News on Mental Health

Advice from About.com Parenting Teens. (4/12/12)

From the JKP Blog, an interview with author Kate Collins-Donnelly. (2/10/12)

About.com's guide to Social Anxiety Disorder looks at new research. (1/10/12)

An editorial from Dallas.com (12/9/11)

About.com's guide to bipolar disorder analyzes some recent statistics. (12/01/11)

Details of the event from the Child Mind Institute. (11/2/11)

About.com's guide to social anxiety disorder looks at changes that lower the threshold for diagnosis in children. (10/10/11)

About.com's guide to PTSD mentions some new ways to deliver treatment, including over the Internet. (8/15/11)

An interview with the authors of "A Parent’s Guide to Defeating Eating Disorders: Spotting the Stealth Bomber and Other Symbolic Approaches." (8/10/11)

From CNN.com: Eating disorders are striking younger and younger victims. (8/8/11)

If you can get a diagnosis, use it to build a team to support your child and family. (6/20/11)

About.com Panic Disorders informs us that Mental Illness Awareness Week is October 2 through 8. (10/3/11)

About.com's contributing writer on teen parenting explains how family therapy works and why it can be helpful. (5/31/11)

I asked you to talk back to your church about the way your child is treated, and reader CalledtoAdopt left a response that seems particularly appropriate here at the end of National Children's Mental Health Awareness Week and the beginning of Mental Health Month. (5/6/11)

From About.com Depression: "A new study suggests that when teens think about or attempt suicide following a triggering event, they may benefit the most from help with problem-solving skills; and, if their suicidal urges are not associated with any particular event, they may benefit more from depression treatment." (5/10/11)

From About.com Depression: "Childhood depression is a topic very close to my heart, and, given that National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day is coming up on May 3rd this year, I thought I would speak a bit about my experiences." (4/25/11)

From About.com Parenting of Adolescents: "When making a decision about how to help a teen experiencing mood, mental health or behavior problems it's helpful to have a clear understanding of the different levels of care available - what they mean and why they exist." (4/19/11)

From About.com Parenting of Adolescents: "Many times parents of teens who have tried to or have committed suicide struggle with the idea that there were signs of their teen's depression that they missed." (3/18/11)

From Kidneys and Eyes: "Please, get help. Please. Now. Many of us suspect you need some support that involves professionals that deal with mental health issues; we can see it." (3/18/11)

The "Roadmap to Hospitalization" is available as three separate downloads -- to help you know when to hospitalize, what happens when your child is admitted, and what happens if your child is not admitted -- or as one packet. (3/18/11)

From About.com Parenting Adolescents: "Writing therapy for teens uses the written word in many different forms as a way to help troubled teens gain insight into their emotions and behavior." (3/15/11)

From Kidneys and Eyes: "A couple of weeks ago, during Gage’s last little breakdown when he said out loud he didn’t want to go to the hospital but probably should go to the hospital, one of the things I did to get him talking was to write out something that he could fill in the blanks." (3/15/11)

From About.com Parenting Adolescents: "Researchers conducted interviews with a sample of 10,123 teens ages 13-18. the data from the study showed that of the percentage of teens who had an eating disorder, there was a high percentage of teens with another serious mental health issue, like depression or anxiety." (3/9/11)

From About.com Parenting Adolescents: "When your teen seems moody or sad, do you think its depression or it's just a phase? Believe it or not, depression is more common than we realize." (3/9/11)

From About.com Bipolar Disorder: "One more step has been made in discovering the genetic causes of bipolar disorder. A large study of the human genome has identified a variation in a gene called neurocan (NCAN) as being significantly associated with BP." (3/8/11)

From Hopeful Parents: "If you live in an age of social media, and if the most powerful woman in television does a show about something you are experiencing in your own life, you will get a nice, long look at exactly what the world thinks of you." (2/21/11)

From About.com Parenting Teens: "When depression in teens is left untreated, the consequences can be severe, and in some cases, deadly. Like other illnesses, untreated depression continues to get worse." (2/9/11)

From SFGate: "Like others who struggle with PTSD, parents of children with cancer may face a lifelong fear of the enemy: invisible, insidious and potentially invincible." (2/8/11)

From Ouch: [On February 2], The Thick of it actress Rebecca Front tweeted the following: "Hey well known Twitterers. Fancy taking the stigma out of mental illness? I'll start: I'm Rebecca Front & I've had panic attacks.#whatstigma". Noone could have anticipated the impact this post would have on the world of Twitter." (2/4/11)

Cognitive behavioral therapy can be useful for kids dealing with anxiety problems and negative thinking, but the journaling that's a useful part of the process may be tough for those who aren't comfortable with writing or prefer to do their composition more at the length of a text or a status. (1/13/11)

From About.com BPD: "Self-embedding is a form of self-injury that involves embedding foreign objects under the skin. More common forms of self-injury include cutting, burning, and piercing." (1/4/10)

From About.com Parenting Teens: "The holiday season is often portrayed as a time for happy families to come together but if your family includes a troubled teen the holiday season may be anything but happy.Here are 6 ideas for getting through the holidays with a troubled teen." (12/8/10)

From Care2: "Budget cuts and the recession are taking their toll on community mental health systems. As reported in the December 5th New York Times, sometimes---and increasingly more than sometimes---the police are being called in." (12/6/10)

From About.com Parenting Teens: "Psychiatric hospitals provide the highest level of treatment available to teens and are intended for the short-term stabilization of serious mental health issues. A hospital setting can help a teen in crisis by providing a locked environment with constant clinical supervision to ensure their safety." (12/1/10)

From About.com Social Anxiety Disorder: "The results of the study showed that overall girls experienced more anxiety than boys, girls participated less in sports than boys, and children who participated in team sports had fewer physical symptoms of social anxiety." (11/15/10)

From Mashable: "Classic video game Tetris may be capable of providing a service beyond entertaining the gaming masses. According to a new study out of Oxford University, playing Tetris a few hours after trauma exposure can help prevent flashbacks, which are typically a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder." (11/12/10)

From About.com OCD: "A study published in the journal Psychiatry Research suggests that both psychological and medical treatment of OCD changes the activity level of specific brain regions." (11/11/10)

From About.com Depression: "John Curry, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University, and his team conducted a study of 86 boys and 110 girls with an average age of 14 who had participated in a previous trial which had been divided into four groups: Prozac (fluoxetine) alone, cognitive behavioral therapy alone, Prozac plus therapy or placebo. They found that regardless of which group they had been in, about 47% of the teens later relapsed." (11/8/10)

From About.com Bipolar Disorder: "Using functional MRI, the researchers found that in contrast to the control group, both disorder groups showed dysfunction in the brain's prefrontal cortex. This area of the brain controls such things as behavior, executive function (decision making), working memory and attention." (10/18/10)

About.com OCD reports that the week, sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, takes place October 3 to 9. (10/4/10)

Long Island Special Needs Law Blog reports that some individuals and groups object to the way the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) marks the week, saying the focus should not be on stigma but on the needs of the severely mentally ill, and that NAMI puts too much emphasis on medications. (10/4/10)

From About.com Depression: "According to the the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth aged 10 to 19 years old. These tragic deaths are often preventable, however, if parents, teachers and friends are aware of the risk factors and warning signs." (9/27/10)

From AFP: "School children bullied online face a high risk of being hit with real-world depression, according to a study released Tuesday by the US National Institutes of Health." (9/22/10)

From Support for Special Needs: "Your child is sleeping more than usual. Your teen is withdrawn and doesn’t spend as much time with family as before. While these signs can seem like typical teenager behavior, they also can mean depression. Depression is not restricted to adults and is very common among children and teens." (9/10/10)

According to the National Institute for Mental Health, "suicide was the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24." Nearly seven of every 100,000 teens age 15 to 19 die by suicide, and 12.7 of every 100,000 young adults ages 20 to 24. (9/10/10)

From About.com Social Anxiety Disorder: "If you are looking for a comprehensive self-help program for social anxiety disorder (SAD), check out the Centre for Clinical Interventions "Shy No Longer" program." (9/6/10)

From Reuters: "An updated edition of a mental health bible for doctors may include diagnoses for 'disorders' such as toddler tantrums and binge eating, experts say, and could mean that soon no-one will be classed as normal." (7/29/10)

From Disability Scoop: "Some changes are being made in response to thousands of public comments on the forthcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but the autism recommendations will likely remain unaltered." (6/23/10)

From CNN: "Sleep-deprived high school students who doze off in class aren't just risking the wrath of their teachers. They're also three times more likely to be depressed than their alert classmates who get enough sleep, a new study has found." (6/9/10)

From About.com Social Anxiety Disorder: "There are many arguments in favor of pediatricians screening children for mental health issues. Disorders such as ADHD, autism and anxiety are on the rise. Children who receive early interventions often fare better. Screening also makes it easier for parents to bring up mental health concerns during future visits." (6/7/10)

From Disability Scoop: "Pediatricians should take a lead role in identifying and helping children experiencing mental health disorders, a national pediatricians group said Tuesday." (6/1/10)

From Different Dream for My Child: "When most people think of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they think of returning war veterans. If they think of PTSD in children at all, it is associated with children in war zones or kids who are victims of sexual or physical abuse. But new research shows that the crippling mental health effects of PTSD can also be caused by medical procedures, divorce, adoption, and natural disasters." (4/30/10)

From Disability Scoop: "A bill under consideration in the Florida legislature would place new restrictions on the use of drugs in foster children. Under the bill, medication could not be used in kids under age 11 who are in state care without an independent review and foster children could not participate in clinical trials." (4/14/10)

From Disability Scoop: "A Burger King commercial featuring the restaurant's mascot tearing through the halls of an office building before being tackled by two men in white uniforms who call him 'crazy,' is raising the ire of mental health advocates who say the commercial stirs up old stereotypes." (4/7/10)

From Time: "So far, anecdotal evidence indicates that virtual psychiatry visits work just fine for children and adolescents. Perhaps it's a sign of the times, an era in which teens feel more comfortable in front of a camera than they do face to face." (3/24/10)

Depression has been sadly in the news lately, with Michael Blosil, the 18-year-old son of entertainer Marie Osmond, and Andrew Koenig, the 41-year-old son of Star Trek actor Walter Koenig, both apparently ending theirs by taking their own lives. (3/2/10)

From MomLogic: "Andrew Koenig's grief-stricken parents made a heart wrenching plea for people to extend a hand to family members and friends who may be suffering from depression. Do you know the signs?" (2/26/10)

Get your comments in about proposed changes in the DSM-V. (2/24/10)

From About.com BPD: "The APA is proposing that a general diagnosis of "personality disorder" be given to individuals who exhibit extreme deficits in personality functioning. In addition, the APA is advocating that certain subtypes of personality disorders be retained. Borderline personality disorder is reformulated as 'borderline type' in this new proposed system." (2/23/10)

From About.com Depression: "According to new study published in the journal Addiction, children's response to intensely sweet flavors is linked to a family history of alcoholism as well as depression." (2/23/10)

From About.com Alternative Medicine: "For people at extremely high risk of psychosis, taking fish oil supplements may help cut the odds of developing psychotic disorders." (2/23/10)

From About.com Depression: "Teens with suicidal thoughts and elevated depression had a stronger and faster reduction in their symptoms when treated using family therapy as opposed to standard treatment in the community, according to a new report in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry." (2/9/10)

From About.com ADHD: "Parents who struggle with a child's public tantrums or frequent defiance may feel powerless and unsure how to deal with the behavior problems. Many are reluctant to discuss these oppositional behaviors because they fear being judged by others. But the best course of action is to talk about it with your child's doctor." (2/9/10)

From The Washington Post: "A national movement to purge the word 'retarded' from lawbooks and medical terminology is nearing success, gaining support this week from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who apologized to advocates for the disabled for using the term during a private meeting last summer." (2/4/10)

From About.com Bipolar Disorder: "As reported by the Associated Press, this month the Archives of General Psychiatry has published the results of a study that was designed to find out whether omega-3 fatty acids such as are found in fish oil have any benefit in preventing psychosis from developing, specific in teens and young adults." (2/4/10)

From CNN: "Though cutting the skin with sharp objects is the most common method used, especially by girls, other means of self-injury including head banging, overdosing, burning, hanging, drowning and shooting." (2/1/10)

From Reuters: "Nearly 1 in 10 seven- to eight-year-olds hears voices that aren't really there, according to a new study. But most children who hear voices don't find them troubling or disruptive to their thinking, the study team found." (1/25/10)

From MomLogic: "Many of the women we talked to last week who have adopted from Haiti say that their children suffer from RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder). We wanted to know more about RAD, so we called psychologist Dr. Michelle Golland for insight." (1/25/10)

From Disability Scoop: "Fifth, sixth and seventh graders at one New York City school are learning to frame challenging situations in a positive light by controlling their own 'self-talk.' The goal is to step back and assess a difficult situation rather than immediately take something negative from it." (1/19/10)

From About.com Depression: "According to findings based upon responses to a popular psychological questionnaire in use since the 1930's, more young people are reporting depression and mental health problems today than in the past." (1/13/10)

From About.com Depression: "According to researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle Children's Hospital and Group Health Research Institute, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), may be a good screening test to use for teens with depression." (11/3/10)