Wellness First Psychiatric Associates

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We're proud of the blog on our website because it is an open book to the way we think about patient care, come visit:

Blog | Wellness First Psychiatric | Durham Mental Health, Helpful/Fun blogs and various topics/Addiction treatment/Mental Health treatment/Therapy/Med Management

Stressed out, What's the Problem? Check out this blog if you are interested in better understanding the dynamics of stress.

https://www.wfpanc.com/post/tolerance-for-stress

Stressed out, What's the Problem? The two gentlemen above are under stress. They are also in a fair amount of pain but if you were to ask, they would tell you that, regardless, they are enjoying themselves. It's a curious fact that we feel offended when stress is imposed on us, but at the same time, as a species, we seek out stress....

Wellness First Psychiatric Associates updated their information in their About section.

Wellness First Psychiatric Associates updated their address.

Wellness First Psychiatric Associates updated their business hours.

Our bodies have wonderful systems to encourage health and wellness. Active solutions stimulate these natural circuits.
Passive use of drugs is almost always a less desirable alternative.

Exercise increases the body’s own ‘cannabis-like' substance which reduces chronic inflammation Exercise increases the body's own cannabis-like substances, which in turn helps reduce inflammation and could potentially help treat certain conditions such as arthritis, cancer and heart disease.

It's been a while since we last posted here but frequent questions I get from friends about sleep encouraged me to blog on the subject. It's a common yet stubborn problem for many.
https://www.wfpanc.com/post/to-sleep-to-sleep-perchance-to-dream

To sleep-to sleep, perchance to dream. At social gatherings if asked by a new acquaintance what I do for a living and I reply psychiatrist, I first note a slight tightening of the interlocutor's demeanor, as if they are wondering whether I'll judge them more harshly than I judge myself. Once that hurtle has been crossed and the conversat...

How well a person handles stress very much defines how well a person is doing playing the game of life. We've been blogging on our Wellness First website and a recent post addresses this issue:
https://www.wfpanc.com/post/tolerance-for-stress

Stressed out, What's the Problem? The two gentlemen above are stressed under stress. They are also in a fair amount of pain but if you were to ask, they would tell you that, regardless, they are enjoying themselves. It's a curious fact that we feel offended when stress is imposed on us, but at the same time, as a species, we seek ou...

We're proud to announce the launch of our upgraded website at:

wfpanc.com

While still awaiting a little tweaking, we hope that the site will eventually allow us to convey to the public our genuine identity.
Special thanks to Terra Booker for her hard work in making this happen, as well as Wix.com. The latter has created an incredibly powerful website development tool along with great customer service.

Wellness First Psychiatric Associates Substance abuse clinic and general psychiatric practice

We did a little podcast on Ketamine and its context clinically, as well as in context of the history of development of psychotropics, hope you enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/514773099

Ketamine and Psychotherapy Using ketamine as an agent to facilitate counselling

This podcast will let you know what we are about at Wellness First Psychiatric. It pretty thoroughly wraps around my philosophy as a doctor and psychiatrist. We doctors have scant opportunity to get our voices out there to the public. So thanks to Friends in Recovery for the chance to share our ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUF1eT8c9qg

Life’s Natural High Mike Miles and Ed Chionchio Sr welcome Duncan McEwen to Friends in Recovery. Dr. McEwan works at Wellness First Psychiatric Associates in Durham, NC. Other t...

Ketamine has gained traction and FDA approval as a rapid acting antidepressant in severe depression. Other indications may be forthcoming.

Here is a striking summary of a research paper on the use of a single session with Ketamine to treat co***ne dependence. The positive results were strong and un-anticipated. How the drug might work remains illusive, but I suspect that there is a strong psychological experience under the drug that is transformative.

https://psychopharmacologyinstitute.com/section/a-single-ketamine-infusion-combined-with-mindfulness-based-behavioral-modification-to-treat-co***ne-dependence-a-randomized-clinical-trial-2566-4826

Psychopharmacology Institute

TURN A WEAKNESS into YOUR STRENGTH
We made this little video a number of years ago but still use the ideas discussed in it in conversations with patients:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcTNGN0bZJQ

A Healthy Addiction exercise addiction reward circuits brain

Here a little summary of things I talk about with people to try and educate and motivate better behavior to restrain Covid:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1zhig1q5d14y2r8/zoom_0.mp4?dl=0

zoom_0.mp4 Shared with Dropbox

Every once in a while we get something that means a lot more than a payment.

A very well balanced program on the use of Ketamine for the treatment of depression presented on NPR:
https://the1a.org/audio/ #/shows/2019-04-22/depression-and-you/117295/@00:00

We should never lose track of the human dimension of addiction because of the glare of dazzling medical advances. This fine TEDx talk will not only orient you to your soul, it might even help save the Amazon. Thanks to Dr. Sara Koenig for pointing us in the direction of this talk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66cYcSak6nE

The Power of Addiction and The Addiction of Power: Gabor Maté at TEDxRio+20 Canadian physician Gabor Maté is a specialist in terminal illnesses, chemical dependents, and HIV positive patients. Dr. Maté is a renowned author of books a...

There’s nothing like a good graphic to get a point across.

We docs often don't get much of a chance to get our ideas out into public forums. Thanks to 'Friends in Recovery' for the invite do do this podcast. I think it gives an idea of the essence of our brand at Wellness First.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUF1eT8c9qg

Life’s Natural High Mike Miles and Ed Chionchio Sr welcome Duncan McEwen to Friends in Recovery. Dr. McEwan works at Wellness First Psychiatric Associates in Durham, NC. Other t...

A fairly good summary of issues around ketamine therapy for treatment resistant depression:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/two-takes-depression/201904/ketamine-vs-esketamine-depression

Ketamine vs. Esketamine for Depression New Hope for Treatment Resistant Depression

Exciting stuff. It’s not that we shouldn’t be looking at rats, it’s just that we haven’t been looking in the right way:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/06/a-landmark-study-in-the-origins-of-alcoholism/563372/

A Landmark Study on the Origins of Alcoholism By studying rats in a smarter way, scientists are finally learning something useful about why some drinkers become addicted and others don’t.

From a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association:
(apologies for the abbreviations, a very common habit in medical articles. 'MOUD' stands for medications for op**te use disorders.)

We analyzed characteristics of counties that exhibited both historically high rates of opioid overdose mortality and low MOUD provider availability as of late 2017. Robust MOUD delivered via qualified providers in counties exhibiting these characteristics could realistically reduce opioid overdose deaths in vulnerable populations by as much as 40% to 60%.24 In terms of MOUD provider availability alone, we found that 46.4% of all counties and 71.2% of rural counties still lacked an OTP, buprenorphine-waivered clinician, or extended-release naltrexone–prescribing clinician identifiable through public listings. When we also considered treatment need, opioid high-risk counties tended to be overrepresented in the East North Central, South Atlantic, and Mountain divisions and had higher unemployment; micropolitan status was associated with lower risk of being an opioid high-risk county.

To wit, op**te use disorder treatment saves lives. Sad that there is such poor distribution of treatment.

We practice good medicine with soul. Visit our clinic and you’ll likely find Mokah tending to your comfort as much as our great clinicians and staff.

Our practice is beginning to treat severely depressed patients with ketamine. Pictured is the front of a flyer we have prepared for local therapists.

We are increasingly interested in the technology of cranial electro-stimulation provided by a small hand held device with conductors attached to the earlobes. The technology provides very low energy rhythmic electrical stimulation of the brain- the energy is so low that it is hardy perceptible. Humans tend to experience rhythm as soothing, witness our attraction to music or the gentle sound of waves lapping the shore. There is good science showing that regular use of such a device can help with anxiety, depression, and a number of other conditions. Unlike TMS (magnetic stimulation) CES devices are priced at a level that makes them financially accessible to patients for home use. The link below is heavy on the science but for non science types a quick skim of the article will give a hint of this technology's potential.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3381625/

Effects of cranial electrotherapy stimulation on resting state brain activity Cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment for insomnia, depression, and anxiety consisting of pulsed, low-intensity current applied to the earlobes or scalp. Despite empirical evidence of ...

Treatment resistant depression is a serious problem. About a third of patients do not respond adequately to two or more trials of antidepressants. Of these people, one third will attempt su***de at some point. Nasal spray Ketamine treatment can help more than half of these patients. It is a gentle, rapid acting treatment that works quickly- often within days. We think it has a role in rescuing those who are discouraged and in despair. Wellness first is now offering consultations to consider this in-office treatment.

Our practice is working up a protocol to treat patients with severe depressive symptoms who have been resistant to treatment. The new drug, Ketamine, has recently been approved by the FDA. The data are exciting. This drug works rapidly in the majority of patients with a different pharmacology than conventional antidepressants. We are providing a link to a recently aired PBS program on the topic.
https://the1a.org/audio/ #/shows/2019-04-22/depression-and-you/117295/@00:00

the1a.org Speak Freely

e-Ci******es have a lot of promise. On the one hand, some worry that they are a gateway to smoking for young people. On the other hand, for established smokers they may be one of the better tools to stop. The challenge at this point is for consumers to establish safety, in an unregulated market quality control of the solvents used in e Ci******es is spotty. So caveat emptor. Keep your eyes on the market.