The good-news stories in medicine are early detection, early intervention. Thomas R. Insel detectionearlygood Change image and share on social
In the 1830s, Dorothea Dix revolutionized the care of people with mental illness by taking them out of jails and caring for them in asylums, later known as state hospitals. Thomas R. Insel 1830sasylumcare Change image and share on social
From wearable sensors to video game treatments, everyone seems to be looking to technology as the next wave of innovation for mental health care. Thomas R. Insel caregamehealth Change image and share on social
Nearly every business collects metrics on inventory, sales, and workplace process. Health care has been slow to measure these kinds of outcomes. Increasingly, general medicine, via either managed care or large practice settings, is improving by collecting data through electronic records and refining practice based on what works. Thomas R. Insel basebusinesscare share on social
Neuroscientists talk a lot about brain circuits. In fact, the word 'circuit' is probably misleading. We do not know where most circuits begin and end. And unlike an electrical circuit, brain connections are heavily reciprocal and recursive, so that a direction of information flow can be inferred but sometimes not proven. Thomas R. Insel beginbraincircuit share on social
For bipolar in adults, I think there's pretty good agreement about what this looks like. For bipolar in children, there is some considerable debate about where are the boundaries. At the mild end, are these just kids who are active? Is this the class clown at the very severe - is this something other than a mood disorder? Thomas R. Insel activeadultagreement share on social
Sometimes, patients with serious mental illness, just as with other serious medical illnesses, require hospitalization. In the absence of available public or private hospital beds, there are few options. Thomas R. Insel absencebedhospital share on social
We have to remain humble about our understanding of the brain, because even our most powerful tools remain pretty blunt instruments for decoding the brain. In fact, we still do not know how to decipher the basic language of how the brain works. Thomas R. Insel basicbluntbrain share on social
My philosophy is really based on humility. I don't think we know enough to fix either diagnostics or therapeutics. The future of psychiatry is clinical neuroscience, based on a much deeper understanding of the brain. Thomas R. Insel basebrainclinical share on social
Reports that online cognitive behavioral treatment can be as effective as in-person psychotherapy suggest that technology will expand access, extend the impact of a therapist, and expedite treatment for people who might not find 'seeing' a therapist acceptable. Thomas R. Insel acceptableaccessbehavioral share on social