Publications on Mental Health Topics

NIH Study Shows People with Serious Mental Illnesses Can Lose Weight, by National Institute of Mental Health, NIMH , Mar 21 2013.

“People with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression can lose weight and keep it off through a modified lifestyle intervention program, a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study reported online today in The New England Journal of Medicine. ”

What About the Victim: The Steubenville Rape Victim�s Recovery, by Maia Szalavitz, Time , Mar 20 2013.

“"We do know that the more severe the traumatic experience is, the more severe the reaction will be," says Edna Foa, a professor of clinical psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and a leading expert on trauma. Rape, regardless of the level of physical force involved, is always traumatic, although, fortunately, the vast majority of people who suffer trauma do not develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ”

Why and How to Be a Therapist for the Intellectually Disabled, by Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D., PsychCentral, Mar 18 2013.

“For many, many years, people believed that people with intellectual disability (ID) could not have mental illness. Some early literature even suggests that people with ID don’t have feelings like the rest of us. Changes in mood and behavior were seen as part of the disability, not as symptoms of mental illness. In the early 1980s, Steven Reiss coined the term “diagnostic overshadowing” to describe this phenomenon. He noted that intellectual disability was such an obvious and important characteristic that it overshadowed professionals’ perceptions to the point that they couldn’t see their client’s signs of emotional distress and illness. Those early prejudices survive in the lack of training for therapists and the lack of availability of therapeutic services today. ”

10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know, by Lesli Johnson, LMFT, The Huffington Post, Mar 13 2013.

“10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know. As an adoptee gets older, if no one is talking about adoption, we get the sense that our feelings won’t be understood or validated. I’m now a therapist myself and have worked extensively with adoptive families. In my work I strive to help this generation of adoptees, adoptive families and birth parents to have a different experience than I did. ”

Animals Bring Out Positive Social Behaviors in Kids with Autism, by Traci Pederen, Psych Central , Mar 10 2013.

“The simple presence of an animal can strongly enhance positive social behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), according to new research. For the study, researcher Marguerite E. O'Haire and colleagues from the University of Queensland, Australia, compared how children 5 to 13 years old with ASD interacted with adults and typically-developing peers in the presence of two guinea pigs compared to toys. ”

Rashness & Rumination: New Understanding About the Roots of Depression, by Maia Szalavitz, Time , Mar 8 2013.

“Two studies explore some of the developmental roots of depression in childhood and adolescence. In the first study, published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, researchers focused on depressive rumination, or the relentless focus on what has gone wrong or will go wrong, coupled with an inability to see a solution to these overwhelming problems. It's no surprise that rumination has a strong connection to depression--in fact, studies show that some talk therapies can actually make depression worse by compelling people to focus on problems and their origins, rather than guiding them toward positive solutions on what to do about them. Smith, who is also investigating some of the potential root causes of depression, reports in his study, published in Psychological Science, on an interesting connection between depression and people's tendency to act without thinking when faced with strong emotion, known among psychologists as "urgency." Although this behavior seems unrelated to depression, he and his colleagues found a surprising link. ”

Bereavement and Grief, Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation, Mar 2013.

“The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research describes the grieving process and phases of coping with a life-threatening illness, such as Alzheimer's.  ”

Raising a Biracial Child: Best Parenting Tips, by Amanda Rodriguez, TODAY.com, Mar 1 2013.

“Being different is a hard thing for a kid to accept and they won't even pretend to believe you when you say they are going to be so happy about their uniqueness one day. Keep saying it anyway: They'll know you love them and will totally fist bump you for it when they're, like, 30. ”

Adolescent Self-Harm, by Ann Hagell, Association for Young People's Health, Mar 2013.

“Self-harm is a particularly adolescent phenomenon. It does affect all age groups, but studies have consistently shown a peak in mid adolescence1 . The majority of people who self-harm are aged between 11 and 25 years.2 It is also a critical public health issue. It reflects and creates emotional distress. What do we know, and what can we do? ”

Five psychiatric disorders 'linked', by James Gallagher, BBC , Feb 28 2013.

“Autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia all share several genetic risk factors, according to a major study. Versions of four genes increased the odds of all five disorders. Researchers hope to move the psychiatry away from describing symptoms towards fundamentally understanding what is going wrong in the brain. The findings were reported in the Lancet medical journal. ”

The Psychological Effects Of Bullying Last Well Into Adulthood, Study Finds, by Alice Walton, Forbes , Feb 21 2013.

“As bullying gains more awareness from the general public, it's also gained momentum among researchers. More studies are beginning to confirm the sometimes serious psychological effects of bullying, particularly for the bullied, like increased risk for depression and anxiety; others have hinted at what might be going on in the mind of the bully. Both groups seem to be at increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The problem with many of the past studies is that they're often short-term, or in some cases, the connections between bullying and psychological health (or unhealth) seem to fade away after other variables are taken into account. ”

Can Too Much TV in Childhood Cause Adult Antisocial Behavior?, by Rick Nauert, Psych Central , Feb 19 2013.

“Emerging research suggests that children and adolescents who watch a lot of television are more likely to manifest antisocial and criminal behavior when they become adults. New Zealand researchers followed a group of around 1,000 children born in the city of Dunedin in 1972-73. Every two years between the ages of 5 and 15, researchers asked the children's parents how much television they watched. Experts then analyzed the data and discovered a small relationship in the data that suggests there is a connection between antisocial personality traits in adulthood and more television watching as a child. The researchers also found that people with a criminal conviction said that they watched more TV as a child compared to those who didn't have one. ”

Xanax 'helps me be a better mom', by Shawn Bean, CNN , Feb 18 2013.

“To deal with her depression and anxiety issues, J.D. Bailey does not use prescription drugs. She uses the delicate-fabrics setting on the dryer. Four years ago, Bailey was prescribed a low dose of Zoloft to offset the postpartum depression that followed the birth of her youngest daughter, Grace. Her doctor later switched the script to Celexa. Thus began a carousel of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Today, Bailey is not taking anything. For the past few months, her drug of choice has been five minutes in the laundry room. ”

Success in College Despite Learning Disabilities, by Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D, Psych Central , Jan 30 2013.

“10 Strategies for Success for Learning-Disabled College Students ”

How Disasters and Trauma Can Affect Children's Empathy, by Maia Szalavitz, Time , Jan 22 2013.

“Do children become more kind and empathetic after a disaster-- or does the experience make them more focus more on self-preservation? The first study to examine the question in an experimental way shows that children's reactions may depend on their age. The ability to study the altruistic and empathetic tendencies of youth before and after a natural disaster emerged after an earthquake struck in May 2008 in Mianyang, China. Scientists from the U.S. and Canada were already collaborating with Chinese researchers in the town in Sichuan province on a study of altruistic behavior when the earthquake, which measured 8.0 on the Richter scale, killed some 87,000 people, including many children. ”