Publications on Mental Health Topics

NBA adopts new rules requiring teams to add full-time mental health staff for 2019-2020 season, by Elijah Shama, CNBC, Sep 19 2019.

“The NBA is expanding mental health guidelines it adopted last season. Starting this year, all teams must have at least one mental health professional on their full-time staff. The league adopted the new rules at a meeting in Chicago last week.  ”

Should Students Get Mental Health Days Off From School?, by Natalie Proulx, New York Times, Sep 12 2019.

“Two states recently passed laws that allow students to take time off for their mental health. Do you wish your school gave you the option? ”

Living near a gun shop or in a rural area puts you at higher risk for suicide, study says, by Jen Christensen, CNN, Sep 6 2019.

“The suicide rate rose 41% in the United States from 1999 to 2016, and the people at the highest risk have a few factors in common, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open on Friday.  Men had higher suicide rates. Areas with the highest risk were in Western states, and in rural areas. Or, in a city, if there was a gun shop in the neighborhood. ”

Contaminant found in vaping products linked to deadly lung illnesses, state and federal labs show, by Lena H. Sun, The Washington Post, Sep 5 2019.

“State and federal health officials investigating mysterious lung illnesses linked to vaping have found the same chemical in samples of marijuana products used by people sickened in different parts of the country and who used different brands of products in recent weeks.  The chemical is an oil derived from vitamin E. Investigators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found the oil in cannabis products in samples collected from patients who fell ill across the United States. ”

How to Manage Your Mental Illness at Work, by Eric Ravenscraft, NYT, Sep 3 2019.

“If you suffer from depression, anxiety, PTSD or another mental illness, here are some real-world tips to help you stay happy and healthy at work. ”

HRC Observes National Suicide Prevention Awarness Month 2019, by HRC Staff, Human Rights Campaign, Sep 1 2019.

“This September, HRC observes National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, reaffirming our commitment to supporting the well-being of LGBTQ youth who often feel alone or hopeless simply because of who they are.  ”

Dementia caregiving takes toll on sleep, by Linda Carroll, Reuters, Aug 23 2019.

“Family caregivers for dementia patients don’t sleep as long or as well as other adults of the same age, a new study suggests.  In an analysis of the combined data from 35 earlier studies, researchers found that dementia caregivers slept about 3 hours less per week than age-matched adults, according to the report published in JAMA Network Open.  “Sleep debt is known to have cumulative associations with physical, mental and cognitive health,” the researchers, led by Chenlu Gao wrote. “Therefore, poor sleep quality in dementia caregivers should be recognized and addressed.” ”

The Quick Therapy That Actually Works, by Olga Kazhan, The Atlantic, Aug 21 2019.

“Perhaps to the chagrin of those of us who have sunk entire paychecks into traditional psychotherapy, there is some evidence that extremely brief therapy is indeed effective. Schleider published a meta-analysis of single-session interventions focused on children and teens (not including her own work, which was tested later) that found that a teen who received a single-session intervention had a 58 percent greater chance of having his or her symptoms improve than one who did not. The single sessions worked especially well for decreasing anxiety and behavioral problems. In fact, Schleider says, on these measures, one session of therapy turned out to be about as effective as 16 sessions. ”

Social Media Hurts Girls More Than Boys, by Jamie Ducharme, Time, Aug 13 2019.

“The public and experts alike have blamed social media for a long list of mental health issues, including rising rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal behavior among America’s youth. But research on the subject is conflicting. ”

Video Games Aren’t Why Shootings Happen. Politicians Still Blame Them., by Kevin Draper, New York Times, Aug 5 2019.

“After two mass shootings over the weekend that killed 31 people and wounded dozens more, powerful Republicans, including the president, blamed video games. ”

Millennials May Be Drinking Less, But Binge Drinking Is On the Rise Among Older Adults, by Jamie Ducharme, Time Magazine, Jul 31 2019.

“Much has been made lately of millennials drinking less—and as America’s younger generations shift toward sobriety, recent research suggests the opposite is happening among its older ones.  A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that, from 2015-2017, more than 10% of adults 65 and older said they had binge drank—defined as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting for men, or four or more for women— in the past month, up from about 7% in 2006. That’s in keeping with other studies that have charted increases in excessive drinking among elderly adults, including one that pointed to a 65% increase in high-risk drinking in this population from 2001 to 2013. ”

Caregiver depression tied to more ER visits for dementia patients, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Jul 9 2019.

“Dementia patients may go to the emergency room more often when their caregivers are depressed, a recent study suggests. ”

Team Sports May Help Children Deal With Trauma, by Perri Klass, M.D., The New York Times, Jul 8 2019.

“In a study published in May in JAMA Pediatrics, people who had experienced traumatic events as children had better mental health outcomes as adults if they had participated in team sports during adolescence. ”

6 Tips for Better Managing Time for Adults with ADHD, by Melissa Orlov, Psychology Today, Jul 8 2019.

With Rural Health Care Stretched Thin, More Patients Turn To Telehealth, by Patti Neighmond, NPR, Jul 7 2019.

“There are a growing number of Americans turning to telehealth appointments with medical providers in the wake of widespread hospital closings in remote communities, and a shortage of local primary care doctors, specialists and other providers. A recent NPR poll of rural Americans found that nearly a quarter have used some kind of telehealth service within the past few years;  ”