Publications on Mental Health Topics

In one first-grade classroom, puppets teach children to 'shake out the yuck', by Cory Turner, NPR, Nov 11 2022.

“The five-minute video students watch is part of a series produced through a new pilot program called Feel Your Best Self, or FYBS. Each video is built around a simple strategy to help kids recognize and manage their feelings – or to help friends who are struggling.  "It's taking what we know works," says Emily Iovino, a trained school psychologist who is part of the FYBS team.  What works, Iovino says, is something called cognitive behavioral therapy, which involves all sorts of practical skill-building, including learning to change negative thinking patterns, better understand others' motivations and face fears that may fuel unhealthy avoidance behaviors.  It may sound simple, but Iovino says, it's a strategy known as "cognitive restructuring, which is teaching someone how to recognize an emotion, name that emotion, and then be able to work to shift thoughts – to feel something different." While the videos may be steeped in research, they sport kid-friendly names like "Float Your Boat" and "Chillax In My Head," and spotlight puppet heroes CJ, Mena and Nico, who are rendered in warm purples and reds, with emotive smiles and saucer eyes reminiscent of "Sesame Street."  Denoya, the first-grade teacher at Natchaug Elementary, has seen it firsthand: Kids returned from the pandemic with missing or rusty social and emotional skills. They had trouble sharing, learning how to take turns and dealing with disappointment.  "There's just things that they missed out on with not having that socialization, and so we need to find a place to teach it at school too," Denoya says. ”

The rate of alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. rose 30% in the first year of COVID, by The Associated Press, NPR, Nov 5 2022.

“The rate of deaths that can be directly attributed to alcohol rose nearly 30% in the U.S. during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new government data.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had already said the overall number of such deaths rose in 2020 and 2021. Two reports from the CDC this week provided further details on which groups have the highest death rates and which states are seeing the largest numbers.  "Alcohol is often overlooked" as a public health problem, said Marissa Esser, who leads the CDC's alcohol program. "But it is a leading preventable cause of death."  The rate of such deaths had been increasing in the two decades before the pandemic, by 7% or less each year.  In 2020, they rose 26%, to about 13 deaths per 100,000 Americans. That's the highest rate recorded in at least 40 years, said the study's lead author, Merianne Spencer. ”

Magic mushroom compound shows promise as depression treatment in key study, by Natalie Grover, Reuters, Nov 4 2022.

“The main psychoactive ingredient found in magic mushrooms can significantly reduce symptoms of difficult-to-treat depression, data from the largest clinical trial ever to test the keenly-watched compound has found.  The mid-stage study, conducted by the London-based and Nasdaq-listed COMPASS Pathways , involved 233 patients with so-called treatment-resistant depression who have failed to benefit from at least two antidepressants.  Data published in a medical journal showed that patients who were given the 25 mg dose of psilocybin had statistically significant lower levels of depressive symptoms three weeks after the treatment than people treated with lower doses.  Additionally, about 29% of patients in that group achieved remission on a standardised depression scale.  Given these patients have limited treatment options and face stigma around depression, these findings are a step in the right direction, said Rucker. ”

10 ways to get mental health help during a therapist shortage, by Lindsey Bever, The Washington Post, Oct 29 2022.

“Anxiety and depression have been on the rise in the United States since the start of the pandemic. This has led to a crisis in mental health that has been worsened by the shortage of mental health counselors.  A significant number of mental health professionals are not accepting new clients. Others have long waiting lists.  The Washington Post asked mental health professionals what advice they would give people who are struggling to find a therapist. About 300 experts from across the country responded with advice on getting an appointment — and tips on what people can do in the meantime to try to help themselves. Here are their recommendations. ”

Trans inmates need access to gender-affirming care. Often they have to sue to get it, by Jaclyn Diaz , NPR, Oct 25 2022.

“Health experts and attorneys for civil rights groups, as well as incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, told NPR that getting reliable gender-affirming care in prison seems to often come only after threats of lawsuits or an all-out legal fight. Prisons that do provide gender-affirming care can often still be inconsistent, regardless of policies on the books.  "Prisons oftentimes refuse to treat transgender people consistent with their gender. And they also refuse to provide medically necessary health care," Taylor Brown, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, told NPR. Gender-affirming care can include "puberty suppression, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries among others," according to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.  Access to this care is considered medically necessary to treat gender dysphoria. Without it, individuals can struggle severely with mental health issues such as heightened anxiety and depression, with some turning to self-harm and suicide. ”

With homicide a leading cause of maternal death, doctors urged to screen pregnant women for domestic violence, by Jacqueline Howard, CNN, Oct 20 2022.

“Two researchers are urging health-care providers to educate and screen pregnant women about intimate partner violence, as women in the United States are more likely to be murdered during pregnancy or postpartum than to die of common obstetric causes such as high blood pressure, hemorrhage or sepsis.  Other research suggests that they are also at higher risk of homicide than women who are not pregnant.  Pregnancy-related homicides are often linked to domestic violence and firearms – but they are preventable, Rebecca Lawn and Karestan Koenen of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health wrote in an editorial published Wednesday in the medical journal BMJ. ”

519 US service members died by suicide in 2021, Pentagon says, by Ellie Kaufman and Paul LeBlanc, CNN, Oct 20 2022.

“A new report from the Pentagon found that 519 US service members died by suicide in 2021, a decrease from the 582 cases in 2020.  The 519 deaths last year involved active-duty, reserve, and National Guard members.    The largest decrease in suicides among service members occurred among active-duty service members, the data showed. In 2021, 328 active-duty service members died by suicide compared to 384 active-duty service members in 2020.  There was less of a decrease among reserve and National Guard service members. Seventy-four reserve members died by suicide in 2021 compared to 77 in 2020.According to the data, 117 National Guard members died by suicide in 2021 compared to 121 in 2020.  While 2020 saw the suicide rate for active-duty service members increase by 9.1%, the 2021 rate was similar to 2019, the report said.  Still, despite the decrease from 2020 to 2021, the overall suicide rate per 100,000 active-duty service members has slowly increased from 2011 to 2021, the report said. ”

‘You Don’t Look Anorexic’, by Kate Siber, The New York Times, Oct 18 2022.

“In that 2013 edition, a new diagnosis appeared — atypical anorexia nervosa — after health care providers noticed more patients showing up for treatment with all the symptoms of anorexia nervosa except one: a significantly low weight. Those with atypical anorexia, doctors observed, suffer the same mental and physical symptoms as people with anorexia nervosa, even life-threatening heart issues and electrolyte imbalances. They restrict calories intensively; obsess about food, eating and body image; and view their weight as inextricably linked to their value. They often skip meals, eat in secret, adhere to intricate rules about what foods they allow themselves to consume and create unusual habits like chewing and spitting out food. Others exercise to the point of exhaustion, abuse laxatives or purge their meals. But unlike those diagnosed with anorexia, people with atypical anorexia can lose significant amounts of weight but still have a medium or large body size. Others, because of their body’s metabolism, hardly lose any weight at all. To the outside world, they appear “overweight.”  Starting in the mid-2000s, the number of people seeking treatment for the disorder rose sharply. Whether more people are developing atypical anorexia or seeking treatment — or more doctors are recognizing it — is unknown, but this group now comprises up to half of all patients hospitalized in eating-disorder programs. Studies suggest that the same number of people, even as many as three times as many, will develop atypical anorexia as traditional anorexia in their lifetimes. One high estimate suggests that as much as 4.9 percent of the female population will have the disorder. For boys, the number is lower — one estimate was 1.2 percent. For men, it is likely even lower, though little research exists. For nonbinary people, the number jumps to as high as 7.5 percent.  Across the board, the pandemic exacerbated eating disorders, including typical and atypical anorexia, through increased isolation, heightened anxiety and disrupted routines. Hospitals and outpatient clinics in the United States and abroad reported the number of consultations and admissions doubling and tripling during Covid lockdowns, and many providers are still overbooked. “Almost all of my colleagues, we’re at capacity,” says Shira Rosenbluth, an eating-disorder therapist who specializes in size- and gender-diverse clients. They are seeing clients who practice more extreme food restriction and experience more intense distress around body image and eating habits. “The demand has increased, the level of severity has increased,” Rosenbluth says. “We’ve never seen waiting lists like this for treatment centers.” ”

On #dementia TikTok, family caregivers find support and bring the disease to light, by Kate Wells, NPR, Oct 11 2022.

“Caregivers for people with dementia have flocked to social media, but TikTok has been an especially helpful platform. Content with the hashtag "dementia" has already racked up more than 4 billion views on TikTok, as younger generations, already accustomed to sharing their lives online, now find themselves caring for aging loved ones — often with little preparation and no idea how to actually do that.    The task of caring for people with dementia usually falls on family members. Every year, an estimated 16 million Americans provide more than 17 billion hours of unpaid care for family or friends suffering from Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, according to the CDC. About two-thirds of these caregivers are women.  "Here in the United States, unfortunately, there is not a very strong system of paid support for people with dementia," says Elena Portacolone, an associate professor who studies aging and cognitive impairment at UCSF's Institute for Health & Aging. "And so the most common way of supporting persons with dementia is the daughter." ”

Long waiting lists, long drives and costly care hinder many kids’ access to mental health care, by Brenda Goodman, CNN, Oct 6 2022.

“Norris is one of more than 2,000 adults surveyed this summer by CNN and the Kaiser Family Foundation about mental health issues in America. The nationally representative sample included more than 500 parents.  Nearly half of those parents, 47%, say the pandemic has negatively affected their kids’ mental health, with 17% saying it had a major negative impact.  More than 8 out of 10 parents said they’re at least somewhat worried about depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug use negatively affecting the life of US teens, while roughly three-quarters said they were worried about self-harm or pandemic-related loneliness and isolation.  More than 4 in 10 said they were very worried about alcohol and drug use, anxiety and depression affecting teens. Lower-income parents – those making less than $40,000 a year – were more likely than those in higher-income households to say they’re very worried about self-harm, eating disorders, depression and alcohol and drug use.  According to the survey, more than half of Americans (55%) think most children and teenagers in the US aren’t able to get the mental health services they need. ”

4 emotional workouts to help you feel empowered and promote resilience, by Juli Fraga, The Washington Post, Sep 28 2022.

“As the pandemic continues, so does the mental health crisis. Many of us are struggling with the grief and trauma the coronavirus unleashed, as well as stressors such as mass shootings and climate change. With so much suffering, there is a greater need for therapy, but many psychotherapists — myself included — can’t meet the rising demand.  One possible solution, says clinical psychologist Emily Anhalt, is to add an “emotional workout” to your self-care regimen. “Just like working out prevents high blood pressure and heart disease, emotional fitness can be a proactive stance toward stress management,” says Anhalt, the co-founder of Coa, a gym for mental health.  Self-care tools can be helpful, especially when barriers such as high-deductible insurance plans, high co-pays and living in remote areas can make mental health care difficult to afford or access. And while the pandemic isn’t solely to blame for the lack of therapists, it’s certainly made things worse, says Vaile Wright, the senior director of health-care innovation at the American Psychological Association.  With too few mental health resources, we need innovative ways to make psychological care more accessible, she says. If you’re waiting to see a therapist, can’t afford mental health care or have recently finished therapy, emotional exercises are one way to strengthen your psychological muscles. While these workouts aren’t meant to replace individual or group therapy, Anhalt says they can promote resilience and help you feel empowered. ”

4 emotional workouts to help you feel empowered and promote resilience, by Juli Fraga, The Washington Post, Sep 28 2022.

“Self-care tools can be helpful, especially when barriers such as high-deductible insurance plans, high co-pays and living in remote areas can make mental health care difficult to afford or access. And while the pandemic isn’t solely to blame for the lack of therapists, it’s certainly made things worse, says Vaile Wright, the senior director of health-care innovation at the American Psychological Association.  With too few mental health resources, we need innovative ways to make psychological care more accessible, she says. If you’re waiting to see a therapist, can’t afford mental health care or have recently finished therapy, emotional exercises are one way to strengthen your psychological muscles. While these workouts aren’t meant to replace individual or group therapy, Anhalt says they can promote resilience and help you feel empowered. ”

Youth Mental Health Was Declining in the U.S. Long Before COVID-19, by Brian Mastroianni, Healthline, Sep 26 2022.

“There have been several studies that have zeroed in on the state of mental health for young people today, both in the United States and around the world.  Now, a recent report is shedding light on mental health trends for children and adolescents, giving clarity to the fact that a lot of these problems (while exacerbated by the global pandemic) have been present before the emergence of the coronavirus outbreak and likely will continue to be a major issue as it subsides.  Experts say research like this is important in providing a pathway for educators, policymakers, and parents and guardians alike to provide better systems of support and interventions for young people as they encounter the realities impacting their mental health today. ”

In a first, health panel calls for routine anxiety screening in adults, by Rachel Zimmerman, The Washington Post, Sep 20 2022.

“The draft recommendations, from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, are designed to help primary care clinicians identify early signs of anxiety during routine care, using questionnaires and other screening tools.   Anxiety disorders are often unrecognized and under detected in primary care: One study cited by the task force found the median time for initiating treatment for anxiety is a staggering 23 years.  ”

Nothing seemed to treat their depression. Then they tried ketamine., by Meryl Kornfield, The Washington Post, Sep 12 2022.

“Researchers said the study could offer a greater understanding of the drug’s long-term potential for treating people with depression, and more hope amid a mental health crisis that has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. Ketamine is just one of a variety of psychedelics, including “magic” mushrooms and ecstasy, that people are turning to for relief amid a greater public acceptance and growing field of research.  Patrick Oliver, the study’s lead researcher and the medical director of MindPeace Clinics, said ketamine therapy could become a mainstream solution to depression and potentially other mental disorders that have long been undertreated. Nearly 46,000 Americans died from suicides in the United States in 2020, according to the National Center on Health Statistics.  Experts say that ketamine shouldn’t be considered the first option for people with depression or suicidal ideations, given the other medicines and therapies that have been proved effective. The study, conducted by the ketamine clinic on a self-selecting group of patients, has its limitations. Suicidal ideations decreased at least 85 percent after 15 infusions, researchers found. But the study’s authors acknowledged that there is no system to track adverse events and side effects among ketamine patients. Nurses followed up with patients by phone after their treatments and recorded two suicide attempts. Those in the field say more information is needed about the drug’s effects over a longer period with more patients — but, they add, the research is a step in the right direction for a better understanding of ketamine. ”