Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

IOM report: Nation lacks health workers trained to meet seniors' mental health needs

The Institute of Medicine report, released Tuesday, found the continued lack of health care providers will make it difficult to meet the growing demand for mental health services from the nation's growing senior population.

12 Jul 2012

Researchers identify set of laboratory-based biomarkers that aid in diagnosis of schizophrenia

In the current online issue of PLoS ONE, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say they have identified a set of laboratory-based biomarkers that can be useful for understanding brain-based abnormalities in schizophrenia. The measurements, known as endophenotypes, could ultimately be a boon to clinicians who sometimes struggle to recognize and treat the complex and confounding mental disorder.

12 Jul 2012

Mindfulness techniques show health benefits

Specific types of "mindfulness practices" including Zen meditation have research-proven benefits for patients with certain physical and mental health problems, according to a report in the July Journal of Psychiatric Practice.

12 Jul 2012

Novel molecular mechanism responsible for most important symptom of major depression

Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have laid bare a novel molecular mechanism responsible for the most important symptom of major depression: anhedonia, the loss of the ability to experience pleasure.

12 Jul 2012

Man Therapy launches in Colorado

Man Therapy, a groundbreaking new approach to suicide prevention and other men's mental health issues, was launched in Colorado today. Man Therapy reshapes the conversation, using humor to cut through stigma and tackle issues like depression, divorce and even suicidal thoughts head on, the way a man would do it.

12 Jul 2012

Daily temperature linked to bipolar admissions

Results from a Taiwanese study suggest that high daily temperatures are associated with increased hospitalization rates for mood symptoms among patients with bipolar disorder, particularly women.

11 Jul 2012

Visual, auditory hallucinations often co-occur in psychosis patients

Visual hallucinations are common in patients with psychosis spectrum disorders and often co-occur with auditory hallucinations, researchers report.

11 Jul 2012

Substance use linked to poor memory, reasoning in BD

The presence of comorbid substance use disorder is associated with significantly poorer visual memory and conceptual reasoning skills in patients with bipolar disorder, US study results show.

11 Jul 2012

Physicians need to know how chemical intolerance affects people: Study

Chemical intolerance contributes to the illnesses of 1 in 5 patients but the condition seldom figures in their diagnosis, according to clinical research directed by a UT Medicine San Antonio physician.

11 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 11, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about the scheduled House vote on repealing the health law as well as how stakeholders -- whether it be certain governors or wall street investors -- are responding to the Supreme Court's decision on the Medicaid expansion.

11 Jul 2012

SAMHSA announces 2012 System of Care Expansion Planning grants

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is awarding up to $3.5 million for the Expansion of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and their Families program.

11 Jul 2012

‘Open to Options’ guides cancer patients in making critical health decisions

Cancer patients across the country have a new way to navigate through difficult treatment decisions and communicate better with their doctors. "Open to Options," which recently launched nationally, was developed in conjunction with UCSF to guide patients in making critical health decisions.

11 Jul 2012

Study refutes link between depression and Facebook use

A study of university students is the first evidence to refute the supposed link between depression and the amount of time spent on Facebook and other social-media sites.

11 Jul 2012

Connections between daily stressors of police work and obesity, suicide

The daily psychological stresses that police officers experience in their work put them at significantly higher risk than the general population for a host of long-term physical and mental health effects. That's the overall finding of a major scientific study of the Buffalo Police Department called Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) conducted over five years by a University at Buffalo researcher.

11 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Obama's 'ideological gymnastics;' Health law's promise of mental health parity; Perry's 'platitudes' on care in Texas

Mitt Romney is under fire for flip-flopping when he declared that the individual mandate is a tax, after a campaign adviser said it was not. In a front-page story, the New York Times wrote that Romney's statement "prompted renewed criticism that he was willing to adjust his views for political expediency." Bill Burton of the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA opined on what he called "Romney's ideological gymnastics."

11 Jul 2012