Typical antidepressants such as the serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) take weeks to months to have an effect and are only moderately effective, leaving more than one third of depressed patients resistant to drug therapy. “The rapid therapeutic response of ketamine in treatment-­resistant patients is the biggest breakthrough in depression research in half a century,” review author Ronald Duman, PhD, professor of psychiatry and neurobiology at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, said in a statement.

DrugLib

Hodes added that stress could be thought of as an allergen, like pet dander, with the over-reactive immune system making you depressed rather than giving you runny nose. “In some ways, it is an analogy to an allergy,” Hodes said. “You have something that is not really dangerous, but your body thinks it is, so you have this massive immune response. In this case, the stressor is what they’re having this massive immune response to.”

Live Science

The 2 studies done by Gibbons and colleagues ^{(Gibbons, 2012)} provide reassurance about efficacy and safety of fluoxetine for treating depression in children and adolescents. Although there was no significant effect of treatment on suicidal thoughts and behavior in youths, fluoxetine did not increase suicide risk in this population. However, since this analysis only included fluoxetine studies in youths, it is not possible to draw conclusions about other antidepressants for treating MDD in youths. Analyses of other antidepressant studies with children and adolescents are warranted.

Psychiatric Times

NY Times

With the new school year upon us, parents are transitioning back into monitoring and support mode to make sure they are doing everything possible to provide the best educational support opportunities possible for their children.  As parents, we all want the best for our children.  Perhaps a teacher or counselor has raised a concern about a struggle that your child is experiencing, in or out of the classroom.  Or as a parent, you may simply have a gut feeling that something is “not quite right” about your child’s educational abilities.

In order to provide your child with the help they need, educational testing by a private psychologist can aid in identifying what learning vulnerabilities or gifts a child may exhibit.  The information from educational testing is invaluable as it can assist with bridging the gap between ability and performance. Having your child privately evaluated will allow for a thorough and comprehensive assessment your child’s strengths and weaknesses with regards to learning. An evaluation can determine everything from giftedness to whether or not a child has a learning disability in reading, written language, mathematics, receptive language (listening) and expressive language (speaking). Personality tests may also be used to assess how school may be affecting your child’s emotional state or self-confidence.

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To follow are some signs that may indicate a learning disability in preschool or elementary school age children, according to the Learning Disabilities Association of America¹.  Does your child:

If your child consistently exhibits several of these signs, you should consider having him or her privately tested.  For further information on educational testing and the most appropriate academic support for your child Contact CNS Integrated Behavioral Health & Medicine at 310-440-9800 or visit our website at www.cnsla.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Sep 17, 2012 -

A New Era of Treatment in Mental Health: CNSLA introduces time-limited psychotherapy programs.

West Los Angeles, CA – The S.E.T. Therapy Programs are short-term, step-by-step treatments designed for persons struggling with various psychological conditions. This includes programs for adult ADHD, persons who suffer from debilitating Anxiety and Worry, those who are experiencing significant Depression, or those who wish to learn enhanced Relapse Prevention Skills for Addictive Behaviors. These programs emphasize a Solution-oriented, Evidence-based, and Time-limited approach to treatment. Utilizing proven Cognitive-Behavioral techniques, we examine the relationship between how thoughts affect behaviors and emotions. These programs have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing and managing symptoms while increasing overall functioning and a sense of wellbeing.

“What if your therapist told you that there is research indicating significant improvement is achievable within the first 10 sessions of psychotherapy?” says Pablo Noguera, CNS Associate Director. “Based on the S.E.T. model of care, CNS hopes to instill in its patients that it’s possible for change to occur now.”

Kevin Kelley, CNS Clinical Programs Supervisor states, “The S.E.T. Therapy Programs represent state-of-the-art treatment utilizing evidence-based methods. In addition to demonstrated effectiveness, these programs empower patients to have a clear idea of the length, course and cost of treatment. In the S.E.T. Programs, the patient is in the driver’s seat, with a highly skilled clinician as teacher, navigator and guide.”

CNS Integrated Behavioral Health & Medicine is an advanced outpatient practice offering specialized treatment for a variety of psychiatric and behavioral conditions. Patients at CNS have access to virtually all specialists available in the mental health field through one simplified, centralized system. Executive Medical Director Michael Mamoun, M.D., says, “What’s happening at CNS is virtually unprecedented in private practice mental health settings. At the moment, nothing quite like this exists in Los Angeles.”

CNS is based in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. More information can be found at www.cnsla.com or by contacting CNS at 310-440-9800.

via A New Era of Treatment in Mental Health: CNSLA introduces time-limited psychotherapy programs | PRLog.

If you or your child are struggling with learning, you may be wondering if a learning disability could be the cause. Don’t let a learning disability stand in the way of your or your child’s success. Find out about learning disabilities and what CNS Los Angeles can do to help below.

What are Learning Disabilities?

Learning disabilities are conditions that affect the brain’s ability to receive, process, analyze, or store information. These problems can make it difficult for a student to learn as quickly as someone who doesn’t have a learning disability.

Learning Disabilities at a Glance

Learning disabilities affect approximately 15-20 percent of the population. The types of learning disabilities that are most commonly observed include:

• Dyslexia – Difficulties recognizing or processing letters and the sounds associated with them. For this reason, someone with dyslexia will have trouble with reading and/or writing tasks or assignments.
• Dyscalculia – Difficulties with math.
• Dysgraphia – Difficulties with writing.
• Dyspraxia – Difficulties with fine motor skills.
• Auditory processing disorder – Difficulties discerning sounds.
• Visual processing disorder – Difficulties interpreting visual information.

When do Symptoms Develop?

You can’t tell by looking that a person has a learning disability, which can make learning disabilities hard to diagnose.

• Some learning disabilities are diagnosed in grade school when a parent or a teacher notices the individual can’t follow directions for a game or is struggling to do work.
• However, some children develop sophisticated ways of covering up their learning issues, so the problem doesn’t get addressed until the teen years when schoolwork — and life — get more complicated.

What can CNS do to Help Me or My Child?

• CNS can provide Neurocognitive and Achievement Testing:
  • Includes review of academic records and progress reports
  • Comprehensive interviews with collateral sources
  • Academic Achievement testing
  • Neurocognitive testing
  • Thorough recommendations
• While working with one or more clinicians at CNS, Patients leave the CNS program with new tools:
  • Developing study skills, note-taking strategies, or organizational techniques that can help compensate for their learning disability
  • Developing an Individualized Education Program, which helps define a person’s learning strengths and weaknesses
  • Improving a student’s attention span and ability to focus through cognitive training and possibly medication management.

Summertime is here and the sun is shining in Los Angeles. Children and teens often take advantage of summer vacation, spending numerous hours outside. While prolonged exposure to sun can cause damage to skin, there may be some advantage to spending even a little time soaking in the rays. Sun, along with some fish, eggs, and dairy products, are a source of Vitamin D – an important vitamin that promotes the absorption of calcium in the body. In addition to maintaining good physical health, it turns out that Vitamin D is essential for good mental health as well.

Low levels of Vitamin D are associated with depression, seasonal affective disorder, and schizophrenia in adults, but little is known about Vitamin D and mental health in the pediatric population. One recent study examined one hundred four adolescents admitted for acute mental health treatment over a 16-month period. They were assessed for Vitamin D status and the relationship of Vitamin D levels to severity of illness, defined by presence of psychotic features. Psychotic features included delusions, paranoia, or hallucinations.

Results found that Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency was present in 72% of participants. Further, adolescents with psychotic features presented with lower Vitamin D levels. Participants with deficient Vitamin D levels were three and a half times more likely to have displayed psychotic symptoms, while 79% of the subjects with normal levels did not display these features. These preliminary associations between Vitamin D deficiency and presence of psychotic features warrant further investigation as to whether Vitamin D deficiency is a mediator of illness severity, result of illness severity, or both. The study was published in the journal BCM Psychiatry. http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-244X-12-38.pdf

PRLog (Press Release) – May 22, 2012 -

In the increasingly competitive and fast-paced world of today, parents are realizing that the sooner they are able to recognize possible impairments in their children, the better off they will be when it comes to educational and social success.  Many psychologists recommend waiting until children are at least six years old before evaluating for intelligence and other cognitive areas for more valid and reliable test scores.  As science begins to catch up with assessment and diagnosis of dyslexia, children, parents, teachers, and clinicians are now on the lookout for other ways to assess for major learning impairments to avoid early struggles in school.  The key motive here is that scientists are trying to find ways to maximize the sponge that is the brain, and to create more positive outcomes from an earlier age.

Reading is a unique, cognitive skill essential to life in modern societies, but, for about 10% of children, learning to read is extremely difficult. They are affected by a neurodevelopmental disorder called dyslexia. For people with dyslexia, problems recognizing words can make life difficult.  Some major difficulties may include recognizing chunks of words, problems processing visual signals, or issues ignoring extraneous sounds and stimuli.  Although they may struggle with these problems, individuals with dyslexia are often bright and verbal.    

Children usually aren’t diagnosed until elementary school, when it becomes clear they’re struggling with reading. But scientists say it could be possible to diagnose and help kids much earlier by identifying problems with visual attention — long before they learn to read.  But how to test reading ability in children who can’t read has remained a barrier. Researchers at the University of Padua in Italy say kids who have problems with visual attention in preschool are most likely to have difficulty reading later on.  

Current Biology

Click here to learn about the diagnosis of Dyslexia

A recommended book about hidden potentials in the Dyslexic brain: The Dyslexic Advantage