2015

Early-Life Depression May Alter Brain Development, Study Suggests

By editor
December 19, 2015

The brains of children diagnosed with major depressive disorder early in life may develop differently from those of children unaffected by the disorder, suggests a study published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry. Early in childhood, the brain experiences rapid neurogenesis and related increases in gray matter volume, followed by a process of selective elimination and myelination in early puberty, resulting...   read more


Don't Blame Mental Illness for Gun Violence

By editor
December 18, 2015

By the NY Times Editorial Board December 15, 2015 Those who oppose expanded gun-control legislation frequently argue that instead of limiting access to guns, the country should focus on mental health problems. “People with mental illness are getting guns and committing these mass shootings,” said Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House, after the shooting...   read more


Watch Desiree Shapiro, MD's interview on KPBS on Children and Anxiety

By editor
December 14, 2015

https://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/oct/06/how-anxiety-affects-children/ Stress about grades, worry about fitting in, and nervousness about new situations — feeling a little anxious can be a normal part of childhood. But when anxiety becomes too much, it can have a big impact on a child's day to day life, experts said. The Anxiety and Depressions Association of America says anxiety...   read more


Am I Safe? Psychiatrist's Tips For Talking To Kids About The Paris Attacks

By editor
November 17, 2015

Advice columnist Steve Almond has a typically provocative piece on WBUR’s Cognoscenti today:Why I’m Not Talking To My Kids About The Paris Attacks. He and his wife decided, he writes, that “we have absolutely no interest in exposing our kids to the sort of panic-stricken coverage whose central aim is the profitable stoking of anxiety.”...   read more


Kids Who Lose a Parent More Likely to Commit Suicide

By editor
November 12, 2015

by Belinda Luscombe @luscombeland Nov. 11, 2015 New study looked at 40 years of data In what would definitely win the prize for Saddest Health Discovery of the Week, a newstudy has found that kids whose parents die while they are young are more likely to commit suicide later in life than kids whose parents survive...   read more


White House Seeks to Ease Veterans’ Access to Care

By editor
November 11, 2015

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS NOV. 11, 2015 WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Wednesday will call on Congress to enact measures to help military veterans gain easier access to health care, disability and educational benefits, part of a push to spotlight its efforts to improve the way the government treats veterans after ascandal at the Department...   read more


WHY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IS JUST AS DEADLY NOW AS IT WAS 35 YEARS AGO

By editor
November 10, 2015

The scariest part: It doesn't have to be this way. Travis WaldronSports Reporter, The Huffington Post Erick FernandezEditorial Fellow, HuffPost Sports Posted: 10/23/2015 10:19 AM EDT | Edited: 10/26/2015 10:56 AM EDT ANDREW THEODORAKIS VIA GETTY IMAGESIsrael Squires (5) rushes in a 2014 game for Shoreham Wading River High School in New York the week after his teammate...   read more


MILESTONE REACHED AS SUBCOMMITTEE PASSES COMPREHENSIVE MH REFORM BILL

By editor
November 8, 2015

A House subcommittee yesterday passed the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 (HR 2646), a major step on the road to comprehensive mental health reform. “We are very pleased by Wednesday night’s passage of HR 2646 by the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee,” said APA President Renée Binder, M.D., in a statement. “This bill goes...   read more


What Happens If You Try To Prevent Every Single Suicide?

By editor
November 8, 2015

by Joanne Silberner Each year, nearly three times as many Americans die from suicide as from homicide. More Americans kill themselves than die from breast cancer. As Dr.Thomas Insel, longtime head of the National Institute of Mental Health, prepared to step down from his job in October, he cited the lack of progress in reducing the...   read more


California fines top health insurers for overstating Obamacare networks

By editor
November 4, 2015

from https://www.latimes.com/business/healthcare/la-fi-obamacare-network-probe-20151103-story.html California regulators fined two insurance giants for overstating their Obamacare doctor networks and said the companies will pay millions of dollars in refunds to patients who paid too much for care. The state’s Department of Managed Health Care levied fines of $350,000 against Blue Shield of California and $250,000 for Anthem Blue Cross. At...   read more