Brain Activity During a Panic Attack

Panic Attacks on Stage Photo by Victor Rodvang on Unsplash

An alumnus of Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Susan Turner graduated from the school in 1999 and earned the Barbara Liskin Award for Excellence in Psychiatry. Drawing upon two decades of experience as a psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Turner now conducts house calls with individuals who have limited mobility. She primarily works with patients who suffer from bipolar disorder and panic disorder.

Panic disorder is characterized by repeated and unexpected panic attacks and includes symptoms such as sweating, chest pain, hot flashes, pounding heart and shortness of breath. Individuals who experience the disorder often live in fear of their next panic attack and its worst-case repercussions. While scientists are yet to fully understand what happens in the brain during panic attacks, research has uncovered some ways in which these attacks affect cognitive functions.

In a 2010 study published in Neuropsychopharmacology, Dr. Lisa M. Shin and Dr. Israel Liberzon contested that, for people with panic disorder, the frontal cortex is ineffective in inhibiting the amygdala, which modulates panic responses and is considered one of the brain's most important elements for processing fear. As a result, their fear network, which also comprises the thalamus, hippocampus and brain stem structures, is hypersensitive to potential panic.

How Non-Lawyer Novelist Harper Lee Captured the Courtroom Atmosphere

Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons alumna Dr. Susan Turner completed her residency training at the Columbia Presbyterian and New York State Psychiatric Institute where she served as chief resident. She has since worked for the Columbia Presbyterian Day Treatment Program and the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital as a psychiatrist. During her free time, Dr. Susan Turner enjoys reading, and says her favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird.

Deemed as an astonishing phenomenon by several public figures and authors at the time of its release, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is now considered a classic in the pantheon of modern American novels. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel was notable for being able to shed light on issues such as racial injustice at a time when it was still considered taboo, especially in the South.

Mainly a courtroom drama, the novel was praised for its portrayal of the legal profession. While Lee wasn’t a lawyer herself (in fact, she attended law school but eventually dropped out), she was able to capture the atmosphere of a courtroom because she practically grew up in one. Lee’s father, A.C. Lee, was a lawyer who would frequently bring her to the Monroeville courthouse in his trials. A.C. Lee has been compared to the novel’s protagonist, Atticus Finch, as both men served as defense attorneys for African-American men who were accused of heinous crimes.

How the Turner Center for the Arts Enriches Creative Communities

An experienced psychiatrist practicing in New York City, Dr. Susan Turner uses a wide range of therapeutic strategies in her holistic approach in treating clients’ mental health challenges. In addition to her professional activities, Dr. Susan Turner is an enthusiastic supporter of the arts and is involved with the Turner Center for the Arts, which was created and funded by her family. 

Founded in memory of beloved community member and art lover Annette Howell Turner, the Turner Center for the Arts occupies a 17,000 square foot space in downtown Valdosta, Georgia. Within this expansive venue are six galleries filled with pieces by regional and national artists, as well as two permanent collections showcasing East African art and fine antique porcelain pieces from Europe. In addition to serving the residents of Valdosta, the center also provides opportunities for surrounding communities in nearby Georgia counties and northern Florida to experience, learn about, and appreciate the arts.

The Turner Center for the Arts introduces visitors to the wonder and inspiration of artistic creativity in a number of unique ways, with performances and exhibitions ranging from traveling art shows to Broadway-style musical shows. The nonprofit gallery partners with schools, businesses, and nonprofit organizations to support the arts throughout the region, regularly promoting fellow galleries, theater groups, and public art initiatives. 

The center also reaches out to aspiring artists, offering over 200 educational courses per year, as well as a number of lectures and gallery talks. For more established artists hoping to showcase their work, the center features regular contests and exhibitions such as the annual Spring Into Art event, which carries a generous cash prize. 

In addition to celebrating the arts, the center supports its community by serving as a venue for a variety of events. It has hosted business meetings, wedding receptions, and charity events, and it operates a shop where visitors can purchase handmade wares by local artists and jewelers.

American Psychiatric Association to Host 2018 Annual Meeting in May

A board-certified psychiatrist with more than a decade of experience, Dr. Susan Turner treats patients through a holistic approach that integrates supportive therapy and lifestyle changes with traditional biological therapies. Dr. Susan Turner belongs to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which will host its 2018 Annual Meeting in May. 

The APA Annual Meeting provides psychiatric professionals with the necessary tools and resources to stay ahead of advances in the field, a critical priority due to the complex nature of mental health. With a growing membership of over 36,000 psychiatrists worldwide, the APA serves as the voice and conscience of modern psychiatry, making its annual meeting a premier gathering in the profession. Meeting sessions and activities engage attendees in continual professional growth by learning from renowned authorities, earning continuing education credits, and building peer relationships. Attendees will also discover groundbreaking technologies and new therapies and treatment options. 

The 2018 meetings takes place May 5-9 in New York City. Attendance is open to mental health professionals and advocates in every aspect of the psychiatric field, from researchers and educators to practicing and consulting psychiatrists. Psychiatric residents and students may also attend. APA members and nonmembers alike may register at an early bird rate until February 6.

Mental Health Courts Reduce Recidivism, Says APA

Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Dr. Susan Turner serves patients from her New York City-based private practice. Alongside her work as a psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Turner contributes to her profession through membership in the American Psychiatric Association (APA). 

A study published in the APA’s Psychiatric Services in Advance medical journal shows mental health courts help curb recidivism among individuals with mental illness who have a prior history in the justice system. The use of these courts has grown in recent years, with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reporting that there are now approximately 350 mental health courts in operation throughout the country.

Conducted by researchers at North Carolina State University, the study showed that while participating in mental health courts for any period of time has a large impact on sentencing for repeat offenders, those who completed the programs were less likely to re-offend at all. Researchers say the results warrant further study to determine the full benefit of mental health courts.

Turner Center for the Arts Celebrates 50 Years of the Presenter Series

With an office in Manhattan, psychiatrist Dr. Susan Turner offers individualized consulting for a wide range of psychological disorders and provides holistic care that incorporates traditional biological therapies and lifestyle changes. Active in contributing to Doctors Without Borders, Dr. Susan Turner also supports the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia, which her family helped establish and fund.

In 2017, the Center is commemorating the Presenter Series’ 50th anniversary, which recognizes Lowndes/Valdosta Arts Commission Inc.’s longstanding efforts to bring major theater productions to the Valdosta community. Starting with 1967 events at the Mathis City Auditorium, the South Georgia organization presented a variety of musical acts and touring Broadway shows, including Fiddler on the Roof and Chicago.

For the 2017-18 season, the Turner Center for the Arts is organizing three highly regarded productions, including the original musical Amazing Grace and 50 Years of Rock & Roll by Neil Berg. Also being performed is A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, a comedy that received several Tony Awards, including 2014’s Best Musical recognition.

Connections Between Bipolar Disorder and Diabetes

Psychiatrist Susan Turner

As a privately practicing psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Turner maintains a sub-specialization in the treatment of co-morbid bipolar disorder and diabetes. Dr. Susan Turner understands the many interactions involved in the two conditions and is committed to creating effective treatment plans for each individual patient.

Compared to the average individual, patients with bipolar disorder are three times as likely to develop diabetes. Research has revealed that this dramatic increase stems largely from the fact that 54 to 68 percent of patients with bipolar disorder are obese or overweight. Obesity stands out as a contributing cause of metabolic syndrome, which raises a patient's risk of high blood glucose levels and in turn can lead to this development of diabetes.

Scientists have attributed this connection largely to the use of medications often prescribed to treat the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Antipsychotic and anti-epileptic medications are particularly likely to lead to weight gain, especially if the patient takes an antipsychotic alongside a mood-stabilizing pharmaceutical.

Data has also revealed that patients with both bipolar disorder and diabetes respond less effectively to treatment for either disorder. These patients tend to struggle with more severe presentations of their mental illness and are more likely to experience cognitive changes, including psychosocial challenges and abnormal energy metabolism in the brain.

Dr. Susan Turner - Princeton University Alumnus

Dr. Susan Turner - Princeton University Alumnus from Dr. Susan Turner on Vimeo.

APA’s Annual Meeting Attracts Psychiatrists from around the Globe

A New York-based psychiatrist with over 14 years of experience, Dr. Susan Turner treats patients as the owner of a private practice in New York City’s Flatiron District. Throughout her career, Dr. Susan Turner has maintained membership in the American Psychiatric Association. 

For nearly 175 years, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has been holding an annual meeting as part of its efforts to educate the psychiatric community about the latest developments in the field. Today, the APA Annual Meeting brings together mental health professionals from throughout the United States and over 50 countries for five days of learning and networking activities. 

The next APA Annual Meeting will be held May 5-9, 2018, in New York City. In early December 2017, member registration will open for the event, which will feature a range of sessions focused on the cutting-edge science and therapies that are shaping psychiatry today. 

Attendees will have the opportunity to earn continuing medical education credits as they learn from world-renowned experts and discuss psychiatric trends with their peers. The 2018 APA Annual Meeting will also include an exhibit hall featuring the latest products and services for mental health professionals.

Children's Day Unit Program at New York State Psychiatric Institute

Dr. Susan Turner

Psychiatrist Dr. Susan Turner recently served as associate medical director at Columbia Psychiatric Associates. A graduate of Columbia University, Dr. Susan Turner previously served as chief resident at New York State Psychiatric Institute.

New York State Psychiatric Institute has several different clinics to serve the needs of patients, including clinics that focus on children and adolescents. The program known as Children’s Day Unit provides outpatient services in the form of a day hospital for young people between the ages of 13 and 18 who need consistent and intense outpatient care. Some of the issues addressed include social phobias and refusal to attend school. 

Participants in the program continue their education by attending classes and earning school credits with the assistance of the New York City Board of Education. After discharge, they also have access to additional services, such as art therapy, individual and group counseling, and help with school placement.

New York State Psychiatric Institute - Residency Program

Prior to becoming an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University in New York, New York, Dr. Susan Turner attended the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, New York, where she earned her medical degree. Dr. Susan Turner began her internship and residency in psychiatry at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital as well as at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI).

Established in 1895, the New York State Psychiatric Institute is one of the first hospitals in the country to incorporate teaching and research into the care of patients dealing with mental diseases. The residency training program at NYSPI is designed for a four-year program with residents serving the first year as an internship. During the first year, interns work with patients dealing with illnesses ranging from eating disorders and addictions to children and adolescents who are experiencing everything from mood disorders to prescription and drug abuse.

American Psychiatric Association Names New President-Elect

Susan Turner

With over 13 years of experience, board-certified psychiatrist Dr. Susan Turner treats patients from her private practice in New York City. An involved professional, Dr. Susan Turner works to stay abreast of the latest developments in psychiatry through her membership in the American Psychiatric Association.

In a recent press release, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) announced that Anita Everett, MD, has been named the organization’s next president-elect. Everett, a professor of psychiatry at John Hopkins School of Medicine, is the former president of the Maryland Psychiatric Society, and she previously served the APA as chair of the Task Force on Healthcare Reform 2015 and chair of the Council on Healthcare Systems and Finance.

Dr. Everett will assume her role as APA president in May 2017 after current President-Elect Maria Oquendo, MD, serves her one-year presidential term. When she assumes the role, Dr. Everett will lead the APA in its efforts to extend behavioral health access to all Americans and promote effective treatments for individuals affected by serious mental illness.

Bipolar Disorder Linked to Faster Biological Aging

A privately practicing psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Turner treats patients who live with a broad range of singular disorders and co-morbid conditions. Dr. Susan Turner possesses particular expertise in the treatment of patients who have bipolar disorder in addition to diabetes.

The psychiatric profession has an established understanding that bipolar disorder can increase a person's risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other conditions often associated with aging. According to a recent study conducted through King's College London, this association may stem from a biological susceptibility to faster aging.

The study focused on the comparative structure of telomeres. These protective coverings are located on the edge of each DNA strand and shorten with every replication, until the telomere is short enough that replication is no longer possible. Short telomeres thus correlate with advanced biological age, which may or may not align with chronological age.

Researchers found that individuals with bipolar disorder have shorter telomeres than their non-affected counterparts, and that these patients' immediate relatives had telomeres of similar length. This finding indicates not only that there is likely to be a link between bipolar disorder and faster aging, but also that the genetic predispositions toward the two processes may be connected. 

Data also showed that patients who had taken lithium for bipolar disorder did not have notably shorter telomeres than their healthy peers, which reinforces earlier findings that the drug may help to correct rapid aging while simultaneously treating the symptoms of bipolar disorder.

American Psychiatric Association Hosted Annual Meeting in San Diego

A graduate of Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, psychiatrist Dr. Susan Turner operates a private practice in the Flatiron District in New York. To help her remain current in the field, Dr. Susan Turner maintains membership with the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

As an organization dedicated to helping others in the industry to work together and assist those dealing with mental illness, the APA also promotes education and research, represents the profession, and promotes the highest quality of care for those it serves. The APA regularly hosts meetings, conferences, and other special events so members can network, share ideas, and gain training.

One such event is its annual meeting, which has taken place each year for more than 150 years. Themed Prevention through Partnerships, the 2017 event occurred on May 20-24 at the San Diego Convention Center. Attendees had a chance to garner continuing medical education (CME) credit, visit with exhibitors, and participate in debates. The 2018 event is scheduled for May 5-9 in New York City.

Mindfulness Practice for Panic Attacks

As a privately practicing psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Turner has treated many patients with panic disorder. Dr. Susan Turner often incorporates meditation and other mindfulness techniques into the individualized treatment plans that she creates for these indivdiuals.

For the many people who struggle with panic attacks, mindfulness can help to ease feelings of franticness and bring increased calm to both body and mind. Mindfulness refers to any technique that brings the person's awareness into the present moment. For a person with panic disorder, this can mean the chance to escape racing thoughts and experience a feeling of being grounded in reality.

Mindfulness meditation works by counteracting the instinct to push away one's feelings of fear and anxiety. Many people harbor the false belief that they can rid themselves of such emotions by ingoring them. By practicing mindfulness, an indivdiual learns that it can be significantly more effective to accept a feeling, let it pass, and ground oneself in the reality of the present moment.

Many people practice mindfulness in the form of breath awareness. There are a number of ways to do this, though most focus on noticing the feeling of breathing without trying to change it. The simple act of awareness helps to deepen and regulate the breath, which can become erratic during a panic attack.

Other options for mindfulness practice include body awareness, in which the person takes notice of the sensations they feel in individual body parts. Like breath awareness, this technique requires simple, nonjudgmental acceptance of the sensations. 

Those who prefer to focus their attention elsewhere, however, may prefer mindfulness exercises that focus on awareness of their surroundings. By looking around and noticing the objective reality of trees, buildings, furniture, and other nondescript items, without assigning value or emotion to any of them, a person can escape cycling negative thoughts and excessive fear in favor of outside reality.

Bipolar Disorder and Diabetes

As a psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Turner provides holistic care to patients at her private practice in New York’s Flatiron District. In her practice, Dr. Susan Turner subspecializes in helping patients challenged by both diabetes and bipolar disorder.

When a psychiatrist diagnoses a person with bipolar disorder, it means the patient exhibits sudden shifts in mood from very ecstatic to very depressed. These shifts may coincide with activity level. During the ecstatic periods, patients can feel energized to the extent that they have difficulty calming down. During the depressed periods, patients can feel so low that they disengage from their lives.

According to research, people with diabetes demonstrate much higher risk of developing bipolar disorder. The link between the two conditions is so marked that more than half of those diagnosed with bipolar disorder also exhibit diabetes or precursors to diabetes. 

Diabetes increases the risk of life-threatening events like heart attack and stroke. On account of its prevalence among patients with bipolar disorder, heart disease ranks as a top killer in the bipolar population.

The 2017 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in San Diego

Dr. Susan Turner

A board-certified psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Turner operates a full-time private practice in New York City, where she maintains a holistic approach to treating patients. Active in her field, Dr. Susan Turner supports the American Psychiatric Association.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) and its members strive to increase the level of care and treatment available to individuals experiencing mental health issues. Through dedicated research and collaboration, the APA has produced such publications as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), now in its fifth edition. The association also furthers its mission of educating by hosting an annual meeting.

In May, the 2017 APA Annual Meeting will convene in San Diego. The theme for this year will be “Prevention through Partnerships,” and instructors and thought leaders will guide more than 450 sessions for attendees. Psychiatrists, residents, and students from around the world will have the opportunity to network, update licensures, and discover the latest advancements in their field. For more information, visit www.psychiatry.org.

Symptoms of Panic Disorder

Dr. Susan Turner

Dr. Susan Turner has practiced as a psychiatrist for more than 15 years. Now in private practice in New York City, Dr. Susan Turner developed integrated treatment plans for numerous patients who struggle with panic disorder.

Panic disorder is more than a tendency toward nervousness. It is a debilitating mental illness that causes sudden periods of intense fear that continue for minutes at the least. These periods, known as panic attacks, occur out of proportion with the presenting situation yet can cause the individual to fear for his or her life.

A patient experiencing a panic attack feels afraid and out of control. An overwhelming sense of doom can plague the mind, while the body goes through symptoms that can feel like a heart attack or other medical emergency. It is common for a panic attack to cause heart palpitations, chest pain, and trouble breathing. Some patients may feel weak or dizzy, and nausea is similarly common. In some cases, a patient may experience fever-like symptoms such as sweating or chills.

These severe and distressing symptoms leave the patient in fear of having another panic attack. This characteristic worry prompts patients to avoid places in which an attack has occurred or where they feel an attack may be likely. Although this can severely restrict a person's daily life and functioning, patients can improve significantly through treatment with psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of the two.

Dr. Susan Turner

Dr. Susan Turner is a Psychiatrist in New York, NY. 

Dr. Susan Turner - Portraits

Portraits of Dr. Susan Turner, a psychiatrist in New York, NY.

Dr. Susan Turner from Dr. Susan Turner