Publications on Mental Health Topics

LGBTQ People With Developmental Disabilities Need Respect, Privacy, and Access to Community, by Jennifer Smith, Jun 22 2017.

“Forging healthy relationships often depends on the availability and willingness of supportive staff to facilitate such interactions. But the direct support profession is in peril, facing high turnover, low wages, limited training, and ineffective supervision, according to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The AAIDD has called for more professional development opportunities so direct support professionals can handle their increasing responsibilities. As direct support professionals are thrown into more autonomous roles without proper supervision or training, they may be unwilling to tackle touchy subjects like sexuality and gender identity ”

Exercise may stave off postpartum depression, by Carolyn Crist, Reuters, Jun 16 2017.

“Physical activity during and after pregnancy improves psychological wellbeing and may protect against postpartum depression, according to a new analysis of existing research. Even low-intensity exercise, such as walking with a baby stroller, was linked to a lower likelihood of depressive symptoms in new mothers, researchers found...Compared to women who didn’t exercise, those who did had lower scores on depression symptom tests during the postpartum period, the researchers found. The apparent benefit of having fewer depression symptoms was seen even among women who did not meet the cutoff for a depression diagnosis. ”

Meditation-based Approaches in the Treatment of PTSD, by Alexander M. Talkovsky and Ariel J. Lang, National Center for PTSD, Jun 15 2017.

“As meditation-based treatments have gained popularity, many practitioners and researchers are incorporating them in the treatment of PTSD (Libby, Pilver, & Desai, 2012). Multiple types of meditation, which differ in philosophy and practice, have been applied clinically. This line of research is in its relative infancy, but initial evidence suggests that meditation-based approaches merit continued investigation to evaluate their efficacy, mechanisms, and implementation within Department of VeteransAffairs (VA) settings. ”

Drinking in pregnancy tied to subtle changes in babies’ faces, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Jun 9 2017.

“Women who drink even a little bit of alcohol during pregnancy may be more likely than other mothers to have babies with slight facial abnormalities that have been linked to developmental problems, a recent study suggests...'We are surprised to see these differences in facial shape with low doses of alcohol exposure, which in our study was defined as two standard drinks on any one occasion and no more than seven in a week,' said lead study author Evelyne Muggli of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne in Australia. 'This means that any level of alcohol contributes to the way the face is formed and raises questions about the possible impact on brain development, which is the subject of further research,' Muggli said by email. ”

Childhood brain injury tied to adult anxiety, depression, by Madeline Kennedy, Reuters, Jun 7 2017.

“Children who sustained traumatic brain injuries may experience psychological effects like anxiety, phobias and depression more than a decade later, researchers say...Albicini’s team reports in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation that children with moderately severe brain injuries and females in general were at the greatest risk for long-term psychological effects compared with boys and children who had milder brain injuries...'These results emphasize the need to monitor children and adolescents for the development of anxiety disorders after they have a TBI,' said Dr. Jeffrey Max, a psychiatry professor at the University of California, San Diego, who wasn’t involved in the study. ”

Drug Deaths in America Are Rising Faster Than Ever, by Josh Katz, The New York Times, Jun 5 2017.

“Drug overdose deaths in 2016 most likely exceeded 59,000, the largest annual jump ever recorded in the United States, according to preliminary data compiled by The New York Times.The death count is the latest consequence of an escalating public health crisis: opioid addiction, now made more deadly by an influx of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and similar drugs. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50. Although the data is preliminary, the Times’s best estimate is that deaths rose 19 percent over the 52,404 recorded in 2015. And all evidence suggests the problem has continued to worsen in 2017. ”

After divorce, shared parenting is best for children's health and development, by Richard A. Warshak, PhD, Stat News, May 26 2017.

“We now have more than 50 studies of joint physical custody. Using different methods, and examining families in the United States and abroad, the results are encouraging: children who spend at least 35 percent time with each parent, rather than live with one and visit the other, have better relationships with their fathers and mothers and do better academically, socially, and psychologically. ”

With mental health problems, fitness is tied to reduced risk of death, Reuters, May 19 2017.

“For men experiencing emotional distress like depression, anxiety or thoughts of suicide, having high cardiorespiratory fitness may cut the risk of death in half compared to those in poor condition, researchers say...The researchers found that men with the lowest cardiovascular fitness tended to have higher weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels and were more likely to smoke and to be sedentary. In addition, men who reported more than one type of emotional distress were more common in the low-fitness group. ”

The Migrating Mind: New Studies Unlock Impact of Immigration on Mental Health, by John Watson, Medscape, May 18 2017.

“The mass migration that's characterized the young, chaotic 21st century to date is captured in numbers befitting its imposing scale. It is estimated that 244 million people (3.3% of the world's population) live outside their country of origin, of whom 65 million were forcibly displaced as a result of ongoing conflict and persecution—an all-time high for that figure.   ”

How Untreated Depression Contributes to the Opioid Epidemic, by Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, May 15 2017.

“Several researchers now believe depression, one of the most common medical diagnoses in the U.S., might be one underlying cause that’s driving some patients to seek out prescription opioids and to use them improperly...Sullivan and other researchers from Washington and California found in 2012 that depressed people were about twice as likely as non-depressed ones to misuse their painkillers for non-pain symptoms, and depressed individuals were between two and three times more likely to ramp up their own doses of painkillers. Adolescents with depression were also more likely, in one study, to use prescription painkillers for non-medical reasons and to become addicted. ”

PTSD Drugs May Hike Risk for Dementia in Vets, by Traci Pedersen, Psych Central, May 10 2017.

“Research has shown that veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at greater risk for developing dementia. Some of this risk may come from other comorbid conditions that often go along with PTSD such as traumatic brain injury, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, among others...In a new study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers discovered that taking certain medications significantly increased veterans’ risks for developing dementia, whether or not they had PTSD, compared to those who didn’t take such drugs. ”

Having adult heart risk factors in childhood tied to mental decline later, by Madeline Kennedy, Reuters, May 4 2017.

“Teens and even children with heart risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking may face midlife declines in memory and learning that are akin to an extra six years of aging, according to a Finnish study...Researchers found that people with high blood pressure and high cholesterol in their youth were likely to have worse visual memory, memory of life events and visual learning when they reached middle age. Smoking during adolescence and young adulthood was also linked to worse memory and learning in midlife. ”

More Technology Use Linked to Mental Health Issues in At-Risk Adolescents, by Alison Jones, Duke University, May 3 2017.

“More use of technology is linked to later increases in attention, behavior and self-regulation problems for adolescents already at risk for mental health issues, a new study from Duke University finds.  However, the study also found that using technology had some positive effects: On days when adolescents spent more time using digital technologies they were less likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety. ”

Are Smartphones Helping or Harming Kids' Mental Health?, by Randy Dotinga, US News and World Report, May 3 2017.

“Parents worry -- often rightly so -- about how much time their kids are spending in front of screens. Now, new research suggests that when children at risk of mental health problems spend a lot of time on smartphones or other digital technology, they're more at risk of attention and disruptive behavior issues. But the news isn't all bad. The researchers also saw a positive benefit from screen time. When kids sent more text messages on any given day, they seemed less anxious and depressed.   ”

Building families, one adoption at a time, by Heather Stringer, American Psychological Association, May 2017.

“Psychologists work with adoptive parents on a range of issues, including psychological assessments, counseling and other support they can’t get elsewhere ”