Carlat Publishing

2 weeks ago | thecarlatreport.com | Daniel Carlat

I told my patient to hold an ice cube until it melted. She looked at me like I'd lost my mind. But it worked better than three different medications.When we—as therapists, clinicians, or just as humans living day to day—have had a little too much of the demands of work, family, bills, we don't talk about distress tolerance skills. We talk about needing to chill out, go for a walk, play a game on our phone. Our patients are the same. I think about Sarah. Twenty-eight years old.

2 weeks ago | thecarlatreport.com | Daniel Carlat

We’ve all rolled our eyes at a pharma-funded study. But if we tossed out every researcher who’s ever worked with industry—what evidence would we have left? This week, RFK Jr. fired every member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. All 17. His reason? “Conflicts of interest.”But removing an entire panel of experts risks sidelining the evidence itself. At Carlat Publishing, we take conflicts seriously.

2 weeks ago | thecarlatreport.com | Daniel Carlat

You get a call from the ER about a patient in restraints. Bipolar disorder. Disrobing. Yelling at staff. They need his medication history. But his outpatient clinic won't talk to you. "HIPAA," they say. "He needs to sign a release first. "Here's the problem: They're wrong. And patients suffer because of it. HIPAA doesn't block treatment communication. It actually facilitates it. The "P" in HIPAA doesn't stand for privacy—it stands for portability.

3 weeks ago | thecarlatreport.com | Daniel Carlat

You Treat Her Depression for Months. The SSRI Works. Therapy Helps. But She's Still Struggling at Work. She's slower than her colleagues. Always the last to leave meetings. Takes forever to finish tasks. Then you ask the right question: "Do you have any repetitive behaviors or thoughts that feel hard to control?"Suddenly, everything clicks. The hand washing. The checking. The mental counting. She's had severe OCD for years—but depression was louder.

3 weeks ago | thecarlatreport.com | Daniel Carlat

GLP-1 agonists may get the spotlight—but they’re not the only option. Many patients can’t afford them, don’t want the side effects, or prefer to stick with psychiatric meds they already know. In the May issue of The Carlat Psychiatry Report, Dr. Chris Aiken reviews psychotropics that can lead to weight loss. For seasoned clinicians, some may be familiar—but the value here is having them all in one place, with clinical nuance.