Psychiatric services : a journal of the American Psychiatric Association
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With a growing understanding of how racism negatively affects the mental health of patients, mental health professionals are as anxious to act as they are uncertain about the best path forward. This uncertainty persists even though thoughtful, actionable antiracist recommendations in psychiatry were made 50 years ago. Mental health professionals can take several antiracist actions, including acknowledging individual and structural racism through an examination of racist policies, to achieve mental health equity. The mental health field must take these actions collectively so that history does not continue to repeat itself.
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The Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020, traumatized the Lebanese population. It also revealed a lack of disaster mental health preparedness in a country subject to significant political, economic, and security challenges. ⋯ The authors recommend anticipating the psychiatric consequences of such rare events at a professional and systemic level. The experiences of clinicians and the challenges faced in Lebanon can guide the improvement of disaster mental health care on a global level.
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This study aimed to examine differences in completion rates between telepsychiatry and in-person visits during the COVID-19 pandemic and a prior reference period. ⋯ In this cross-sectional study, outpatient adult mental health clinic telepsychiatry appointments, largely by telephone, were strongly associated with a higher rate of visit completion compared with in-person visits during and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Regulators should consider permanently enabling reimbursement for telephone-only telepsychiatry visits.
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The authors sought to quantify the rates of psychological distress among health care workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify job-related and personal risk and protective factors. ⋯ Nearly half of the HCWs reported serious psychiatric symptoms, including suicidal ideation, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived workplace culture and supports contributed to symptom severity, as did personal factors.