Publications on Mental Health Topics

Incorporating Community Groups Into Depression Care Can Improve Coping Among Low-Income Patients, by RAND Corporation, RAND Corporation, Jun 25 2013.

“Improving care for depression in low-income communities — places where such help is frequently unavailable or hard to find — provides greater benefits to those in need when community groups such as churches and even barber shops help lead the planning process, according to a new study. ”

Mental Health First Aid, by Lisa Miles, Psych Central , Jun 25 2013.

“The people behind Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), a relatively new program in this country, hope to educate laypeople about mental health concerns. Their focus is relatively simple: training people how to spot acute mental health symptoms in friends, neighbors and colleagues and guide them to treatment. Mental health advocacy also is rolled up in this equation. ”

Mental health clinics cited, by Chelsea Conaboy, Boston Globe , Jun 20 2013.

“Dozens of therapists who were unlicensed or improperly supervised routinely treated mentally ill patients at three clinics owned by a major provider of care to low-income people in Massachusetts, state records show. The findings last year, described in documents obtained by the Globe and filed as part of a lawsuit, highlight a two-tier system in which low-income patients often are treated by mental health workers with less training and expertise than caregivers for privately insured patients. ”

The Criminalization of Mental Illness: Crisis and Opportunity for the Justice System, Second Edition, by Slate, R.; Buffington-Vollum, J.; Johnson, W., Jun 18 2013.

Treatments of physical and mental health are coming together, by Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times , Jun 9 2013.

“As the nation seeks to extend healthcare coverage to millions of new and in many cases chronically ill patients, one of the great parallel challenges to controlling costs and improving delivery of care will be managing the mental health problems of people like Hunter. Already, about 2 million patients a year receiving care at government-subsidized community health centers also must be treated for depression, anxiety and other mental conditions, according to the National Assn. of Community Health Centers. ”

Smoking Alcohol: The Dangerous Way People Are Getting Drunk, by Alexandra Sifferlin, Time , Jun 5 2013.

“To get drunk, people are getting creative. But a new form of drinking, known as "smoking" alcohol, has doctors concerned. An individual can pour alcohol over dry ice and inhale it directly or with a straw, or make a DIY vaporizing kit using bike pumps. The alcohol of choice is poured into a bottle, the bottle is corked, and the bicycle pump needle is poked through the top of the cork. Air is pumped into the bottle to vaporize the alcohol, and the user inhales. ”

Escaping Control & Abuse: How to Get Out of a Bad Relationship & Recover from Assault, by Cooke, Kaz, Jun 3 2013.

Hundreds of Studies Back Benefits of Psychotherapy for Depression, by Rick Nauert, Psych Central , May 29 2013.

“Treatments for depression that do not involve antidepressant drugs but rather focus on different forms of psychotherapy interventions are all beneficial. The techniques, also sometimes called talk therapy, can take various iterations with no one form of therapy being better than the others, according to a study by international researchers published in PLOS Medicine. Experts believe the findings are important as they suggest that patients with depression should discuss different forms of non-drug therapy with their doctors and explore which type of psychotherapy best suits them. ”

Stress may be causing your cravings, by Amanda Enayati, CNN , May 23 2013.

“What do drug addicts, serial dieters and children from troubled homes have in common? More than you might think. Stress can play a pernicious role in triggering a vicious cycle that leaves these groups overwhelmed by uncontrollable impulses and distracted by negative feelings -- all of which may, in turn, spark subsequent cycles of relapse, bingeing and failure. Through a career that spans almost three decades, Rajita Sinha, psychologist and head of the Yale Stress Center, has sought to understand the processes underlying these stress cycles in hopes they may one day be prevented. ”

New study supports suicide 'contagion' in teens, by Saundra Young, CNN , May 21 2013.

“Having a schoolmate commit suicide significantly increases the chance that a teenager will consider or attempt suicide themselves, according to a new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). The study surveyed more than 22,000 Canadian children aged 12 to 17. They were asked if anyone in their school, or anyone they knew personally had died by suicide and if they had seriously considered attempting suicide themselves in the past year. The researchers found that the risk of suicide was magnified even if the child did not know the deceased student personally. ”

Domestically Cursed: A Story On Partnership Violence, by Amin, Renair, May 15 2013.

When Helping Hurts, by ELI J. FINKEL and FITZSIMONS, New York Times, May 10 2013.

“American parents are more involved in our children’s lives than ever: we schedule play dates, assist with homework and even choose college courses. We know that all of this assistance has costs — depleted bank balances, constricted social lives — but we endure them happily, believing we are doing what is best for our children. What if, however, the costs included harming our children? ”

Shift in Goals Improves Treatment for Severe Anorexia, by Wood, Janice, Psych Central, May 9 2013.

“A new clinical trial has found that focusing on quality of life and enhanced social adjustment, rather than weight gain, improved results for patients with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa. ”

Learn from my daughter's eating disorder, by Dr. Ismael Nuno, CNN, May 9 2013.

“In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 33% of girls in high school think they are overweight, while 56% of them said they were actively trying to decrease their weight. ”

Lack of sleep blights pupils' education, by Sean Coughlan, BBC , May 8 2013.

“Sleep deprivation is a significant hidden factor in lowering the achievement of school pupils, according to researchers carrying out international education tests. It is a particular problem in more affluent countries, with sleep experts linking it to the use of mobile phones and computers in bedrooms late at night. Sleep deprivation is such a serious disruption that lessons have to be pitched at a lower level to accommodate sleep-starved learners, the study found. The international comparison, carried out by Boston College, found the United States to have the highest number of sleep-deprived students, with 73% of 9 and 10-year-olds and 80% of 13 and 14-year-olds identified by their teachers as being adversely affected. ”