Recent posts

‘Dear Parent, Your Child Has Had a Psychotic Break’

By editor
September 23, 2015

By Marcia Morris September 22, 2015 3:30 am September 22, 2015 3:30 am   I sit in my small office at the university counseling center, sighing as I pick up the phone to make the call that I always dread. I have worked as a psychiatrist with college students for 20 years, and this part...   read more


LOW VITAMIN D LEVELS LINKED TO FASTER MEMORY LOSS IN OLDER ADULTS

By editor
September 16, 2015

BY WILL BOGGS MD (Reuters Health) - Older adults with low vitamin D levels – and that accounts for most of them – may lose their memories and thinking abilities faster than those with normal vitamin D levels, researchers say.   “We were not particularly surprised by our findings because there is a recent and...   read more


California Assembly to vote on diminished bill package to curb psychotropic drug use on foster children

By editor
September 9, 2015

By Karen de Sá kdesa@mercurynews.com POSTED:   09/06/2015 04:54:40 PM PDT With less than a week left before the end of the legislative session, intensive lobbying by physicians groups and cost concerns have undermined progress on the centerpiece of a bill package designed to end the excessive use of psychotropic drugs on California's foster youth. The...   read more


Jerry Brown brokering late deal on medical marijuana regulations

By editor
September 7, 2015

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 By Christopher Cadelago and Jeremy B. White Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration is crafting the framework for medical marijuana regulations in California, a session-closing play that could end nearly two decades of clashing interpretations and court battles. With the Legislature scheduled to leave town next week, Brown’s office is said to be bearing...   read more


How to Halt the Violence

By editor
September 1, 2015

The Opinion Pages | Op-Ed Contributor By JEFFREY A. LIEBERMAN, AUG. 28, 2015 WHEN Vester Lee Flanagan II fatally shot a television reporter and a cameraman in the midst of a live interview in Moneta, Va., it was a scene that has become all too familiar to us. In all these scenarios, we learn after...   read more


COUNTY AMASSES MENTAL HEALTH FUNDS AMID NEED

By editor
August 26, 2015

By Lauren Mascarenhas | 6 a.m. Aug. 22, 2015   While San Diego County struggles to keep up with demand for mental health services, more than $170 million has collected unspent in a special fund to help with the cause. The money comes from a 1 percent tax on the income of millionaires, collected for mental health...   read more


New Study Identifies 9 Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease

By editor
August 21, 2015

By Maya Rhodan   August 20, 2015 The risk factors, which include obesity, low educational attainment and depression, might be preventable Two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases could be attributed to nine risk factors that are potentially fixable, according to a new study released Thursday. Researchers linked obesity, carotid artery narrowing, low educational attainment, depression, high blood...   read more


White House announces push to combat growing heroin epidemic

By editor
August 18, 2015

By MARY ANN TOMAN-MILLER The White House is zeroing in on the growing heroin epidemic, announcing federal funding Monday to combat use of the drug with a focus on both public health and safety. About $2.5 million from President Obama's anti-drug programs will target heroin abuse in New England, Appalachia and East Coast cities, and $1.3...   read more


Treatment Advocacy Center: Ambitious Criminalization Bill Introduced in Congress

By editor
August 5, 2015

(ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA) Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today introduced sweeping criminal justice reform legislation aimed at reducing mass incarceration of people with mental illness. The Mental Health and Safe Communities Act would expand federally proven programs aimed at providing treatment for people with mental illness before they become involved in confrontations with law enforcement, a strategy long...   read more


Aiming to increase treatment for mentally ill, Kern County adopts 'Laura's Law'

By editor
July 29, 2015

By Kyle Harvey, Eyewitness News Jul 28, 2015 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) – The Board of Supervisors Tuesday made Kern the ninth county in California to adopt Laura’s Law, a bill aimed at increasing mental health care for potentially high-risk patients who refuse treatment. Laura’s Law, authored by Assemblywoman Helen Thomson (D-Davis), passed the state legislature...   read more