General Mental Health Articles
- Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., don’t have much in common. They hail from opposite areas of the country, sit on opposite sides of the aisle, and their paths to Washington couldn’t have been more different. Outside of their mutual love for dogs, Padilla and Tillis bonded over something else: their experiences caring for loved ones undergoing mental health crises. Their conversations transformed into action when, a few months later, they launched a caucus that, for the first time, would focus solely on the issue. Read more here.
- Twice a week, Boston-area psychiatrist Elissa Ely volunteers at a U.S. anonymous help line for physicians in crisis. The calls she takes are often from people in deep distress, e.g., physicians having panic attacks, abusing substances or alcohol, or facing divorce or alienation from family and friends. However, despite her callers’ high levels of mental distress, they’re often very resistant to her suggestions that they seek mental health care. Until recently, answering questions about current or prior mental health treatment was a condition of being allowed to work in most states and health care facilities. Read more here.
- Insurers and some employers contend the Biden administration's recent proposal to bolster coverage of mental and behavioral care could actually backfire and make it more difficult for patients to access quality care. The health care payers are urging the administration to drop major features of its plan, including a new formula to determine whether insurers are improperly limiting patient access to mental health care. The administration in August proposed new rules to strengthen enforcement of a 2008 law that requires insurers to cover mental health services at the same level as physical health care. Read more here.
- North Carolina’s six local behavioral health management companies, known as LME-MCOs, will see some significant restructuring soon. For years, patients, their families, and mental health advocates have lodged repeated complaints about the lack of services some of the LME-MCOs provide and about the difficulty people have navigating the mental health system. State lawmakers have also had their share of frustrations with trying to hold the organizations accountable when problems arise. Read more here.
- Children who grow up in different environments tend to have distinct physical health, mental health, and cognitive outcomes, according to a new study in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers tend to look at the relationship between specific socioeconomic or environmental factors and health outcomes, but this study analyzed the cumulative effects of 84 different variables on 9- and 10-year-olds. It found that American children can be sorted into four different groups. Each group has distinct health and cognitive outcomes, and there are significant disparities among the groups. Read more here.
- Researchers found that a substantial proportion of young kids from low-income families had elevated levels of emotional and behavioral health problems seen in pediatric primary care. Robert Ammerman, PhD, of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and colleagues reported in JAMA Pediatrics that in a retrospective cohort study of 15,218 children ages 2 to 6 years, one-third of children had screening tool scores reflecting clinically elevated levels of emotional and behavioral problems over time. Read more here.
- Signs of depression and anxiety in middle school students were linked to greater cardiometabolic risks in the years following, according to a prospective study of U.S. Latinx youth. Internalizing mental health symptoms around the age of 13 were tied with later sleep problems, being overweight or obese, and engaging in sedentary behavior, found Kathleen Roche, PhD, MSW, of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, and colleagues. Experiencing internalizing symptoms in middle school was also linked with these symptoms four years later, the researchers wrote in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Read more here.
- As more children emerge from the pandemic grappling with mental health issues, their parents are seeking ways for them to build emotional resilience. Toy companies are paying close attention as well. While still in its early phase, a growing number of toy marketers are embracing mental, emotional, and social health (MESH) as a designation for toys that teach kids to adjust to new challenges, resolve conflict, advocate for themselves, or solve problems. Read more here.
- Pediatric mental health encounters have generally dropped from peak levels seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the rate of visits among females remains above pre-pandemic levels. An analysis by Epic Research shows pediatric females are more likely to visit emergency departments, outpatient facilities, and hospitals for mental health concerns than pediatric males. Epic’s researchers found that in May 2023, 5.4% of emergency department visits for pediatric females occurred for mental health reasons, compared to 2.9% for pediatric males. Read more here.
- Dr. Erin Emery-Tiburcio, co-director at the Rush Center for Excellence in Aging, wasn’t initially interested in geriatrics psychology. That changed with her first clinical placement. “Most of the folks were older adults recovering from surgeries and strokes,” she says, “and I just found myself learning so much more from them than they were learning from me.” Emery-Tiburcio was struck by the wisdom her patients shared and therefore pursued a graduate certificate in gerontology and advanced training in neuropsychology. She believes the root of behavioral health disparities for aging Americans is ageism, which is woven throughout U.S. culture. Read more here.
The Opioid Crisis and Addiction Issues
- At UNC Chapel Hill, three students stand behind a card table covered in naloxone injection kits. Caroline Clodfelter, one of the co-founders of the student group running the table, explains to a curious student, "It will reverse an opioid overdose. So, let's say you're going out to a frat. Stick it in your pocket. It's easy to just have on you." At SUNY’s Delhi campus, Rebecca Harrington, who works in student affairs, has a table full of colorful cups, a water jug, and candies in zip bags, demonstration tools on how to use a fentanyl test strip. Read more here.
- Middle and high school students across California will be protected by a new law requiring life-saving prevention and response resources for fentanyl overdoses under legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom signed Senate Bill 10, or Melanie's Law, introduced by Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, which aims to prevent and respond to youth fentanyl overdoses through mandated school safety plans requiring prevention, response, training, education, and awareness. SB 10 mandates that every public school provides training to employees on opioid prevention and response under a formal plan known as a Comprehensive School Safety Plan (CSSP). Read more here.
- A study from Rutgers suggests that enhancing prison reentry programs could reduce the opioid overdose death rate in the U.S. With opioid overdose deaths surging in the United States, many communities are urgently seeking effective solutions. A recent Rutgers-led study has identified strengthening prison reentry programs for the highest-risk users as one of the most promising interventions. Read more here.
- Opioid overdose deaths are declining overall in Florida, according to new data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Opioid overdose deaths skyrocketed after the start of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. However, in 2022, CDC data showed that Florida saw a 2.6% decrease in drug overdoses. The reductions are due to a combination of available medication, such as naloxone, and widespread education, said Andrae Bailey, the founder of Project Opioid. Read more here.
Health Insurance and Medical Debt
- A family’s health insurance costs nearly $24,000 this year, the biggest increase in more than a decade. Four regional hospitals are relieving medical debt accrued by hundreds of thousands of Columbus residents, local officials announced. Mount Carmel Health System, Nationwide Children's Hospital, OSU Wexner Medical Center, and OhioHealth are collectively writing off $335 million in debt for care received between 2015-2020. Columbus residents are eligible if they earn between 200-400% of the federal poverty line, $55,500-$111,000 for a family of four, city leaders said. Read more here.
- Atrium Health, the state’s top collector of medical debt in recent years, has quietly stopped suing patients for unpaid medical bills. The change was praised by critics who have long said it’s not right for a publicly chartered, multibillion-dollar, nonprofit hospital to take patients to court for medical costs that are often out of their control. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP has been advocating for Atrium to end the practice for at least a decade, said President Corine Mack. Read more here.
- Depression is a common mental health disorder in the U.S. In 2020, an estimated 21 million adults had at least one major depressive episode. Numerous adverse outcomes have been associated with depression, including increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and premature mortality. Understanding the association between depressive symptoms and death from all-cause, CVD, and ischemic heart disease (IHD) may be an important step toward defining prevention and treatment strategies for both mood disorders and CVD. Read more here.
- Patricia Brown leads her clients into a peaceful room, draped in beige and calming artwork. Her clients lie down, close their eyes, put on a blindfold and headphones, and trip for six hours on psilocybin, the psychoactive chemical found in magic mushrooms. Brown is a psychiatric nurse practitioner and head of clinical operations at CNS Healthcare. CNS in Thornton Park and APG Research near the Central Business District are two global clinical trial sites testing whether micro doses of psychedelics, typically about one-tenth of a recreational dose, can help people with depression and anxiety. Read more here.
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