Publications on Mental Health Topics

How Should Justice Policy Treat Young Offenders?, The MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience, Feb 2017.

Being incarcerated as a juvenile tied to poor health years later, by Andrew Seaman, Thomson Reuters Health News, Jan 23 2017.

Being incarcerated as a juvenile tied to poor health years later, by Andrew M. Seaman , Reuters, Jan 23 2017.

“People incarcerated as juveniles may have worse physical and mental health as adults than youths who did not spend time in detention centers or correctional facilities, according to a new study...The magnitude of the increased health risks was tied to the time people spent incarcerated, researchers found. About 1.3 million children under age 18 years are arrested each year, write the researchers in Pediatrics. Of those, 46 percent require some type of immediate medical attention. Additionally 70 percent of incarcerated children have at least one psychiatric disorder...'Like most things in life, the experiences they have as a young person seem to carry over into their adult years,' said Ralph DiClemente, of Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta. ”

Teens Who Get Mental Health Help Less Likely to Suffer Depression Later, by Janice Wood, Psych Central, Jan 21 2017.

“Young people with mental health problems who have contact with mental health services are significantly less likely to suffer from clinical depression later in their adolescence, according to new research. The study, published in Lancet Psychiatry, found that 14-year-olds who had contact with mental health services had a greater decrease in depressive symptoms than those with similar difficulties, but who had no contact, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge. By the age of 17, the odds of reporting clinical depression were more than seven times higher in individuals without contact than in those who did access mental health services, the study found. ”

Friends may influence children's fear and anxiety, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Jan 16 2017.

“Parents may have a lot to do with how children react to scary things, but a new study suggests kids’ response to fear may also be heavily influenced by their friends. In an experiment, researchers gave kids 7 to 10 years old information about scary-looking animals. They assessed how children felt on their own, and again after kids discussed their perceptions with friends. After speaking to friends, children tended to shift their opinions to match how their friends felt about the animals, the study found. ”

Schizophrenia Can Increase Risk of Diabetes, by Rick Nauert, PhD, Psych Central, Jan 13 2017.

“Emerging research discovers that people with early schizophrenia are at an increased risk of developing diabetes. UK researchers say the finding holds even when the effects of antipsychotic drugs, diet, and exercise are taken out of the equation...People with long-term schizophrenia are three times more likely than the general population to have diabetes...Our study highlights the importance of considering physical health at the onset of schizophrenia, and calls for a more holistic approach to its management, combining physical, and mental healthcare. ”

Helping Yourself Heal When Someone You Care About Dies of a Drug Overdose, by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D., Jan 12 2017.

“A friend or family member has died of a drug overdose. Death and grief are always hard, but when someone dies from drug use, understanding your feelings and knowing what to think and say about the death can be especially difficult. This article offers compassionate guidance for coping with your own grief as well as helping others affected by the loss.   ”

Identifying Eating Disorders Early May Be Key to Saving Lives, by Traci Pedersen, Psych Central, Jan 6 2017.

“Detecting and treating eating disorder symptoms as early as possible is key to helping prevent children from developing a potentially life-threatening eating disorder, according to a new study published in the academic journal Appetite. The researchers from Newcastle University in England found that children with more eating disorder symptoms at age nine had a higher number of symptoms at age 12...The researchers found that at age 12, boys and girls who are more dissatisfied with their bodies have greater numbers of eating disorder symptoms. ”

Parental obesity may be tied to developmental delays in kids, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Jan 5 2017.

“Kids born to obese parents may be more likely to experience certain developmental delays early in childhood, a recent study suggests. Based on parents’ reports, children with obese mothers were 67 percent more likely to have delayed fine motor skill development by age 3 compared to kids with normal or underweight mothers, even after accounting for the father’s weight, the study found. With obese fathers, children were 71 percent more likely to have deficits in personal and social skills after taking their mothers' weight into account, the study also found. ”

Key Findings: National Treatment Profile: What Types of Treatment Do Children with ADHD Receive?, by CDC, Danielson ML, Visser SN, Chronis-Tuscano A, DuPaul GJ. A national description of treatment among U.S. children and adolescents with ADHD. Journal of Pediatrics. Published online before print, November 10, 2017. , 2017.

The Tale Of Two Princes, by Joshua Desjardins (Author) and Michael Hetrick (Illustrator) , 2017.

Understanding Elderly Hoarding - Signs, Causes, and Help, by Sageminder , Online, 2017.

“Overview of Elderly hoarding  and its associated risk factors, signs/ symtoms, and ways in which to best  help someone who is struggling with horading.  ”

Hoarding Behaviors Worsen With Age, by Anne-Marie Botek, Online , 2017.

“Recent research indicates that hoarding becomes progressively worse with age. Further, there also appears to be relationship between depression and extreme hoarding, which may explain why older adults/elders experience worsening hoarding symptoms, as aging is often accompanied by symptoms congruent with depression. This article explains this association in greater detail and also provides a list of Dos and Don'ts of Treating Hoarding Behavior, specifically in regard to elders.      ”

Anxiety in Teens – How to Help a Teenager Deal With Anxiety, by Karen Young, Hey Sigmund, 2017.

“Anxiety can be tough for anyone to deal with, but add in the whirlwind of changes that come with adolescence, and anxiety can feel like an intrusive mind hog that spends way too much time squeezing, surprising and overwhelming anyone it lands on. ”

Technology and today’s vast and immensely underserved mental health population, by Adam Seabrook, TechCrunch, Dec 24 2016.

“On top of the stigmas we’ve created, we’ve also constructed a healthcare system incapable of treating all our patients because of capacity and cost constraints, favoring clinical solutions for more traditional health concerns, such as cancer and heart disease. It’s time to recognize that depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other mental health conditions are every bit as serious and debilitating as physical conditions, and address the inadequacies in the medical community’s approach to treating them. To put the problem in perspective, consider that 18.5 percent of American adults suffer from some form of mental illness. That’s nearly as many people as heart disease (11.5 percent) and cancer (8.5 percent), the two leading causes of death in the United States, combined. Imagine the public uproar if 50 percent of heart disease and cancer patients couldn’t find treatment.  ”