The need to expand access to electroconvulsive therapy: a retrospective analysis of a new academic service.

Background: Studies have long described the efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT); however, access to care continues to be an obstacle to treatment. Despite national trends resulting in declining availability of ECT, a new academic service was created to serve the needs of an area with limited resources. In this study, the characteristics and outcomes of patients receiving treatment during the first year of a new ECT program were assessed.

Strategic vs nonstrategic gambling: characteristics of pathological gamblers based on gambling preference.

Background: Although prior studies have examined various clinical characteristics of pathological gambling (PG), limited data exist regarding the clinical correlates of PG based on preferred forms of gambling.

Methods: We grouped patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling into 3 categories of preferred forms of gambling: strategic (eg, cards, dice, sports betting, stock market), nonstrategic (eg, slots, video poker, pull tabs), or both. We then compared the groups' clinical characteristics, gambling severity (using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Modified for Pathological Gambling, the Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale, and time and money spent gambling) and psychiatric comorbidity.

Paraphilias in adult psychiatric inpatients.

Background: The goal of the present study was to examine the prevalence of paraphilias in an adult inpatient psychiatric population.

Methods: One hundred twelve consecutive, voluntarily admitted, adult male psychiatric inpatients were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, Sexual Disorders Module, Male Version, to assess the rates of DSM-IV paraphilias.

Results: Fifteen patients (13.