Publications on Mental Health Topics

After Terror Attack Like Brussels, Parents Can Play Key Role So Kids Aren't Traumatized, Experts Say, by Gillian Mohney, ABC News, Mar 23 2016.

“The deadly attacks in Brussels have produced another wave of frightening headlines, videos of the bombing and new stories about victims injured or killed in the incidents. The effect can be traumatizing for children or adolescents who are trying to make sense of what has happened, but experts said parents can help to ease the shock of confronting such devastating news. Russell Jones, a professor of psychology at Virginia Tech and a trauma expert, said a key thing to remember is that children will mimic the behavior and attitudes of adults around them. ”

Probing The Complexities Of Transgender Mental Health, by Tara Haelle, NPR, Mar 23 2016.

“Experiencing the world as a different gender than the one assigned to you at birth can take a toll. Nearly all research into transgender individuals' mental health shows poorer outcomes. A new study looking specifically at transgender women, predominantly women of color, only further confirms that reality. What's less clear, however, is whether trans individuals experience more mental distress due to external factors, such as discrimination and lack of support, or internal factors, such as gender dysphoria, the tension resulting from having a gender identity that differs from the one assigned at birth. ”

How Our Intolerant Society Contributes to LGBT Mental Disorders, by Neal Broverman, Advocate, Mar 18 2016.

“Study after study shows LGBT Americans suffer from mental health disorders at rates far exceeding heterosexual people — depression strikes gay men at six times the rate of straight men; nearly half of transgender people encounter symptoms of anxiety and depression; lesbians and bisexual women also deal with higher rates of mental health struggles than their straight sisters, with bisexual women faring even worse than lesbians. LGB youth are four times more likely, and questioning youth three times more likely, to attempt suicide as their straight peers; 41 percent of transgender people have attempted to end their lives. Health professionals see a direct parallel between these findings and government-backed prejudice. ”

Youngest kids in class have higher risk of ADHD diagnosis, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Mar 16 2016.

“Parents of children with birthdays right before the cutoff date for school enrollment often worry these kids will struggle academically and socially with being the youngest and smallest in class. Now, parents can add another concern to the list – higher odds that their child will be diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and put on medication. ”

The Best Way to Fight With a Teenager, by Lisa Damour, The New York Times, Mar 16 2016.

“When raising teenagers, conflict usually comes with the territory. A growing body of research suggests that this can actually be a good thing. How disagreements are handled at home shapes both adolescent mental health and the overall quality of the parent-teenager relationship. Not only that, the nature of family quarrels can also drive how adolescents manage their relationships with people beyond the home. ”

Meditation Plus Running as a Treatment for Depression, by Gretchen Reynolds , The New York Times, Mar 16 2016.

“Meditating before running could change the brain in ways that are more beneficial for mental health than practicing either of those activities alone, according to an interesting study of a new treatment program for people with depression. ”

Centers to Treat Eating Disorders Are Growing, and Raising Concerns, by Erica Goode, New York Times, Mar 14 2016.

“The rapid growth of the industry — there are more than 75 centers, compared with 22 a decade ago, according to one count — has been propelled by the Affordable Care Act and other changes in health insurance laws that have increased coverage for mental disorders, as well as by investments from private equity firms. But the advertising and the profusion of centers, which typically cost $1,000 a day but can run much higher, is raising concerns among some eating disorders experts, who worry that some programs may be taking advantage of vulnerable patients and their families. ”

Everything You Need to Know About the New Massachusetts Opioid Law, by Garrett Quinn , Boston Daily, Mar 14 2016.

“"The bill will not end the opioid epidemic, but it does create some public tools to help make inroads in the fight against heroin and prescription drug addiction. The bill addresses all stages of the crisis: education, prevention, intervention, and recovery. " ”

Autism—It's Different in Girls, by Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, Mar 1 2016.

“One in 68 children in the U.S. is affected by autism—but new research suggests that current diagnostic methods overlook girls, meaning even more kids may be on the spectrum.  Behavioral and preliminary neuroimaging findings suggest autism manifests differently in girls. Notably, females with autism may be closer to typically developing males in their social abilities than typical girls or boys with autism.  Girls with autism may be harder to diagnose for several reasons, including criteria developed specifically around males and overlapping diagnoses such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or anorexia. ”

Reducing Mental Health Risk for Kids in Military Families, by Michael O. Schroeder , Feb 28 2016.

“"Resilience training found to be an effective prevention strategy in parents, kids." ”

An Insurance Penalty From Postpartum Depression, by Ron Liever, The New York Times, Feb 26 2016.

“In January, a government-appointed panel recommended that all pregnant women and new mothers be screened for depression. Public health advocates rejoiced, as did untold numbers of women who had not known that maternal mental illness even existed before it hit them like a freight train. But the panel did not mention one possible consequence of a diagnosis: Life and disability insurance providers have sometimes penalized women with these mental illnesses by charging them more money, excluding mental illness from coverage or declining to cover them at all. And it’s perfectly legal. ”

More Overdose Deaths From Anxiety Drugs, by Roni Caryn Rabin , The New York Times, Feb 25 2016.

“Fatal prescription-drug overdoses in the United States have increased sharply in recent years. But while most of the deaths have involved opioid painkillers like oxycodone, a new study suggests that anti-anxiety medications now are playing an outsize role in overdose deaths. The number of Americans filling prescriptions for anti-anxiety drugs — benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax that are used to treat anxiety, panic disorders and insomnia — increased 67 percent between 1996 and 2013, the study found. But the rate of overdose deaths involving these drugs increased more than fourfold. ”

A child with ADHD and a habit of lying doesn’t need to be punished. She needs compassion., by Meghan Leahy , The Washington Post, Feb 24 2016.

“In neurotypical children, lying appears in 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds, and if the child is not punished for it, it will usually go away on its own. But having an ADHD child who is also intense changes everything. Your ADHD child is facing some challenges that are resulting in more misbehavior and more lying, and we can help her with this. By virtue of her brain feeling more (the intensity) and her impulse issues (ADHD), your daughter is going to walk into trouble over and over. Her prefrontal cortex (pretty immature in even the average 6-year-old) is overloaded with sensory information. Before her brain can even sort through consequences, empathy and compassion, her body has acted. The train has left the station. ”

PTSD in Refugees, by Elisa E. Bolton, PTSD: National Center for PTSD: US Department of Veteran Affairs, Feb 23 2016.

“n 2002, the U.S. Committee for Refugees estimated that there were 14.9 million refugees and 22 million internally displaced persons in the world. This escalating international crisis has developed over the past 60 years as organized political violence has increasingly targeted civilian populations. These refugees are men, women, and children, from virtually every income level and living arrangement. As refugees they have often left behind their livelihood, their communities, and most of all of their possessions. Although a large number of the individuals adjust well, many suffer significant psychological distress as a result of their exposure to traumatic events and the hardships associated with life as a refugee. ”

Parents' anxiety, depression may lead to kids being fussy eaters, by Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters, Feb 22 2016.

“Preschoolers are more likely to be fussy eaters if a parent had anxiety or depression during pregnancy or early in the child's life, suggests a new study from the Netherlands. ”