Looking Ahead

Photo: Martin Vloet

John Greden, M.D., the Rachel Upjohn Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, is chair of the Department of Psychiatry and executive director of the U-M Depression Center. As the Department of Psychiatry celebrates its centennial this year and the new home for the Depression Center opens its doors this fall, Greden sat down for an interview on current and future psychiatric medicine at the University of Michigan and beyond.

 

Interview by Scott Shrake

Click a question below to read John Greden's response.

As you look to the future, what breakthroughs in psychiatric medicine do you believe will occur during the next 100
years?

In 2002, you envisioned a national network of depression centers analogous to the national network of cancer and cardiovascular centers, with the U-M Depression Center
serving as a prototype. Any signs yet that this network will happen?

Tell us about the progress the Depression Center has made during the past four years.

One of the stated goals of the Depression Center is to diminish the stigma of depression. What has the center been doing toward this goal?

How much more or less common is depression than other mental disorders?

It was estimated in 2002 that 18 to 20 million Americans experience depression, but that only 3 million of those were properly diagnosed and treated. Any change in this alarming gap?

When we last talked, you said, “We don’t know enough yet to totally recognize those at risk and then prevent the first appearance of this disorder.” Have inroads been made since in pre-diagnosis of the disorder?

What can a patient visiting the Depression Center expect to happen on the first visit?

What are some specific ways in which people diagnosed with depression are stigmatized or discriminated against today, for instance, in regards to insurance?

How many people are taking antidepressants without the complement of psychotherapy that a psychiatrist or psychologist or other mental-health caregiver provides? Is this a problem?

In general, how does a psychiatrist or other physician decide which medication(s) to prescribe for depression?

Our questions have focused on depression. What advances on other psychiatric fronts are exciting to you now?

 

 

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