Scott Alexander offers a detailed guide on navigating the inpatient mental health system, balancing caution with the importance of seeking necessary treatment. Longer summary

Scott Alexander provides a comprehensive guide on navigating the inpatient mental health system, covering topics from avoiding involuntary commitment to getting the best care possible when hospitalized. He discusses strategies for interacting with mental health professionals, understanding hospital procedures, and protecting one's rights. The post balances the need for caution with the importance of seeking necessary treatment, offering practical advice for patients and their loved ones. Shorter summary

Scott reflects on his psychiatry residency experiences, discussing the realities of psychiatric hospitals, patient care challenges, and his transition to outpatient work. Longer summary

Scott reflects on his experiences halfway through his four-year psychiatry residency. He discusses the unexpected orderliness of psychiatric hospitals, the limitations of short-term psychiatric care, and the challenges of dealing with patients' requests and complaints. He contrasts the security theater aspect of inpatient care with the actual therapeutic benefits, noting that many patients don't find their hospital stay helpful. Scott expresses his exhaustion from constant moral self-questioning and looks forward to transitioning to outpatient work. He concludes by sharing his concerns about outpatient psychiatry, wondering if he might be useless or if the job is more difficult than it seems, given the mistakes he's observed in other outpatient psychiatrists. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes online drug ratings, finding patients prefer older antidepressants while doctors prefer newer ones, and explores potential explanations for this paradox. Longer summary

Scott Alexander analyzes patient ratings of antidepressants from online databases, finding that older drugs like MAOIs are rated higher than newer ones. He then compares this to doctor ratings, discovering a negative correlation between patient and doctor preferences. The post explores possible explanations for these paradoxical results, including confounding factors and the hypothesis that newer antidepressants may actually be less effective. Scott extends the analysis to other drug classes, finding the negative doctor-patient correlation holds broadly, while the preference for older drugs is specific to psychiatric medications. Shorter summary