Axiological dilemmas in forensic psychiatry

The position of court psychiatry, or that of a psychiatrist in the society, is linked to the social attitude to persons who are mentally ill. Currently, we see a change in the traditional perception of the role of psychiatry and the image of a psychiatrist in the society. It must be highlighted that the process involves the whole medical profession; however, psychiatrists are at the forefront. It is difficult to understand the causes of opinions without looking at the history.

Effect of cigarette smoking on duloxetine metabolism. Case study

This article presents a case of a patient, which shows that there is an interaction between cigarette smoking and duloxetine metabolism and how this connection can affect treatment efficacy.

Stress during a pandemic.How do doctors deal with it?

Doctors belong to the professional group most experienced by burnout, chronic fatigue and depression syndromes. Experiencing the pandemic crisis further increases the risk of stress and possible decompensation. The publication discusses the cognitive-behavioral aspects of coping with the current situation by doctors. It indicates the sources of stress, the importance of individual threats and distinguishes between effective and ineffective strategies for dealing with stress.

Harm reduction programs for addiction treatment

The limited effectiveness of anti-addiction pharmacotherapy encourages the introduction of so called harm reduction programs. They allow you to significantly reduce the health, social and economic damages of addicts and their families. The simplest form of harm reduction is the substitution therapy. You can use the same psychoactive substance (e.g. nicotine in patches) or give a different one (e.g. methadone vs morphine). Harm reduction programs are typically criticized for allegedly extending the addiction period. However, the experience of many countries shows that they are effectively contributing to recovery from addiction. Considering the fact that smoking is the main modifiable cause of diseases, and at the same time that there are no sufficiently effective methods of treating this addiction, the use of harm reduction programs – based on the so-called novel tobacco products – seems to be the most appropriate choice. Precedent registrations of subsequent Modified Risk Tobacco Products in the US create conditions to pragmatically replace tobacco products in which smoking occurs – other, smokeless, and at the same time less harmful.