Two items of interest appeared in the news today, concerning two very different approaches to mental illness and its treatment. First, the musical “Next to Normal”, about a woman suffering from manic depression who undergoes electro-convulsive therapy, won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for drama. Here is a review:

http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/theater/reviews/16norm.html

Second, reporting on a gathering being held this week in San Jose, CA that is described as the “largest conference on psychedelic science held in the United States in four decades,” the New York Times ran an article about the growing interest in using hallucinogens to treat depression:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/science/12psychedelics.html