UnDEr ThE InfLUEnCE
What puts the happy in happy hour? It may seem to be what’s in the glass, but it could be the company you’re keeping. In a recent experiment, volunteers were tested as they drank alone or as they shared drinks with another person of the same sex. The paired drinkers were not told whether their beverages contained alcohol or a placebo. Test subjects said they felt more buzzed when they were sharing drinks, even when their own “cocktail” contained no alcohol. Surprisingly, they reported feeling even more intoxicated when their partner was drinking alcohol. “The drunk person somehow ‘brought along’ a placebo-treated person,” said Matthew Kirkpatrick, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago, who reported the study with Harriet de Wit, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience, in the journal Psychopharmacology.
Imagine that! A nEw wAy To hELP fAMILIES
Clinical psychologist Christina WarnerMetzger, PhD, offers real-time coaching for parents of children ages 2 to 6 who are exhibiting disruptive behavioral issues. Warner-Metzger, PhD, is an expert on ParentChild Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and a member of the child and adolescent psychiatry team at the University of Chicago Medicine. Watching from a separate room through a video camera, Warner-Metzger observes the natural dynamic between parent and child as they engage in a play session. When critical opportunities for positive reinforcement or behavioral correction arise, she guides the parent through the use of a Bluetooth earpiece. “Through PCIT, we can teach advanced parenting techniques to try and help alleviate behavioral problems, with immediate feedback,” said Warner-Metzger, who is
Caring for Our Community CoMMUnITy oUTrEACh
Psychiatry residents at the University of Chicago Medicine spend two months with the Thresholds Mobile Assessment Unit, an outreach program for homeless people who have severe mental health issues as a result of schizophrenia, psychosis, traumatic brain injury or substance abuse. The goal is for residents to learn how to develop relationships with these vulnerable people, who often are afraid or unwilling to accept help. TELEPSyChIATry
Many communities face a shortage of psychiatrists to treat people with severe mental illness, especially children and adolescents. The University of Chicago Medicine is working toward a collaboration with a community mental health center in downstate Illinois and a family health center on Chicago’s South Side to offer telepsychiatry services. Evidence shows outcomes are as good when assessment and treatment are conducted via Internet videoconferencing as in traditional office visits.
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one of only 18 PCIT International Certified Master Trainers worldwide. PCIT has also begun to show promise in helping children with mood, anxiety or attention issues, as well as autism spectrum disorder. uchospitals.edu/physicians/ christina-warner-metzger.html
hEADS UP
Young athletes and others who have had concussions can be evaluated at the University of Chicago Medicine’s neurosurgery concussion clinic before returning to sports or activities. The clinic is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine on the Hyde Park campus. AT ThE forEfronT
The University of Chicago’s designated Center of Excellence in Gambling Research focuses on a multidisciplinary approach to gambling disorders and other impulserelated addictions.