Publications on Mental Health Topics

Online insomnia therapy may help ease depression symptoms, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Feb 19 2016.

“Online therapy for insomnia may help people who also have depression manage symptoms of the mood disorder, an Australian study suggests. Researchers randomly assigned 1,149 participants to use either an online cognitive behavioral therapy program for insomnia or to follow an interactive health program that wasn’t designed to treat the sleep disorder. ”

MIT students turn their brainpower toward suicide prevention, by Collin Binkley, Associated Press, Feb 15 2016.

“The school unveiled a sweeping plan to bolster mental health last fall, adding staff psychologists and expanding counseling hours, among other measures. But students have added their own ingenuity in recent months, starting a wave of grassroots projects intended to defuse the stress of campus life before it leads to a crisis. One group of students launched a texting hotline called Lean On Me this month, letting students chat anonymously with trained student volunteers about anything that's troubling them. Other students plan to install artificial light boxes on campus, meant to treat depression that can take hold during dreary months. By her count, sophomore Izzy Lloyd has handed out more than 4,000 specially made wristbands that say TMAYD. It's short for "tell me about your day," a message that aims to get students talking with one another. Lloyd started the project last year after two of her freshman classmates took their own lives in the same week. ”

Virtual therapy 'helps with depression', researchers say, by Dominic Howell, BBC News, Feb 15 2016.

“A new therapy which involves a patient embodying themselves in a virtual reality avatar of a crying child could help with depression, research has suggested. Lead author Prof Chris Brewin said the results were promising and patients had described the experience as "very powerful". Of the 15 patients, aged between 23-61, nine recorded reduced levels of depression one month after the trial. And four of those nine reported "a clinically significant drop in depression severity". ”

Critters Cry Too: Explaining Addiction to Children, by Anthony Curcio , Feb 12 2016.

How People Learn to Become Resilient, by Maria Konnikova, The New Yorker, Feb 11 2016.

“Resilience presents a challenge for psychologists. Whether you can be said to have it or not largely depends not on any particular psychological test but on the way your life unfolds. If you are lucky enough to never experience any sort of adversity, we won’t know how resilient you are. It’s only when you’re faced with obstacles, stress, and other environmental threats that resilience, or the lack of it, emerges: Do you succumb or do you surmount? ”

Refugees In America’s Healthcare System: How Refugee Families Get The Care They Need To Build New Lives, by Lecia Bushak, Medical Daily, Feb 2 2016.

Coordinated schizophrenia treatment proves cost-effective, study says, by Marisa Taylor, Aljazeera America, Feb 1 2016.

“A new government-funded schizophrenia treatment program involving talk therapy and case management is more cost-effective in the long run than traditional treatments, which typically emphasize high doses of medication, according to a study published on Monday. The treatment, which is backed by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), is called Navigate and involves what researchers are calling coordinated specialty care for people who have recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia, which affects an estimated 3 million people in the United States. ”

Many depressed teens don’t get needed treatment, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Feb 1 2016.

“Many teens diagnosed with depression don’t immediately receive needed follow-up care even when therapy is recommended or medication is prescribed, a U.S. study suggests.   Three months after diagnosis, more than one third of the roughly 4,600 adolescents with depression in the study didn’t receive any treatment at all, and more than two thirds didn’t get a follow-up symptom evaluation with a specialist. ”

An Eating Disorder in People With Diabetes, by Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, Feb 1 2016.

“The eating disorder the young woman developed is unique to people with Type 1 diabetes and has been called diabulimia, though it is not a recognized medical condition. (People with Type 2 diabetes who take insulin do not have the same rapid response to insulin restriction.) It occurs when patients manipulate their insulin in order to purge calories, much as someone with bulimia might induce vomiting to lose weight. ”

Among high risk kids, both boys and girls are victims of dating violence, by Kathryn Doyle, Reuters, Jan 29 2016.

“For kids and teens exposed to violence at home or in the community, boys are just as likely to be seriously hurt by a romantic partner, although the risk changes with age, according to a new study. ”

Short Answers to Hard Questions About Postpartum Depression, by Pam Belluck, New York Times, Jan 26 2016.

“On Tuesday, an influential health panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, issued new recommendations for depression screening, explicitly saying that women should be screened during pregnancy and after childbirth. Here are answers to some questions about depression screening and maternal mental illness. ”

Panel Calls for Screenings During and After Pregnancy, by Pam Belluck, New York Times, Jan 26 2016.

“Women should be screened for depression during pregnancy and after giving birth, an influential government-appointed health panel said Tuesday, the first time it has recommended screening for maternal mental illness. ”

Depression in Mom or Dad Increases Risk of Premature Baby, by Nicholas Bakalar , New York Times, Jan 26 2016.

“Having a mother or father who is depressed increases the risk of preterm birth, a new study has found. Swedish researchers used data on 366,499 singleton births, and assessed whether parents had been given a diagnosis of depression or filled a prescription for antidepressant drugs between a year before conception and the end of the second trimester. ”

4 Technologies Innovating Mental Health In 2016, by Tori Utley, Forbes, Jan 25 2016.

“Mental health innovation is long overdue. With telemedicine technologies booming in the health care sector, mental health technology has been lagging behind. The unique nature of mental health services can make it difficult to develop technology that successfully intervenes in human behavior and actually creates measurable, positive outcomes. However, with advancing research and awareness geared towards mental health issues, more companies are innovating in this space than ever before. Emerging trends in recent years have the potential to completely change the health care environment for those struggling with mental health conditions. ”

Massachusetts Chief’s Tack in Drug War: Steer Addicts to Rehab, Not Jail, by Katharine Q. Seelye, The New York Times, Jan 24 2016.

“"A casually profane man with a philosophical bent, Chief Campanello, 48, first drew national attention last spring when he wrote on Facebook that the old war on drugs was lost and over. Convinced that addiction is a disease, not a crime or moral failing, he became the unusual law enforcement officer offering heroin users an alternative to prison." ”