Michael C. LaFerney RN, PMHCNS, BC, Ph. D

Empathy vs. Emotional Reasoning -What is the Difference?

It is mind reading when one person proposes to know what another person is thinking or feeling. Emotional reasoning is defined as "a cognitive error whereby a person who is nervous or anxious resorts to emotional reactions to determine a course of action. Nurses need to be aware of this in treating patients.

Sending nursing home residents with dementia to inpatient psychiatric units - Improvement or Retrogression?

Tags: elderly care homecare nursing assistant nursing care plan Psychiatry

Looks at the overuse of sending residents of longterm care settings with dementis to inpatient psychiatric units and the impact

Punding - What is it?

Tags: adhd medication ocd parkinsons patients

Punding is a repetitive, purposeless behavior linked to excessive dopamine activity, often seen in Parkinson’s disease and stimulant use. It involves obsessive handling or assembling objects and is treated by reducing dopamine-enhancing drugs or using alternative medications.

Imaginary Audience / Personal Fable - Just a Phase or More?

Tags: adolescents development disorder mental health

Presents the question: Is the imaginary audience/ personal fable stage of development a hypothetical concept, a normal stage of development, a mental disorder, or a precursor of mental health disorders that may come in early adulthood?

Clinical Depression vs. Layman's' Depression: What Nurses Need to Know

Tags: depression mental health symptoms

The general term depressed used by laymen doesn't match the medical definition used by Nursing. How to distinguish the two.

The SSRI debate -Some thoughts

Tags: depression Psychiatry serotonin SSRI

The article takes a look at the the debate over whether depression is caused by reduced serotonin or a combination of other factors.

The role of Sunlight, Vitamin D and nature in aiding cognition in mental health

Tags: mental health sunlight vitamin d

Studies have found that low levels of Vitamin D leads to slower information processing, cognitive decline, mood disorders, and altered brain development and functioning that leads to medical issues and neuro-degenerative disorders.(1) When the patients of yesteryear were kept inside we were unwittingly worsening their mental health. How can we now aid our mental and cognitive health by using sunlight and food based Vitamin D?

Positive Psychology in psychiatric and mental health nursing practice

Tags: emotions mental health Mental Illness Psychiatry psychology

Traditionally psychiatric practice has focused on treating mental illness and what is wrong with people. Treating the symptoms of mental illness can vastly improve quality of life and functioning but the absence of a mental illness does not guarantee a life of well-being or happiness. The billable codes of the DSM-5 are utilized to identify mental illness. It does not have a code or the listing of values for the symptoms or strengths in flourishing or a well meaning life. To combat this issue positive psychology and psychiatry has addressed this issue.