Leading Stories, Articles
Study: Women military members at risk for mental health woes
By Janine Weisman
Combat exposure increased the odds of Army enlisted women returning from Afghanistan or Iraq of developing post-deployment behavioral health problems, according to a new study led by a Brandeis University researcher. Active duty and National Guard/Reserve enlisted women had a similar prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression and at-risk drinking, reports the study published in the August issue of the Journal of Traumatic Stress. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs projects women will account for 18 percent of the veteran population by 2035, the fastest growing group. But research on military populations has generally focused on the entire population, which [More]
Posted in Leading Stories, Articles | No Comments »
Minibikes used as learning tool for kids, teens
By Pamela Berard
A Boston-based nonprofit aims to help boys and girls ages 10-17 develop self esteem and a sense of belonging by using a minibike as a motivational tool and a metaphor for personal development. The National Youth Project Using Minibikes (NYPUM) began in 1969 and is supported by Honda Motor Co. Inc. and run by Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps. Approximately 35 programs nationwide – including municipalities, residential and school-, faith- and community-based – participate in the recreational program, which has an integral mentoring component that guides and supports youth to make good decisions at school, home and in their [More]
Posted in Leading Stories, Articles | No Comments »
Munchausen by Internet cases increase
By Rivkela Brodsky
Munchausen by Internet – a syndrome where a person pretends to have a medical condition using the Internet as a tool in this deception – is on the rise, said Marc D. Feldman, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Alabama who coined the term in 2000, although it is not recognized as a disorder in the DSM-5. He says since he published an article first describing this condition, he has been contacted about 120 cases, which he said “has got to be the tip of the iceberg because people are having to make some effort to reach [More]
Posted in Leading Stories, Articles | No Comments »
CDC studies health risks of LGB students
By Pamela Berard
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual students experience a higher level of physical and sexual violence and bullying than other students, according to a recently released national report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report, “Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Related Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9-12 – United States and Selected Sites, 2015” is the CDC’s first nationally representative study on the health risks of U.S. LGB high school students. The report was made possible by the CDC for the first time adding questions to ascertain both sexual identity and sex of sexual contacts, to the [More]
Posted in Leading Stories, Articles | No Comments »
Eating disorders: better addressed at specialized centers
By Phyllis Hanlon
Residential schools are designed to provide therapy and education for students with a range of behavioral and emotional issues as well as learning, psychological and psychiatric disorders. In the past, many of these schools also addressed eating disorders, but treatment for this condition appears to be moving away from the residential school setting. David J. Alperovitz, Psy.D., staff psychologist at the Klarman Eating Disorder Center at McLean Hospital, noted that several new centers focused on eating disorders have opened in recent years. “Ten to 15 years ago, there were not as many,” he said, adding that because adolescents today deal [More]
Posted in Leading Stories, Articles | No Comments »
WHO proposes removing transgender from diagnosis list
By Phyllis Hanlon
In recent years, society has witnessed a number of changes related to the transgender population that are leading, for the most part, to some semblance of acceptance. In July, the World Health Organization added its voice to the discussion when it proposed the declassification of transgender identity as a mental disorder in its next version of the International Classification of Diseases-11. A study out of Columbia University lends support to the move. Geoffrey M. Reed, Ph.D., professor in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University, conducted a study at a transgender health services clinic in Mexico City. He interviewed 250 [More]
Posted in Leading Stories, Articles | No Comments »
Yale study looks at sub threshold PTSD co morbidity risks
By Susan Gonsalves
According to research, veterans who do not have full blown PTSD but who experience some symptoms are at a heightened risk for depression, suicide and substance abuse. They could benefit from screening and treatment in clinical settings but are overlooked. That was the takeaway of a Yale-university led study, published in the World Psychiatry Journal’s June issue. The research looked at 1,484 veterans nation-wide ranging in age from 20 to 94 with a median age of 64 and found that 22.1 percent experienced “sub threshold” PTSD while eight percent met the DSM-5 criteria for a PTSD diagnosis. In addition, these [More]
Posted in Leading Stories, Articles | No Comments »
School CEO talks of challenges, pleasures of work
By Catherine Robertson Souter
They say the difference between stress and passion is in the commitment to the outcome; one is putting in hours and the other is a labor of love. Dan Murray, Psy.D., whose work as chief executive officer of the Wellspring Foundation and the Arch Bridge School falls into the passion category. As he explained in a conversation with New England Psychologist’s Catherine Robertson Souter, the challenges that face anyone choosing to work in a residential/treatment school must be balanced with the desire to make a difference in the lives of young people. Q: While it is the school we are [More]
Posted in Leading Stories, Articles | No Comments »
Brain, mental health link studied
By Phyllis Hanlon
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) five years ago re-defined addiction as a chronic brain disorder, not just a behavioral issue. “The theory seems to have a lot of validity. Addiction changes areas in the brain related to motivation and primacy of reinforcement for salience,” said Michael M. Miller, M.D., past president of ASAM, medical director of the Herrington Recovery Center at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Wisconsin and chair of the committee that issued the new definition. Other research is now exploring a connection between the brain and mental health diagnoses. Genetics is one of the risk factors that [More]
Posted in Leading Stories, Articles | No Comments »
Canada may expand new PAD law; U.S. next?
By Janine Weisman
Canada passed new legislation in June legalizing physician-assisted death (PAD) for citizens 18 and older deemed mentally competent and who have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition.” The law defines such a condition as “a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability” that is “in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability.” The condition causes a person “enduring physical or psychological suffering that is intolerable to them” and cannot be relieved. The person’s natural death must be “reasonably foreseeable.” Safeguards to prevent errors and abuse include a 15-day waiting period and having two independent witnesses present when the patient [More]
Posted in Leading Stories, Articles | 1 Comment »