When a patient presents with depression, how is it possible to determine whether serious mental illnesses such as first-episode psychosis are unfolding? In this video, Dr. Lillian M. Beard, who practices pediatrics in Silver Spring, Md., discusses the case of an 18-year-old male with thoughts of suicide whose situation was exacerbated by poor continuity of care.
“From the crisis center, [the patient] was admitted to a hospital, but there wasn’t a follow-up,” Dr. Beard says.
This discussion between Dr. Beard; Dr. Lorenzo Norris, cohost of Mental Health Consult and medical director of psychiatric and behavioral services at George Washington University Hospital, Washington; and Dr. David Pickar, adjunct professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, explores how these kinds of circumstances might affect the patient’s case, as well as other clinical considerations that should help guide referral.