Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Experts call for expanded Medicaid coverage to improve children’s health

As states reassess Medicaid coverage following recent federal policy changes and the end of pandemic-era protections, researchers are advocating for evidence-based health care policy reform and expanded Medicaid coverage for children.

9 Apr 2026

Fat-producing enzyme identified as key driver of damage in Parkinson’s disease

A fat-producing enzyme in brain cells may play a key role in driving damage in Parkinson's disease and could offer a new target for treatment, scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have found.

9 Apr 2026

Smoking during pregnancy raises children’s mental health risk

Smoking during pregnancy may increase children's mental health issues, with implications for internalizing and externalizing symptoms throughout development.

9 Apr 2026

Self-employment linked to lower heart disease risks in Hispanic women

Self-employed Hispanic women report less high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, poor health and binge drinking compared to Hispanic women working for salary or wages, new research suggests.

8 Apr 2026

Global Flourishing Study releases largest dataset on human well-being

The Global Flourishing Study (GFS), the most comprehensive empirical investigation of human flourishing ever undertaken, today made its first two waves of data publicly available through the Center for Open Science at no cost and without pre-registration. Researchers, journalists, policymakers and the public can now freely access the dataset on the Open Science Framework (OSF) website.

8 Apr 2026

Psychology students gain interaction skills by watching therapists work

Psychology students who will work with patients during supervised professional training can benefit from observing experienced therapists at work.

8 Apr 2026

Genetic overlap links psychiatric disorders with many physical ailments

For centuries, mental illness and physical disease have been viewed as two distinct categories, each with its own field of study, its own doctors, and its own menu of treatments.

8 Apr 2026

Social support, physical health and spiritual engagement help older adults truly flourish

Older Canadians who are socially connected, physically healthy, and spiritually engaged are significantly more likely to experience complete mental health, according to a new nationally representative study examining adults aged 65 and older.

8 Apr 2026

Yale researchers use zebrafish to find precision treatments for autism

In recent decades, the zebrafish has become one of the most valuable model organisms in scientific research.

8 Apr 2026

Study identifies a common brain activity pattern across psychedelics

Scientists have demonstrated, for the first time, that several psychedelic drugs – including psilocybin, LSD, mescaline, DMT and ayahuasca – produce a common pattern of brain activity despite their distinct chemistries.

8 Apr 2026

Self-practice training improves CBT skills and reflective practice

Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed and evaluated a new eight-week training program that enables psychology trainees to effectively CBT by applying its techniques to themselves.

7 Apr 2026

AI models may amplify bias in psychiatric aggression predictions

A first-of-its-kind study led by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found that artificial intelligence (AI) models used to predict aggressive incidents in acute psychiatric care can reinforce and amplify existing social and structural inequities by overestimating the likelihood of aggression among already marginalized groups.

7 Apr 2026

What happens in the brain on psychedelics? Scientists identify a common circuit pattern

Researchers combined 11 international resting-state fMRI datasets to map how psychedelic drugs reshape brain connectivity across cortical and subcortical circuits. The mega-analysis found a shared signature of stronger coupling between transmodal association networks and unimodal or sensorimotor systems, alongside selective and variable reductions in within-network connectivity.

7 Apr 2026

Navigated TMS significantly boosts combat PTSD recovery rates

An advanced version of a procedure using magnetic fields to stimulate brain nerve cells in treating depression was significantly effective for 85% of active military and veterans suffering from combat post-traumatic stress disorder enrolled in a recent study, when added to psychotherapy.

7 Apr 2026

Longer working hours associated with higher risk of nonrestorative sleep and poor mental health

Mental load, invisible work, "the extra shift"; no matter the newly coined term, unpaid work in the domestic sphere, predominantly done by women, is a hidden burden eating away at the sleep and mental health of those tasked with it.

7 Apr 2026

New obesity definition could delay treatment and widen health gaps

The Lancet obesity framework aims to improve risk assessment but risks delaying treatment and deepening health inequities, according to recent evaluations.

7 Apr 2026

Smoking shrinks key brain regions while cannabis shows weaker effects

The study highlights brain changes from tobacco use and calls for more research on cannabis, as its effects on brain structure remain inadequately understood.

7 Apr 2026

World Health Day 2026: WHO urges global collaboration and science for better health

The World Health Organization (WHO) today calls on people everywhere to renew their commitment to working together and supporting science as the twin engines driving better health, under the World Health Day 2026 theme: "Together for health. Stand with science."

6 Apr 2026

Study explores role of AI automation in psychotherapy practice

Psychotherapy has always been a deeply human endeavor: a patient talking, a therapist listening and responding, and healing happening through words. But with the rapid rise of conversational artificial intelligence, particularly large language models (LLMs), that paradigm is shifting fast.

6 Apr 2026

Prenatal smoking linked to broader mental health issues in children

Children exposed to maternal smoking before birth are more likely to experience behavioral and mental health challenges, according to a large study funded by the National Institutes of Health's Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.

6 Apr 2026