Providing crisis care in a pandemic: a virtual based crisis stabilization unit.

Background: Winnipeg, Canada operates a 16-bed subacute unit, the Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU), for voluntary patients in crisis not requiring hospital admission. The virtual CSU (vCSU) launched in March 2020 as an adjunct to the in-person CSU during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing the same resources virtually, allowing patients to remain at home.

Methods: Program data were collected for vCSU admissions between April 1, 2020 and April 7, 2021 ( = 266) to examine patient characteristics and discharge outcomes.

Virtual Acute Psychiatric Ward: Evaluation of Outcomes and Cost Savings.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic motivated rapid expansion of virtual care. In Winnipeg, Canada, the authors launched a virtual psychiatric acute care ward (vWARD) to divert patients from hospitalization through daily remote treatment by a psychiatry team using telephone or videoconferencing. This study examined vWARD patient characteristics, predictors of transfer to a hospital, use of acute care postdischarge, and costs of the vWARD compared with in-person hospitalization.

Prevalence of hoarding behaviours and excessive acquisition in users of online classified advertisements.

An estimated 2-6% of the general population is thought to suffer from clinically significant hoarding symptoms, with 80-90% engaging in excessive acquisition. Minimal research has examined the excessive acquisition component of hoarding disorder (HD). Many individuals with HD have limited insight into their condition and are reluctant to seek help, making prevalence estimates difficult to obtain.

There is an app for that! The current state of mobile applications (apps) for DSM-5 obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and mood disorders.

Mental health apps are viewed as a promising modality to extend the reach of mental health care beyond the clinic. They do so by providing a means of assessment, tracking, and treatment through a smartphone. Given that nearly 2/3 of the American population owns a smartphone, mental health apps offer the possibility of overcoming treatment barriers such as geographic location or financial barriers.