December 2019

By Katie Willis, University of Alberta, December 20, 2019 New research from University of Alberta neuroscientists shows that the brains of adolescents struggling with mental-health issues may be wired differently from those of their healthy peers. This collaborative research, led by Anthony Singhal, professor and chair in the Department of Psychology, involved adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17 who had a history of mental-health problems, including depression, anxiety, and ADHD. This...

By Daniel G. Whitney and Mark D. Peterson, JAMA Pediatrics, February 11, 2019 In children, mental health disorders have deleterious consequences on individual and socioeconomic factors and can impede healthful transitioning into adulthood, and the incidence of mental health disorders has been increasing over the decades. Recent initiatives led by global and national agencies were created to identify priority focus areas regarding the mental health–related burden. Some of the emerging...

By Laura Bauer, The Kansas City Star, December 22, 2019 In a hallway inside Indiana’s Capitol, the young man walks up to a state senator and gives her a quick hug. “Hey, it’s Josh Christian,” he tells Sen. Erin Houchin, a member of the Senate’s child welfare committee. “I went to Capitol Hill and I got published. It was crazy!” The encounter would have seemed more than unlikely just a few years ago, when Christian was one of the thousands of kids in Indiana’s foster care system. In about 18...

By Rachel Levin, San Francisco Chronicle, December 20, 2019 “I’m not a betting man, but if I was, I’d put my money on Fidelio,” says Markelle “The Gazelle” Taylor, winner of the 12th annual San Quentin Marathon — and the three before that. He isn’t running this year. The 26.2-mile race, held inside the 30-foot walls of what’s got to be the prettiest prison in America, is for inmates only. Prettiest, at least, when viewed from the outside, where the sparkling San Francisco Bay stretches to...

By Rachel O'Neal, Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, December 22, 2019 One of the largest -- if not the largest -- provider of toys and gifts to the Centers for Youth & Families is a Little Rock tattoo parlor. Empire Tattoo and its manager, John Rhe'aume, host Toys for Tats, a Nov. 1-Dec. 18 fundraiser to collect toys for the children at the Centers. Toys for Tats is in its fifth year. Customers who bring in a toy worth at least $20 with a receipt receive 50% off the cost of a tattoo.

By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, California Health Report, December 20, 2019 California health officials are gearing up for the launch of a statewide screening effort that aims to help doctors measure children’s exposure to trauma and their risk of related health problems. Starting Jan. 1, California will become the first state in the nation to reimburse health care providers who screen patients enrolled in the Medi-Cal program for “adverse childhood experiences” or ACEs. The $40 million effort has...

By Steve Milne, Capital Public Radio, December 20, 2019 One of the last pieces of legislation from former California Gov. Jerry Brown’s final year in office would end the prosecution of pre-teens who commit crimes, other than murder and forcible sexual assault. Right now, California has no minimum age for sending children to juvenile hall. Beginning in the new year, counties will no longer be allowed to process kids under 12 years old through the juvenile justice system. Instead, they will...

By Gabriel J.X. Dance, The New York Times, December 23, 2019 In late November, the moderator of three highly trafficked websites posted a message titled “R.I.P.” It offered a convoluted explanation for why they were left with no choice but to close. The unnamed moderator thanked over 100,000 “brothers” who had visited and contributed to the sites before their demise, blaming an “increasingly intolerant world” that did not allow children to “fully express themselves.” In fact, forums on the...

Virginia House Del. Jeffrey M. Bourne, left, stands onstage with Lashrecse D. Aird, center, who won her House District 63 race, and Virginia state Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan at a Democratic election watch party at Hilton Richmond Downtown on Nov. 5. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) Republican-controlled state legislatures are gearing up to try to tighten abortion laws across the country, while some states controlled by Democrats are looking to enshrine the right to choose into law. It’s...

On July 26, 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed into law the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). This law was a huge leap towards helping people of the United States, facing mobility and other disabling conditions, conquer many of the barriers faced in everyday life. In this article, we shall examine together the ADA, the ADAAA and how these laws impact your ability to work while having a mental health disorder.

Hi everyone, this week I've released a video and article about emptiness, and the suprising way we can come to feel fulfilled. As you'll see in the video, especially near the end, I feel very strongly about this. Everyone feels a sense of emptiness sometimes, but people with Childhood PTSD are especially prone to it. It’s one of the classic adult symptoms of early trauma. And like most trauma symptoms, it has roots in your brain development as well as your psychological development. This is...

By Daniel G. Whitney and Mark D. Peterson, JAMA Pediatrics, February 11, 2019