Publications on Mental Health Topics

Schizophrenics may do better with earlier, team-based care, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, May 16 2018.

“People with schizophrenia who are treated early in their disease course, with extra support in addition to drugs and psychotherapy, may do better than they would with usual treatment, which often lacks coordination and starts after psychosis has taken hold, a recent study suggests...With early intervention, patients had greater improvement in the severity of psychotic symptoms than with treatment as usual, the study found. Early-intervention patients were also less likely to discontinue treatment or need inpatient psychiatric care. ”

6 Sources of Support, Right in Front of You, by Make the Connection, Make the Connection, May 14 2018.

“Mental health support can come in many forms. Whether treatment involves one-on-one counseling, support groups, or other forms of treatment such as medication, there are many paths to a stronger you. In addition to getting treatment, making simple adjustments to your routine or lifestyle — such as pursuing a passion or getting involved in the community — can be fulfilling. Whether you are already receiving professional treatment or are simply looking for enrichment, these six sources of support can be helpful additions to your mental health routine. Sometimes the most effective treatments are the ones that you stumble across by chance. ”

Why kids and teens may face far more anxiety these days, by Amy Ellis Nutt, Washington Post, May 10 2018.

“Anxiety, not depression, is the leading mental health issue among American youths, and clinicians and research both suggest it is rising. The latest study was published in April in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Based on data collected from the National Survey of Children’s Health for ages 6 to 17, researchers found a 20 percent increase in diagnoses of anxiety between 2007 and 2012. (The rate of depression over that same time period ticked up 0.2 percent.) ”

Depression Has Spiked By 33% In the Last Five Years, a New Report Says, by Jamie Ducharme, TIME, May 10 2018.

“Diagnoses of clinical depression — also known as major depression — have risen by 33% since 2013, according to a new report from health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield...Depression diagnoses were found to be rising in every demographic, but the uptick has been especially dramatic among young people. Since 2013, rates have spiked by 47% among Millennials, by 65% among adolescent girls and by 47% among adolescent boys, the report says. Women of any age are also more likely than men to be diagnosed with clinical depression. ”

Being called 'fat' in early teens tied to later eating disorders for girls, by Shereen Lehman, Reuters, May 8 2018.

“For teen girls, being called “fat” by friends or family may contribute to later developing eating disorders, and the harsh word from family members seems to carry the most weight, a recent U.S. study suggests...'How we talk about weight - especially with young girls - can have really negative effects on mental and physical health,' said lead author Jeffrey Hunger, a psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Labeling young girls as ‘too fat’ will never spur positive health behaviors; it is simply going to result in poor body image, unhealthy weight control practices, and disordered eating,' he told Reuters Health in an email. ”

More Talking with Parents May Protect Kids Against Later Alcohol Misuse, by Janice Wood, Psych Central, May 5 2018.

“A new study has found that children with greater communication with their parents in early adolescence have less harmful alcohol use and emotional eating in young adulthood...Greater parent-child communication in early adolescence predicted greater connectivity of the ASN at age 25, supporting the idea that high-quality parenting is important for long-term brain development, according to the study’s findings. Greater ASN connectivity was, in turn, associated with lower harmful alcohol use and emotional eating at age 25. ”

Communication Issues Among Kids With Autism May Lead to Self-Harm, by Rick Nauert PhD, Psych Central, May 2 2018.

“A new study discovers communication problems among children can lead to depression and increase the risk of self-harm and suicidal intent during adolescence...The review comes in response to new findings that teen suicidality is under-recognized among children with ASD. Until now, community-based studies on suicidal thoughts and behaviors among children with symptoms of ASD have been limited...'Our study suggests that children who have difficulties with social communication are at higher risk for suicidal ideation and behavior in late adolescence,' said Dr. Iryna Culpin, senior research associate in the Bristol Medical School (PHS). 'Depressive symptoms in early adolescence partially explain this association.' ”

The Combination of Domestic Abuse and Alcohol, by Buddy T., verywellmind, May 1 2018.

“Statistics seem to indicate a connection between alcohol and drug abuse and domestic violence, but some researchers question the cause-and-effect relationship. Studies of domestic violence frequently document high rates of alcohol and another drug (AOD) involvement, and AOD use is known to impair judgment, reduce inhibition, and increase aggression. Alcoholism and child abuse, including incest, seem also to be connected. ”

Ecstasy therapy may help service veterans suffering PTSD, by Kate Kelland, Reuters, May 1 2018.

“Combining intensive psychotherapy with a pure form of the party drug ecstasy is safe and could aid recovery in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the findings of a study in military veterans. Scientists who conducted the research - a small study involving just 26 people - said its results suggested that with close medical and psychological supervision, giving MDMA to PTSD patients 'could enhance the benefits of psychotherapy.' ”

Anxiety in middle age linked to dementia later, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Apr 30 2018.

“People with moderate to severe anxiety in middle age may be more likely to develop dementia as they get older, a recent study suggests. Researchers examined data from four previously published studies that tracked a total of almost 30,000 people for at least a decade. In each of the smaller studies, there was a clear connection between anxiety in midlife and dementia later on, researchers report in BMJ Open. ”

Three-Minute Brain Stimulation Found Effective for Hard-to-Treat Depression, by Janice Wood, Psych Central , Apr 29 2018.

“A new study finds that a three-minute version of a brain stimulation treatment is just as effective as the standard 37-minute version for hard-to-treat depression. The treatment is called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), which uses magnetic field pulses to non-invasively stimulate a part of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which is associated with mood regulation...'The main impact of this study is that the number of people who are able to be treated using theta burst stimulation compared to the standard form of rTMS can be increased by three to four fold,' said lead author Dr. Daniel Blumberger, co-director of the Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto. ”

When the Effects of Sexual Trauma Persist, by Make the Connection, Make the Connection, Apr 26 2018.

“Both men and women have faced the effects of military sexual trauma, including sexual assault, harassment, or unwanted sexual attention. Such traumatic experiences can negatively affect Veterans for years.  This April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It’s a time to continue the national conversation about sexual assault. It’s also a time to build awareness about ways to support those who have had traumatic experiences. ”

Mom's depression tied to kids' emotional, intellectual development, by Cheryl Platzman Weinstock, Reuters, Apr 25 2018.

“A mother’s depression is linked with her children’s development from infancy through adolescence, according to a new study. Researchers studied 875 middle- or lower-class mothers in Chile and their healthy children over a 16-year period, evaluating participants roughly every four years....At age five, children with severely depressed mothers had an average verbal IQ score of 7.3 (on a scale of 1 to 19), compared to a higher score of 7.8 in children without depressed mothers...These children will have a smaller vocabulary and poorer comprehension skills, East said...The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends screening new mothers for depression during the months after childbirth. ”

Losing a spouse late in life linked to cognitive decline, by Carolyn Crist, Reuters, Apr 20 2018.

“Older adults who lose a spouse may be more vulnerable to cognitive decline in subsequent years and require extra support and monitoring, researchers say. In the study of nearly 7,000 middle aged and older men and women, cognitive functioning declined over time for everyone, but it degraded slightly more and slightly faster for those who had been widowed, regardless of whether they remarried. ”

A Drug to End Addiction? Scientists Are Working on It., by Clyde Haberman, New York Times, Apr 15 2018.

“Scrambling for ways to contain America’s out-of-control opioid crisis, some experts in the field are convinced that one bit of good advice is to just say no to the enduring “just say no” antidrug message. Addiction, they say, is not a question of free will or a correctable character flaw...Rather, it is an affliction of the brain that needs to be treated as one would any chronic illness...One possible approach, an experimental vaccine...intended principally for men and women already hooked on heroin or related opioids like Oxycodone and fentanyl — people who would be at risk of death should they detoxify and then relapse...would stop opioids by effectively blocking them from reaching the brain by way of the circulatory system. At the same time, it would not interfere with other treatments for addicts, like methadone and buprenorphine, or with a compound like naloxone that reverses overdoses. ”