The Experts Speak - An Educational Service of the Florida Psychiatric Society Abbey Strauss

Connie Siskowski, R.N., Ph.D., and a CNN Hero award recipient, works to help the millions of children who go home to be essential caregivers, and who therefore have special caring needs, miss a lot of normal adolescence, and so absolutely require help and acknowledgement. She started the American Association of Caregiving Youth to face this task. The efforts include integration with local schools, of social workers that go into the homes, getting laws to address the funding needs, that some states can remove and place the caregiving children into foster care, etc. But in particular is the focus to help these children not to feel alone, frustrated, etc. This is too quiet a reality for many children.

Ivan Cichowitz, M.D., explains the FDA approved VNS science to treat depression. He outlines the history, process, and theory, that it is used very often with medications, its increasing insurance coverage, how to know when and if it should become a treatment option, etc. VNS is a strong additional utensil in the treatment of resistant depressions. Learn and ask about this very promising mechanism.

Todd Sack, M.D., without hesitancy, speaks to the needed but daunting challenge of changing individual CO2 footprints, age and generational differences, real and specific ideas on what to do that do require self-discipline and commitment, that ‘green’ can save money, the critical ‘ballot box climate change’, that positive undertakings and adjustments are occurring but perhaps not fast enough, to make it a non-partisan opportunity because we all live on the planet, of resiliency, etc.

Jay Kuchera, M.D., pain management, speaks to barriers to proper pain management, the ethical, clinical, political and regulatory domains, medication and treatment costs, CDC and other guidelines, the need for proper clinical management, how cultural acceptances of suffering differ and set expectations, that improper treatment evokes the disease of desperation, differences in pain management now versus 25 years ago, that better patient quality of life is possible, etc. A very crux-of-the-matter discussion.

Tommy McGee, psychotherapist, addiction counselor, clergy, and black, takes us on a revealing tour of life in the black communities, how many black patients view the medical system, the barriers this produces in even approaching the system for prevention and treatment, insurance barricades, the role of the churches with this and other mental health problems, the need to ‘translate’ their culture, and to morph their tangible needs into real action and policy, etc. Honest and unrestrained comments from his personal and professional lives.

Fish biologist Dave Cannon candidly discusses his personal fears and emotions plus his professional responses to climate change, his preceptive ‘bush Alaska’ perspective, challenging our species to cooperately make real changes, solastalgia (loss of our homes), the need to commit with examples of personal changes to reduce our CO2 footprints, etc. Thought provoking, genuine, helpful.