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6 days ago | 
psychiatrictimes.com | H. Steven Moffic
PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWSNot long ago, I was asked to write a brief pamphlet on how to respond to anti-Semitism since it has been steadily and worryingly rising once again over the last decade.1 Connected to that, in recent columns, I have focused on the relevance of the Jewish holiday of Passover for our times, as that story depicts one of the worst anti-Semitic times for Jews in history.
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1 week ago | 
psychiatrictimes.com | H. Steven Moffic
This video series is taking a short break while Dr Moffic is away. For now, enjoy the rerun of this video with updated commentary. Last year, on April 24, 2024, this video on “The Hardening of Hearts Over Passover: Then and Now” was posted. It was before the election of President Trump but, like now, in the middle of the Jewish 8 days of the Passover holiday, the story of the Jewish journey to freedom out of slavery in Egypt.
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1 week ago | 
psychiatrictimes.com | H. Steven Moffic
PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS“I have never seen a better planned death than the one Danny designed.” - Philip TetlockOccasionally, I am stopped short by a news item that seems to have profound social psychiatric impact. Usually, it also has major personal meaning. Yesterday, I came across such an article.
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1 week ago | 
psychiatrictimes.com | H. Steven Moffic
PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWSWhen I awoke on Saturday morning, I received an email note from our production editor for our book in progress: Islamophobia and Psychiatry, second edition. The note stated that she would be out for the Tamil New Year and return to work on April 15. She rarely explains why she is out for a spell, so this must be a particularly meaningful reason.
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1 week ago | 
psychiatrictimes.com | H. Steven Moffic
PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWSOver a recent night, when one can imagine hearing Frank Sinatra singing “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,” I received several unusual email comments of personal concern. They included anxiety about a new medical procedure, a relationship rejection, a disruption in a group of psychiatrist colleagues, and a tentative psychiatric manifesto.
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2 weeks ago | 
psychiatrictimes.com | H. Steven Moffic
PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWSWith the federal policies to reduce waste and presumed misguided health care policies, I have noticed that many physicians have wondered what they might do as a counter-response for general health and mental health. Given the rapidity and scope of the numerous changes, there is some concern that the traditional ways of responding politically may not work well enough this time, such as the national rallies last Saturday.
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2 weeks ago | 
psychiatrictimes.com | H. Steven Moffic
Author(s):Advocacy may put us at odds with others, but we must prioritize good ethics for our patients. It's time to think outside the box. Psychiatry & SocietyFrom March 31 to April 1, 2025, Cory Booker, a Democratic senator from New Jersey, delivered a speech to protest Donald Trump and the operations of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. This became the longest recorded speech in United States Senate history. It demonstrated some "outside of the box" thinking. H.
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2 weeks ago | 
psychiatrictimes.com | H. Steven Moffic
PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS“GAC is a collective of many faceted people helping disenfranchised people integrate into a complex, confusing, and often cruel society.”–Fred Robinson, former US Probation Officer and GAC Board President 2020-2022I think that it has been about 30 years since I was President of the Board of Grand Avenue Club (GAC) in Milwaukee.
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2 weeks ago | 
psychiatrictimes.com | H. Steven Moffic
PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWSVery quietly, it seems that the 2025 edition of “Opinions of the Ethics Committee on The Principles of Medical Ethics, with Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry” has been published by the American Psychiatric Association.1 I unexpectedly was notified of them from a colleague. It focuses on questions and answers about specific ethical issues. Those accumulate over the years and now take up about 120 pages.
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3 weeks ago | 
psychiatrictimes.com | H. Steven Moffic
PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWSFor yesterday’s April Fool’s Day video, I foolishly left out the foolishness that can arise with what are called psychiatric diagnoses, and I am not even talking about the validity of some diagnostic classifications. Often when my sense of diagnostic foolishness occurs, the reason is some social utility by those in power, though in some basic way, the social influence is everywhere in our DSM.
