FOCUS The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry
January 1, 2018
Albert Yeung, Jessie S. M. Chan, Joey C. Cheung et al.
166 citations
Qigong and Tai-Chi, traditional Chinese self-healing exercises combining coordinated posture, deep breathing, meditation, and mental focus, improve psychological well-being and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to clinical studies including randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses. These meditative movements, which share elements with mindfulness meditation, may work by anchoring attention to interoceptive sensations, enhancing nonreactivity to aversive thoughts. Slow movements and slowed breathing could alter the autonomic system, restoring homeostasis and shifting balance toward parasympathetic dominance, while also attenuating stress-related hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity. Effects on emotion regulation may involve changes in prefrontal regions, the limbic system, the striatum, or gene expression linked to inflammation and stress pathways.
Journal of personality disorders
April 1, 2025
Albert Yeung, Michael Alpert, David Mischoulon
3 citations
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) involves impulsivity, emotional instability, and perceptual symptoms, and is often complicated by co-occurring conditions like depression. This case study describes ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) for a patient with both BPD and depression. KAP combines ketamine's antidepressant and psychedelic effects with psychotherapy, relying on the patient's inner healing intelligence and the therapist-patient relationship. Positive outcomes suggest that further systematic research into KAP for BPD and other personality disorders is warranted.
Sleep medicine
June 24, 2025
Fan Feng, Hui Guo, Grace A Ding et al.
2 citations
Narcolepsy, a sleep disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations, often reduces social functioning and quality of life. While medications can improve symptoms, they carry side effects like headaches, dizziness, and insomnia. Meditation, a non-pharmacological practice that regulates attention and emotion, may offer a viable alternative. This review introduces meditation's conceptualization and applications, and examines potential mechanisms and existing evidence for its use in reducing narcolepsy symptoms, including excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and overweight.
Psychiatry Research Case Reports
May 22, 2026
Albert Yeung, Huiqiong Deng, Wendy Feng et al.
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) may offer a viable treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Asian American patients, who face cultural barriers such as stigma and collectivist values that complicate mental health care. In a case study of a 26-year-old Asian American woman with chronic PTSD from childhood abuse and neglect, 11 intramuscular ketamine sessions (mean dose 88.2 mg) over eight months, paired with integration therapy, led to symptom improvement on standardized measures (PCL-5, PHQ-9, GAD-7). The patient's choice to work with an Asian therapist highlighted the importance of cultural concordance. KAP remains understudied in Asian communities.
The Journal of clinical psychiatry
April 5, 2023
Albert Yeung, Guy Sapirstein, Laura D Crain et al.
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is most commonly defined by at least two prior treatment failures with adequate dose and duration, though consensus is lacking. A clinical case illustrates a patient with long-standing depression and inadequate treatment response, where persistent self-criticism appears to drive unrelenting symptoms, intense anger, self-doubt, and self-disapproval. The article explores potential causes of self-criticism, its impact on depression and help-seeking, and plausible treatment approaches.