Feature Channels: Mental Health

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In the face of growing need for mental health and substance abuse treatment, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) are notifying states about how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds can be used to help families in their communities in need of short term mental health or substance use treatment services.

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Dr. Mark Thomas and his fellow physicians are developing guidelines for diagnosing and treating ADHD on campus.

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African-American fathers who do not live with their sons and who suffer from depression are less likely to spend time with them, according to a University of Michigan study. Dads who don’t live with their children can still have a positive impact in their kids’ lives. Treating their depression could help them play a more active and positive role in their lives, says U-M pediatrician R. Neal Davis, M.D., a fellow with the Child Health Evaluation and Research unit and a lead author in the study which appeared in the December issue of Pediatrics.

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Neurobehavioral researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found three key factors in a child’s behavior that can lead to social rejection. The studies are a crucial step in developing scientifically sound screening tests and treatment planning for social-emotional learning difficulties. The results from the studies are published in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.

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School psychologists, counselors and social workers are often the first line of support for children with behavioral, emotional or family problems. Problems can range from attention deficit disorder and homelessness to depression and bullying all of which can make academic success a challenge.

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Taking opioids long term is associated with clinically significant pain relief in some patients with a very small risk of addition, a new review finds.

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Given the importance of identifying risk factors for such diseases early in life, a new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, looked at the relationship between low SES and cortisol in children over a 2-year period. The researchers hypothesized that living in a low SES environment would increase cortisol trajectories over time.

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The deployment of soldiers to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan is increasing the need for mental health services provided for their family members.

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A report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicates that, in the past year, one quarter (26.7 percent) of adolescent girls participated in a serious fight at school or work, group-against-group fight, or an attack on others with the intent to inflict serious harm.

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Wives of soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and other mental health conditions than women whose husbands are not deployed, according to a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

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New research shows that migraine and depression may share a strong genetic component. The research is published in the January 13, 2010, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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An excess of one type of serotonin receptor in the center of the brain may explain why antidepressants fail to relieve symptoms of depression for 50 percent of patients, a new study from researchers at Columbia University Medical Center shows.

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Older adults newly admitted to nursing homes with high rates of antipsychotic prescribing in the previous year are more likely to receive antipsychotic agents, according to a report in the January 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Of these treated patients, some had no identified clinical indication for this therapy.

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The use of atypical antipsychotics to treat elderly patients with dementia appears to have decreased following a 2005 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory regarding the risks of these medications in this population, according to a report in the January 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is soliciting applications for approximately $21.8 million in funding over the next three years for Mental Health Data Infrastructure Grants for Quality Improvement (State DIG).

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Most characteristics of the "Type A" personality are linked to increased work stress. But there's one important exception, according to a study in the January Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

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According to a new report, need for substance abuse treatment among Americans over age 50 projected to double by 2020.

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Black men are over-diagnosed with schizophrenia at least five times higher than any other group--a trend that dates back to the 1960s, according to new University of Michigan research.

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A canine chromosome 7 locus that confers a high risk of compulsive disorder susceptibility has been identified through a collaboration between the Behavior Service at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, the Program in Medical Genetics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Broad Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The findings are published in the January 2010 edition of Nature Molecular Psychiatry.

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An analysis of randomized trials indicates that compared with placebo, the magnitude of benefit of antidepressant medications varies with the severity of depressive symptoms, and may provide little benefit for patients with mild or moderate depression, but appear to provide substantial benefit for patients with very severe depression, according to an article in the January 6 issue of JAMA.

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Scientists have long eyed mutations in a gene known as DISC1 as a possible contributor to schizophrenia and mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder. Now, new research led by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that perturbing this gene during prenatal periods, postnatal periods or both may have different effects in mice, leading to separate types of brain alterations and behaviors with resemblance to schizophrenia or mood disorders.

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Many U.S. adults with major depression do not receive treatment for depression or therapy based on treatment guidelines, and some racial and ethnic groups have even lower rates of adequate depression care, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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An increasing number of U.S. adults are being prescribed combinations of antidepressants and antipsychotic medications, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Despite government warnings and professional recommendations about diabetes risks associated with second-generation antipsychotic drugs, fewer than one-third of Medicaid patients who are treated with these medications undergo tests of blood glucose or lipid levels, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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UCLA/Wayne State University researchers found that only 21 percent of Americans suffering from clinical depression receive medical care consistent with American Psychiatric Association guidelines. Half receive no treatment at all. The majority of treated patients, nearly 45 percent, received psychotherapy with no medication. Only 34 percent of patients were prescribed antidepressants.

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A team of scientists at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and the National Institutes of Health have piloted psychotherapy for the prevention of excessive weight gain in teenage girls deemed ‘at-risk’ for obesity.

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Psychological stress at the office — or wherever people earn their paychecks — can make it more difficult for depressed workers to perform their jobs and be productive.

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New research in mice by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists suggest that ghrelin might also work in the brain to make some people keep eating “pleasurable” foods when they’re already full.

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A new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that depressed patients are unable to sustain activity in brain areas related to positive emotion.

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Suicidal adolescents who were prescribed an antidepressant medication during inpatient psychiatric hospital treatment were 85 percent less likely than others to be readmitted within a month after discharge, a new study found.

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First responders are trained to deal with high-intensity situations without emotionally reacting. The aftermath can be devastating.

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The omega-3 essential fatty acids commonly found in fatty fish and algae help animals avoid sensory overload, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. The finding connects low omega-3s to the information-processing problems found in people with schizophrenia; bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders; Huntington’s disease; and other afflictions of the nervous system.

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War is hell, as the old saying goes -- with loss of life and limb, destruction of infrastructure and the environment, and devastating costs. Recent biomedical research has shed light on another pernicious consequence of military conflict: psychological and neurological conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. At the same time, researchers have worked to uncover some of the motives and meanings of war.

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Research by Binghamton University psychologist Brandon Gibb could provide new weapons for the fight against childhood depression. Working with colleagues around the country, he hopes to identify the causes of mental-health problems in kids and define trajectories of risk for depression.

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Postmenopausal women who take antidepressants face a small but statistically significant increased risk for stroke and death compared with those who do not take the drugs.

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Students who watch as their peers endure the verbal or physical abuses of another student could become as psychologically distressed, if not more so, by the events than the victims themselves, new research suggests.

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The recent shootings at the Ft. Hood, Texas army base, allegedly by an army psychiatrist, have placed much-needed focus on mental health care in the army. In an article published in the December issue of the journal CNS Spectrum, renowned psychopharmacology expert Stephen M. Stahl, MD, PhD, calls for increased mental health staffing at Fort Hood and other army bases.

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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for up to $26 million in grants to expand Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity in Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts.

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Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D., director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explains how the holidays can be fraught with difficulties for people with eating disorders, and offers tips for handling these issues.

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Individuals taking a medication to treat depression may experience changes in their personality separate from the alleviation of depressive symptoms, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Young adults with higher blood lead levels appear more likely to have major depression and panic disorders, even if they have exposure to lead levels generally considered safe, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Despite government warnings about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and actions while taking antiepileptic drugs, these medications do not appear to be associated with increased risk of suicide attempts in individuals with bipolar disorder, and may have a possible protective effect, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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People who drink may want to know that coffee won’t sober them up, according to new laboratory research. Instead, a cup of coffee may make it harder for people to realize they’re drunk.

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Menthol cigarette use is higher among persons who started smoking in the past year (44.6 percent) than among longer-term smokers (31.8 percent) according to a new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

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NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, in affiliation with the New York State Psychiatric Institute, announced the creation of an integrated eating disorders center.

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Parents of teens know just how difficult it is to get them to talk about their personal lives, let alone their health. With only 20 percent of children with mental health problems in the United States being properly identified and treated, it is imperative that a solution be found. Doctors and researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital are one step closer by finding a new way to get teens to open up about their health and what’s really on their mind, bringing up issues that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

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New research further shatters the once-popular myth that, if you’re over 40 and have never been married, there must be “something wrong” with you. The study by Jamila Bookwala of Lafayette College shows no psychological disadvantages between Americans who remain single or get married.

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Two Iowa State University psychologists and video game researchers offer parents tips on how they can promote healthy video game play with their kids this holiday season.

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The Transcendental Meditation technique may be an effective method to reduce blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and anger among at-risk college students, according to a new study to be published in the American Journal of Hypertension, December 2009.

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Patients who received telephone-delivered collaborative care for treatment of depression after coronary artery bypass graft surgery reported greater improvement in measures of quality of life, physical functioning and mood than patients who received usual care, according to a study in the November 18 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because of its presentation at an American Heart Association scientific conference.