Paul Appelbaum

What do we know about how mental illness affects pretrial defendants' chances of reoffending or failing to appear for trial? Answer: Not very much. See our new article: A Scoping Literature Review of Mental Illness in Decisions Regarding Pretrial Release jaapl.org/content/early/…

🆕 New from affiliated faculty Prof. Paul Appelbaum @appelbap in Psychiatric Services: "Medical Malpractice: Coming Changes and Their Impact on Psychiatry" A major shift in malpractice standards may move away from customary care toward reasonable care. 🔗 psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/ap…

"There is an urgent need for research on strategies to manage psychiatric disorders associated with restricted reproductive health services." Learn more in this Special Communication. ja.ma/4kGFSPG @appelbap @ibzpsychphd

Our analysis of the impact of abortion restrictions on mental health in pregnancy, just out today: jamanetwork.com/journals/jamap…

Our systematic review or the literature on the psychosocial impacts of autism-related genetic testing is now online (in preprint format) at JAACAP: sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

The capacity of newborn genomic screening to identify risks for conditions without effective treatments, along with diseases that may develop much later in life, can create challenges for parents and offspring alike: nytimes.com/2025/06/05/hea…

The new American Law Institute Restatement on Medical Malpractice portends changes in how the courts assess clinician liability, with more emphasis on evidence-based care. Neil Kaye and I discuss here: psychiatryonline.org/doi/epdf/10.11…

Most firearms used in mass shootings in the US are legally acquired--and legal guns are associated with higher number of fatalities. Another reason why focusing exclusively on illegal possession won't stop the violence epidemic. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/15…

Flying under the radar, HHS announces it no longer intends to enforce mental health insurance parity rules. The inevitable result: markedly reduced access to treatment. statnews.com/2025/05/13/hhs… via @statnews

📷 No one dies of "complications of schizoaffective disorder." Disturbing questions about the quality of care rendered people in ICE custody, including people with mental illness: miamiherald.com/news/local/imm…

In this new article, @StephRolinMD and I review the expansion of liability for colleges and universities in addressing students with mental health issues: rdcu.be/ekaDC

Watch the recording of our April Ethics Grand Rounds: The Geneticization of Education and Its Bioethical Implications with Lucas J. Matthews, PhD (@lucasjmatthews) and Paul Appelbaum, MD (@appelbap). ▶️ Watch here: mhe.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/ethics-gr…

To what extent should childhood abuse be taken into account in sentencing for murder of the abuser? The Menendez brothers' case is dealing with exactly that question: thefp.com/p/the-menendez…

TOMORROW: Join us online at 12pm ET for Ethics Grand Rounds: The Geneticization of Education and Its Bioethical Implications with Lucas J. Matthews, PhD (@lucasjmatthews) and Paul Appelbaum, MD (@appelbap). Register here: ow.ly/NV5q50VmjF8

A study of AI chatbots for treatment of mental disorders has gotten attention recently, but we should restrain our enthusiasm until some key questions are answered: selection bias? appropriate control? duration of effect? human supervision required? medscape.com/viewarticle/me…

Social isolation and loneliness are common problems that bring people into psychiatric treatment--and are widely prevalent elsewhere as well. Clinicians need to pay more attention to these factors and help patients break the cycle of isolation. medscape.com/viewarticle/lo…

A fascinating and terrifying look inside the chaos at NIH--and an answer to the question of why, despite court orders, grant funding has not started flowing again: theatlantic.com/health/archive…

[Off-topic alert] The loss of geographic mobility in America and its effect on economic prosperity, social solidarity, and political polarization. The Atlantic's March cover story, adapted from my son Yoni's new book: theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

Stand Columbia estimates that a 15% indirect cost rate on federal grants would cost Columbia at least $114-202 million. “To put a finer point on it, we believe the scale of now-endangered ICR funds create and sustain over 1,000 jobs, or over 6% of our non-faculty workforce.”