News on Mental Health

Stephanie Pratt Describes Bulimia Struggle
From About.com Eating Disorders: "It turns out that Stephanie Pratt of The Hills has uncovered her history of binging and purging. The early stories suggested that she blamed the pressures of co-stars' thin bodies as the chief reason. But she's since acknowledged that this was more a result of an eating disorder already present than a cause of it." (6/23/09)

FDA Panel OKs Antipsychotic Seroquel for Children
From Yahoo! News: "A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Wednesday voted "overwhelmingly" that Seroquel, a powerful antipsychotic drug, be approved to treat schizophrenia in children. A ruling on Seroquel's use for children with bipolar disorder is also expected Wednesday, as are similar decisions for the antipsychotics Geodon and Zyprexa." (6/11/09)

Stigma Keeps Teens From Depression Treatment
From HealthDay: "Barriers to care include worries about family's reaction, study finds." (5/28/09)

Anti-Psychotic Brings Undesirable Consequences
From Disability Scoop: "The drug Risperdal is commonly prescribed to kids with autism and attention deficit disorder (ADD) to help with behavior problems. But there is a little known side effect for some boys: development of breasts." (5/27/09)

Use Of Psychiatric Drugs In Kids Eases
From Disability Scoop: "The drop is most pronounced among younger children. One estimate indicates that prescriptions of psychiatric drugs for children under age 10 dropped 4 percent last year." (5/21/09)

Listening to Madness
From Newsweek: "Why some mentally ill patients are rejecting their medication and making the case for 'mad pride.'" (5/12/09)

Childhood Depression Awareness Day
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 4th this year, I thought I would speak a bit about my experiences." (4/28/09)

U.S. spends $9 billion on child mental illness
From Reuters: "An estimated 4.6 million children were treated for mental disorders in 2006 at an average cost of $1,931 per child, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported. But more children were treated for asthma than any other disease or injury, the AHRQ found." (4/22/09)

Tips for Helping Your Depressed Teenager
From About.com Fatherhood: "All teens experience some angst in their lives. It is almost hard wired in their brains and hearts. But depression is different. It is often almost debilitating in its impact on a teenager." (4/22/09)

Columbine's Unlearned Lesson
From Age of Autism: "What we really have is a generation of sick kids, and of chronic diseases of children and adults that have environmental clues and causes and potential cures -- and a media and medical establishment that won't come to grips with any of it. That's quite a saga -- it is the most important story of our time." (4/20/09)

FDA Orders "Suicidal Ideation" Warning on Many Mood Stabilizers
From About.com Bipolar Disorder: "Eight anti-seizure (antiepileptic) medications used as mood stabilizers for bipolar disorder in the United States must now carry a new warning regarding the risk of suicidal ideation." (4/14/09)

Are We Pushing Our Kids Too Hard?
From About.com Depression: "How many kids are going to grow up anxious and depressed because they were not developmentally ready to be pushed so hard? Or because they were inaccurately pigeon-holed based upon an unreliable test score?" (4/7/09)

Milkshakes are medicine for anorexic teens
From Science Blog: "Known as Behavioral Family Therapy, or the Maudsley Approach, parents are called up on to supervise the eating habits of their anorexic child, feeding them high-calorie meals like milkshakes and macaroni and cheese until they regain a healthy weight." (4/3/09)

Depression pill OK'd for kids but probe goes on
From Reuters: "Just weeks after prosecutors accused Forest Laboratories Inc of illegally marketing its anti-depressants Celexa and Lexapro to children and paying pediatricians kickbacks, U.S. health regulators have approved Lexapro for depression in kids." (3/22/09)

Parasite may trigger schizophrenia
From Reuters: "The parasite that causes toxoplasmosis has been linked to schizophrenia, and biologists in the UK may have discovered why. It seems the organism produces an enzyme that increases the production of the brain chemical dopamine." (3/19/09)

New Study: No Evidence that Medication is Effective for BPD
From About.com BPD: "The study ... analyzed data from 27 randomized controlled trials of medications for BPD, and found that no single medication was effective in reducing overall BPD symptom severity. However, some mood stabilizing drugs and second-generation antipsychotic medications did have have a significant impact on some of the core symptoms of BPD." (3/19/09)

Celeb Antics Stem From Mental Illness, Says Dr. Drew
From Wired: "In his latest book, The Mirror Effect (on bookstore shelves Tuesday), he spells out a theory that stars are predisposed to narcissistic personality disorder long before they become famous. Their dysfunctional behavior is rewarded by Hollywood and portrayed as normal by the press." (3/18/09)

U.S. Receives 'D' For State Of Mental Health Care
From Disability Scoop: "The report grades each state on access to medicine, housing and family education within the public mental health system for adults. The national average is a D, the same as the last time the report was issued in 2006." (3/11/09)

DSM-V On The Way, But In The Meantime Debate Swirls
From Disability Scoop: "The fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or the DSM-V, is expected in 2012 and already professionals are busy debating what exactly qualifies as a mental problem." (3/11/09)

Suicidal Thinking May Be Predicted Among Certain Teens with Depression
From NIMH: "The researchers found that teens who had higher levels of suicidal thinking, higher levels of parent-child conflict, and who used drugs or alcohol at the trial's beginning were more likely to experience a suicidal event during treatment and less likely to respond to treatment. They were also less likely to have completed treatment." (3/9/09)

Managing Impulsive Behaviors
From About.com PTSD: "People with PTSD may be at greater risk to engage in a number of impulsive behaviors, such as deliberate self-harm. Therefore, it can be important to learn healthy ways of managing urges to engage in these behaviors." (3/6/09)

Talk Therapy for Kids' Pain: Better than Pills?
From Time: "After just 10 weeks of ACT sessions, during which patients were taught strategies for accepting chronic pain so they could pursue important goals, those kids suffered less intensely and functioned significantly better day to day than did a control group." (3/4/09)

Schizophrenia linked to signaling problems in new brain study
From Science Blog: "Many of these genes are involved in controlling cell-to-cell signalling in the brain. The study, which was carried out by researchers at Imperial College London and GlaxoSmithKline, supports the theory that abnormalities in the way in which cells 'talk' to each other are involved in the disease." (3/3/09)

Post-Traumatic Stress Tied to Increased Suicide Risk
From HealthDay: "How young adults respond to early trauma seems to play a role, study finds." (3/4/09)

State Mental Health Benefits Information Updated
From About.com Health Insurance: "The National Conference of State Legislatures has recently updated their list of state legislation that affects coverage of mental health conditions." (2/28/09)

Childhood abuse damages genes, study finds
From Reuters: "This helps explain why childhood abuse, such as sexual abuse or neglect, can cause depression, other mental health effects and suicide, and could some day lead to treatments to help victims overcome their abusive childhoods." (2/24/09)

Genetic Link Found Between Sleep Disorders And Depression
From Science Daily: "A new study in the journal Sleep was the first to use twin data to examine the longitudinal link between sleep problems and depression. Results of this study demonstrate that sleep problems predict later depression; the converse association was not found." (2/1/09)

Kids with disabilities may have undiagnosed mental health issues
From Disability News: "Experts say as many as 50 percent of children with developmental disabilities may also have mental health issues like anxiety, depression or obsessiveness. But the second conditions often go undiagnosed as kids have difficulty communicating with doctors." (1/29/09)

What Is RAD??
From the blog I'm Adopting a Deaf Child With Ushers: "Imagine if you can ... You feel physical pain when loved. You feel so angry and hurt that you can't stand to be in your body. You live your life knowing that you are unlovable and can prove it." (8/30/08)

An inspirational little girl.
From Ends With 8741: "In my never-ending quest to find other parents raising kids with special needs, I came upon a blog that you should read. It's called Journey to Being a Normal Kid by an 8 year old girl who has Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)." (1/22/09)

Antipsychotic Drugs Linked to Sudden Cardiac Death
From CNN.com: "New research published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that antipsychotic drugs are not risk free, and the study's authors are urging much more caution in their use. The drugs are associated with a risk of sudden cardiac death, particularly at higher doses." (1/16/09}

Academic Performance in First Grade Affects Future Depression
From About.com Depression: "Children who did poorly in the first grade were found to have negative self-perceptions in the sixth grade and depression symptoms in the seventh grade, according to a new study from University of Missouri researchers." (1/13/09)

Child mental health problems 'to double'
From Telegraph.co.uk: "The economic downturn will double the number of children with mental health problems, a Government adviser warned." (1/10/09)

Brains of Bulimia Patients Wired Differently
From HealthDay: "Study found regions related to impulse control were less active." (1/7/09)

Antidepressants for Children: Which Kids Need Them?
From WebMD: "Children With Milder Depression May Get Little Help From Antidepressant Drugs." (1/5/09)

Suicide screening in schools yields results
From Reuters: "School-based suicide screening can identify students at risk for suicide and other mental health problems not recognized by school professionals, new research suggests." (12/22/08)

Students face suspension over mental health woes
From Disability News: "National Public Radio profiles a student who found himself suspended after his family turned to his school for help when he said he wanted to kill himself." (12/6/08)

The BPD Family
From About.com Bipolar Disorder: "Watching a loved one with BPD suffer, and dealing with very difficult relationship symptoms of BPD, are extraordinarily stressful for family members. Family members often feel helpless while watching their loved one with BPD engage in self-destructive behaviors." (12/1/08)

Infant Mental Health
From Suite 101: "Infant mental health is synonymous with healthy social and emotional development. Therefore, addressing infant mental health concerns greatly impacts the development of self-worth, self-confidence and self-regulation of social-emotional development. Healthy social-emotional development is essential for success in school and in life." (12/1/08)

Surviving the Holidays with BPD
From About.com BPD: "Many people think of the holidays as a time of joy, but the truth is that for many people, the holidays are the most difficult time of year. This can particularly be true for people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and their families." (11/26/08)

Little progress, many holes in kids' mental health system
From CNN: "Research shows that approximately one in five children has a diagnosable mental disorder ranging from 'mild,' such as attention-deficit (hyperactivity) disorder, to the more severe. More than three-quarters of these children don't get the services they need, and what they do get is based purely on chance: which state they happen to live in." (11/21/08)

Children's mental health care lagging
From Disability News: "Top officials in more than one in five states say children with serious mental health problems are not receiving good care in their states, according to a new survey from Columbia University." (11/21/08)

Conduct Disorder In Adolescent Girls
From Psych Central News: "Nearly 10 percent of adolescent girls in the United States meet the criteria for conduct disorder, the second most common psychiatric diagnosis among adolescent females." (11/17/08)

Grading Technique to Reduce Worry
From About.com Generalized Anxiety Disorder: "To combat the feeling that life events are overwhelming, you can try a simple technique known as grading. It may seem simplistic and obvious, but few people actually follow through on using it. If you do, it can be an excellent way to relieve some anxiety and get a better grip on the things happening in your life." (11/17/08)

Cafeteria Minefield?
About.com Eating Disorders looks at the challenges for people with eating disorders going away to college. (11/14/08)

Brain's Wiring Stunted, Lopsided in Childhood Onset Schizophrenia
From NIMH: "Front-to-Back Wave Envelopes Brain as Child Grows Up." (11/6/08)

Eye misalignment may raise risk of mental illness
From Reuters: "A study released today suggests that children with 'exotropia type' strabismus -- a visual defect in which the eyes are misaligned and turn outward - may be at increased risk for developing mental illness by young adulthood." (11/3/08)

Is Medication a Must for Panic Disorder?
Answer back in the poll on the About.com Panic Disorder site. (10/28/08)

Scientists ID 3 New Candidate Genes for Schizophrenia
From HealthDay: "Finding may offer insight into biology of disease and why some are susceptible." (10/26/08)

You're Just the Parents
From RAD Blog: "We should not have to have an adversarial relationship with those that are supposed to be helping our kids, but when dealing with a child with attachment issues that seems to be the norm. Our kids can charm even the most intelligent professionals and it looks like the parents are crazy." (10/17/08)

Screening Quiz: Is Your Teen Depressed?
From About.com Parenting Teens: "Sometimes winter blues will mask what is considered real depression. If your teen has been acting down and out or has not "been himself" lately, check out our quiz and read through our resources." (10/16/08)

Dissociative Identity Disorder
From AdoptionBlogs: "Formerly called Multiple Personality Disorder, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is not a surprising diagnosis for kids who have been through traumatic events in their lives." (10/15/08)

Newest Developments for St. John's Wort
From About.com Alternative Medicine: "In an earlier article written about St. John's Wort, studies showed that while St. John's Wort was successful in treating mild-to-moderate depression, it was not more effective than the placebo in treating severe depression. Well, you guessed it, those findings have now been countered in the latest study on the natural herb." (10/13/08)

I Hurt You Because You're Safe
From Reactive Attachment Disorder Blog: "Getting close to people is scary. Lashing out at people and pushing them away prevents them from getting close and being scared. This is where the attachment disorder portion comes in." (10/11/08)

BPD Treatment Boosted in the U.S. Economic Bailout Bill
From About.com Borderline Personality Disorder: "You may not know that the economic bailout bill that was signed into law last week is particularly important for people with serious mental health conditions like borderline personality disorder (BPD). That's because, tucked into this bill, are provisions that finally ensure mental health parity for people with mental illness." (10/9/08)

Antisocial behaviour hormone link
From BBC News: "Cortisol levels in the body usually surge in stressful situations, thought to help people regulate emotions. But a Cambridge university study found this did not happen in boys with a history of severe antisocial behaviour." (10/6/08)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Best for Traumatized Youths
From HealthDay: "However, despite the proven effectiveness of cognitive therapy, many mental health professionals use unproven treatments such as art, play or drug therapy to treat children with psychological trauma." (9/30/08)

What Is the Difference Between CBT and DBT?
Learn the therapy lingo from the About.com guide to Borderline Personality Disorder. (9/28/08)

Newer Antipsychotics No Better Than Older in Treating Schizophrenia
From the National Institute of Mental Health: "Two newer atypical antipsychotic medications were no more effective than an older conventional antipsychotic in treating child and adolescent schizophrenia and may lead to more metabolic side effects." (9/20/08)

Angel Dust Inspired a new Schizophrenia Drug
From Wired: "When scientists learned that PCP, also known as angel dust, can cause every single symptom of schizophrenia, they wondered if chemicals that have the opposite effect could fight mental disorders. That insight led to them to discover a new class of antipsychotic medications." (9/16/08)

Newer Drugs No Better Than Older Ones for Childhood Schizophrenia
From HealthDay: "The assumption has been that the newer drugs are safer and more effective; however, earlier trials found they are no more effective than the first-generation drugs, and they have different side effects than the older drugs." (9/16/08)

A Case to Look Through
The blog Mental & Emotional Health presents a case study of a troubled young man and seeks opinions on what could be done to help. (9/6/08)

BPD: Is It a Yes or No Diagnosis
The About.com guide to Bipolar Disorder wonders if you can have "a little" BPD. (9/4/08)

The Connection between PTSD and the Experience of Pain
The About.com guide to PTSD looks at its link to chronic diseases. (9/2/08)

Improve Recognition of Adolescent Depression
From Psych Central: "While it is normal for teenagers to experience emotional highs and lows, distinguishing between normal teenage mood swings and actual depression is critical for effective care." (8/29/08)

Does Hollywood Promote Mental Health Stigmatization?
This time, it's Batman: The Dark Knight and Ugly Betty in the hotseat. From the About.com guide to Borderline Personality Disorder. (8/26/08)

Health Tip: When Your Child Worries
Just in time for the start of worry season in my house -- that is, back to school. (8/25/08)

Research Supports BPD Diagnosis in Teens
Though BPD has been a controversial diagnosis for teens, researchers have now "found that there appears to be a significant subgroup of teens who have stable BPD from their teenage years into adulthood. For these teens, a diagnosis of BPD may be both warranted and helpful." (8/21/08)

Dissociative disorder often persists to adulthood
"Compared with a control group, the patients previously diagnosed with dissociative disorder were less likely to have financial and emotional independence from their parents, more likely to still be living with their parents, and less likely to have social leisure activities outside the home, the researchers note." (8/15/08)

Childhood stress tied to adult mental disorders
"Adults in treatment for severe mental disorders report greater levels of childhood stress than adults without psychiatric disorders, researchers from Germany found in a study they conducted." (8/7/08)

UK celebrity calls for mental health pride
Stephen Fry, who has bipolar disorder, speaks out on ending the public stigma. (8/6/08)

In era of pills, fewer shrinks doing talk therapy
In an era of pills, and in an era in which insurance companies have figured out that pills are cheaper. (8/5/08)

NIMH · The National Institute of Mental Health Strategic Plan
"NIMH envisions a world in which mental illnesses are prevented and cured." Here's how they plan to make it happen. (7/30/08)

Brain region linked to obsessive disorder risk
"Scientists have located an area in the brain that fails to 'kick-in' for people with obsessive compulsive disorder and those at risk of developing the condition." (7/18/08)

Are Drug Industry-Psychiatry Ties Huge?
According to a post by the About.com Guides to Bipolar Disorder? Yeah. (7/17/08)

When Children Should Get Therapy
The About.com Guide to Generalized Anxiety Disorder has a couple of good links for parents making that decision. (7/15/08)

Anger Management Games for Children
A new book from Jessica Kingsley Publishers may give you some recourse when you see that rage coming on. (7/14/08)

Big Brother 10 casting news
According to TV Guide, the cast for the latest U.S. version includes "someone with OCD." (7/8/08)

Antidepressants tied to gastrointestinal bleeding
FYI, if your child takes an SSRI. (7/8/08)

The Hardest Question
If you've ever, even in your darkest dreams, thought that you might one day have to institutionalize your child, you may want to follow the comments in this post from the blog The Adventures of Leelo and His Potty-Mouthed Mom. (7/7/08)

Persistence found to be key to treating depressed teens
"Teenagers whose initial drug treatment fails to combat depression, which happens in four out of 10 cases, can be helped by switching medicine and adding psychotherapy, a U.S. study said." (2/26/08)

Anger in teenage boys tied to enlarged brain region
"Aggression in some teenage boys may be linked to overly large amygdalas, a region in the brain involved in emotion and other functions, a study by scientists in Australia and the United States has found." (2/26/08)

Bullying harms kids' mental health: study
"A new study provides strong evidence that being bullied can cause children to develop depression and anxiety." (2/6/08)

J&J drugs don't work in treating aggression: study
"Two Johnson & Johnson antipsychotic drugs long used to treat aggressive behavior in people with limited intelligence do not work and should not be prescribed for these patients, researchers said on Friday." (1/3/08)

Combination treatment best for depressed teens
"A combination of the antidepressant drug fluoxetine (Prozac) and a type of psychotherapy called cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) appears to be the safest, most effective way to treat moderate-to-severe depression in adolescents, according to a study published today." (10/1/07)

Brain abnormalities seen in sibs of schizophrenics
"Younger, healthy siblings of patients with schizophrenia show significant brain abnormalities, researchers report in the Archives of General Psychiatry. However, these abnormalities may only be temporary." (7/26/07)

Fewer kids on SSRI antidepressants
"Within 2 years after the October 2003 FDA public health advisory about the risk of suicide in children taking a type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), significant reductions in rates of diagnosis and antidepressant treatment of childhood depression occurred, researchers report." (7/4/07)

Spit May Hold Secret to Stopping Bullying
Wondering if your child is being bullied? Tell him to spit. No, not at the bully. At a scientist, who can check the amount of cortisol in the saliva. (5/15/07)

FDA Says: We Won't Remove Warning, We'll Extend It
Undeterred by a study stating that antidepressants are not a danger to teenagers, the FDA is extending the Black Box warning -- the highest possible caution, surrounded by a black border on medication packaging -- from children and adolescents only to everybody under the age of 25. (5/3/07)

What's Worse: The Stigma of Diagnosis, or of Being Bad?
"Mentally Ill Kids Face Widespread Stigma" reads the HealthDay headline, and I expected the story would be about parents sharing the problems their children have had dealing with other people's judgment, and how mental-illness diagnosis and treatment has made them an outcast. (5/1/01)

Happy News About Antidepressants
Turns out anti-depressants may not be so bad for children and teens after all. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that those ominous Black Box warnings indicating a strong suicide risk for youngsters are overstating the case and should be toned down. (4/18/07)

Anti-seizure drug calms irritable kids
"Treatment with the anti-seizure drug gabapentin may improve the irritability seen in certain children with neurologic impairments, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics." (2/23/07)

FDA warns about dangerous Internet drug mistake | Health | Reuters
"A drug used to treat schizophrenia was mailed to some consumers who had ordered other medications via the Internet, and several users had to seek emergency treatment because they could not breathe, U.S. health officials said on Friday." (2/16/07)

Mental health bill moves forward in Congress
"A bill that would require health insurers to cover more of the costs of treating mental health conditions moved forward in Congress on Wednesday with wide backing from employers and insurers." (2/15/07)

Children's behavior problems may be in their genes
"In a study of adult twins and their children, researchers found that genes, rather than parents' own argumentative behavior, seemed key in the children's odds of serious conduct problems -- like bullying, skipping school and shoplifting." (2/7/07)

Reading Diet Articles Could Be Unhealthy
"Magazine headlines entice teenage girls with promises: 'Get the body you want' and 'Hit your dream weight now!' But a new study suggests reading articles about diet and weight loss could have unhealthy consequences later." (1/2/07)

Be On The Lookout For Warning Signs Of Teen Suicide
"Chase was just a few weeks away from his 13th birthday when he committed suicide -- an act that seemed to come from out of the blue. Looking back, though, his parents Jeff and Laura Edwards say the signs were all around. They just hadn't known what those signs meant." (1/3/07)

Helping Grieving Children Through the Holidays
"The holiday season can be especially difficult for children who've experienced the death of a loved one or suffered some other traumatic event during the past year." (12/16/06)

Diabetes Drug Halts Weight Gain in Kids Taking Antipsychotics
"While increasing numbers of children and teens are being treated for psychiatric illness with medications called atypical antipsychotics, many experience significant weight gain while on these drugs -- as much as a pound or more a week." (12/1/06)

Age no barrier to anorexia, illness afflicts children
"Marg Oaten's daughter was a happy, healthy girl who loved table tennis and drama until at the age of 10 she developed anorexia. Twelve years on she is still fighting the illness, which almost killed her." (12/4/06)

Antidepressants Lower Kids' Suicide Risk, New Research Finds
"The debate about how antidepressants might affect suicide risk in children and adolescents just got murkier." (11/1/06)

Gene link to schizophrenia found
"An Edinburgh University team found people carrying a variant of a gene called neuregulin had a higher chance of developing psychotic symptoms." (10/30/07)

Animal Study Links Teen Aggression With Prozac
"Scientists have uncovered clues as to why children and adolescents may get more aggressive or even suicidal while taking the widely prescribed antidepressant Prozac." (10/16/06)

"Schizophrenia" should be dropped, say experts
"Mental health experts called on Monday for the term schizophrenia to be dropped, saying it has no scientific validity, is imprecise and stigmatizing." (10/9/06)

Acne treatment could be trigger factor in suicide, say researchers - 2
"An acne treatment blamed for triggering suicides in severely affected young people has been shown to cause depressive behaviour in animal tests, say researchers." (9/21/06)

Disabling fatigue may have genetic roots
"Disabling fatigue in children is not simply a symptom of depression, but appears to be an illness in its own right -- one that may be inherited, a UK study of twins hints." (9/21/06)

New risk factor for schizophrenia
"UCLA scientists have discovered that infants who possess a specific immune gene that too closely resembles their mothers' are more likely to develop schizophrenia later in life." (9/5/06)

Katharine McPhee's Bulimia Battle
"American Idol's Simon Cowell called runner-up Katharine McPhee's voice "the best of the competition." What hardly anyone knew, however, was that she'd risked destroying that voice: She'd struggled with bulimia for five years, and the self-induced vomiting could have taken away her ability to sing." (6/22/06)

Omega-3 fatty acids may help kids with depression
"Treatment with omega-3 fatty acids, the type found in fish oils, appears to benefit children suffering from clinical depression, according to pilot study conducted in Israel." (6/22/06)

Physiological Markers For Cutting, Other Self-harming Behaviors
"University of Washington psychologists have discovered that adolescent girls who engage in behaviors such as cutting themselves have lower levels of serotonin, a hormone and brain chemical, in their blood. They also have reduced levels in the parasympathetic nervous system of what is called respiratory sinus arrhythmia, a measure of the ebb and flow of heart rate along with breathing.{ (6/17/06)

Prozac Not Effective Against Anorexia
"The antidepressant Prozac doesn't help women struggling with anorexia nervosa maintain a normal body weight, and it doesn't reduce their risk of relapsing, a new study found. This revelation comes after years of prescribing the drug for patients suffering from the life-threatening eating disorder." (6/13/06)

Antipsychotic Drug Prescriptions for Kids Soaring
"The use of antipsychotic drugs prescribed for children has soared six-fold since the early 1990s, a new report finds." (6/5/06)

17 Pct. at 2 Colleges Practice Self-Abuse
"Nearly 1 in 5 students at two Ivy League schools say they have purposely injured themselves by cutting, burning or other methods, a disturbing phenomenon that psychologists say they are hearing about more often." (6/5/06)

Disabled kids head back home
"Georgia is spending millions of dollars to move potentially thousands of emotionally disturbed or disabled children out of mental health facilities and back into their family homes." (6/1/06)

Depressed Boys More Likely to Smoke as Adults
"Adding to the growing evidence that mental illness in childhood can lead to problems later in life, a new Finnish study suggests that depressed kids are more likely to grow up to become smokers." (5/26/06)

Is the DSM controlled by drug companies?
If it seems to you that psychiatric afflictions are multiplying as quickly as drugs are developed to address them, you may not be far wrong. (4/21/06)

Child psychiatrist shortage puts kids at risk
According to a report from the National Conference of State Legislatures, child psychiatrists are in short supply, and the supply's getting shorter. (4/10/06)

Prenatal and neonatal problems may lead to eating disorders years late
Recent research suggests that you may have to look way back to find the roots of eating disorders -- all the way back to the womb. (1/7/06)