases 3-Fold After Concussion

An February 8, 2016 article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal entitled “Risk of Suicide After Concussion” suggests that there is an increase of suicidal behavior post concussion, especially on weekend. Most of the attempted and completed suicides visited a physician shortly before attempting to take their own life. The “take-away” from this article is […]

Managing the Suicidal College Student: Advice for Community Providers

A long and thoughtful article in the Psychiatric Times from November 23, 2015 discusses the problems of college student suicide and provides “advice for community providers.” This is obviously a clinical as well as a forensic psychiatric issue. We are providing a link to the original article here for the interest of our blog readers. […]

BERKELEY: BART takes steps to prevent suicides on tracks

Forensic psychiatrist Mark Levy MD was recently interviewed by a San Francisco Fox News affiliate KTVU reporter, Rob Ross, to comment on a new plan by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) System to begin a suicide prevention program within BART stations where there have been a number of suicides recently. The interview can be […]

Mental Illness in the Cockpit

by Mark Levy MD Medical Director fpamed The New York Times lead article on Sunday April 19, 2015 was headlined “Germanwings Crash Exposes History of Denial of Risk of Pilot Suicide” Germanwings Crash Expose…t Suicide – NYTimes What is most shocking among the revelations contained in this article is that there have been rare but […]

Co-pilot in Germanwings Crash Alleged to Have Hidden Mental Illness from Employer

Mark I Levy MD Forensic Psychiatrist Medical Director Forensic Psychiatric Associates, LP Asst. Clinical Professor, Psychiatry, UCSF School of Medicine According to a March 28, 2015 article in the New York Times, the co-pilot who locked the pilot out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed a German Wings aircraft flying from Spain to Germany, killing […]

(Suicidal) Depression can be treated but it takes competence: Kay Redfield Jamison PhD

In the wake of Robin William’s tragic death, Professor Kay Jamison PhD wrote a stunning piece on depression and suicide in the NYTimes on 8/15/14 (see http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/16/opinion/depression-can-be-treated-but-it-takes-competence.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3As%2C%7B%221%22%3A%22RI%3A5%22%7D&_r=0)  Her basic premise is that suicidal depression is treatable but it requires a competent psychiatrist. Furthermore, mental health treaters are a heterogeneous lot and there is no consistency of […]

Warning: Antidepressants May Cause Bank Robbery

This article, written by forensic psychiatrist James L. Knoll, IV MD, and published in Psychiatric Times volume 30 November 2013, makes a significant contribution, through tongue in check, to laying to rest the false conclusion that antidepressant medication in general and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in particular cause aggressive behavior or even suicide. He […]

Suicide Considered An “Elusive” Enemy For US Military

Suicide Considered An "Elusive" Enemy For US Military. ABC World News (4/29, story 9, 3:40, Sawyer) reported, "In the battle against suicide in its ranks," the US Army is "fighting an elusive, often silent, enemy. Last year, 160 active-duty soldiers committed suicide despite an unprecedented effort to address the problem." This enemy took the life […]

Genetic Variants in Depressed People Raise Suicide Risk

Researchers have identified five gene variants that raise the risk for suicide attempts in people suffering from depression