September 2016

“I’m tired of all the shootings,” yelled Zaair, a high school sophomore at Barringer High School in Newark, New Jersey. A small group of students were in the middle of an important brainstorming session. “Yeah, me too. It’s all over the place,” said another student. They were discussing ideas for a ServiceWorks community project. Other options had come up, but talk kept coming back to gun violence. It’s a grave topic with an enormity that can be hard to grasp, much less address. And the...

At Bell Central School Center in Pineville, rated “distinguished” in the Kentucky accountability system, principal Greg Wilson said parents of misbehaving students often request that their children be paddled instead of getting suspended and losing time in the classroom. Corporal punishment, or paddling, is fading as a disciplinary method in Kentucky public schools, dropping from 3,075 incidents in 2005 to 574 in 2015, according to the latest available data. But Bell County is among 25...

Childhood bullying inflicts the same long-term psychological trauma on girls as severe physical or sexual abuse, suggests a new survey of college students. The study, which involved 480 college freshmen through seniors, indicated that the detrimental effects of bullying may linger for years, negatively affecting victims’ mental health well into young adulthood. While most of the scholarship on bullying has focused on kindergarten through 12th-grade students, the struggles revealed by college...

Although it can be difficult to admit as a psychologist, talk therapy does not work for everyone. In fact, some critics of psychotherapy would argue that it does not even work for the majority of people. I can see the validity in the arguments by these critics. I have always been a firm believer that talking to a friend, family member or spiritual leader can be as effective as working with a professional therapist. In fact, some research has shown this to be the case, particularly among...

In my four decades as a physician, I have seen the path of destruction that addiction leaves on individuals, families and communities. I have served patients from Connecticut to California. From Appalachia to the Navajo, Apache, Sioux and Hopi reservations. From Eskimos in Alaska to the Shuar people in the Amazon jungle. And, now from rural West Tennessee to urban and suburban Memphis. My calling and my passion have grown out of the awareness of how addiction affects all of public health.

Employment is often a requirement to qualify for many federal assistance programs geared toward poor young families, but a new study shows that people who need the most help often have overwhelmingly high levels of adversity and exposure to violence that can limit their success in the workplace. With so many challenges faced by young families in poverty, the researchers assert that safety net programs should also integrate services that address trauma. The study, conducted by the Center for...

Researchers studying maternal mortality in the United States recently reported an ominous trend: The rate of pregnancy-related deaths in Texas seemed to have doubled since 2010, making the Lone Star State one of the most dangerous places in the developed world to have a baby. Reproductive health advocates were quick to blame the legislature for slashing funding in 2011–12 to family-planning clinics that serve low-income women, calling the numbers a “ tragedy ” and “ a national embarrassment...

Counties across California are stepping up efforts to ensure that students going to schools in juvenile detention facilities make it back to their communities — and have a fighting chance to succeed in school and life. In addition to help from caseworkers and counselors, many counties are hiring additional support staff, called “transition specialists,” to help students bridge the gap between “court schools,” which they may attend for a few weeks, and an educational placement allowing them...

Travis Rudolph, a wide receiver for the Florida State University football team, was touring a Florida middle school with other players this week when he noticed Bo Peske, an 11-year old with autism, eating alone in the school cafeteria. Rudolph sat down and chatted with Bo, while eating a couple slices of pizza. A school employee took a photo of the two at the table and gave it to his mom. His mom later shared the image on Facebook , along with a note about her appreciation of this small act...

In an age where pharmaceutical drug use is off the charts, a thoughtful group of physicians are using a novel approach and advising their patients to “take a hike” — literally. Park prescriptions have been around since 2008, but the idea is now spreading more widely throughout the U.S. — and around the world — as obesity and mental health disorders have continued to climb. In a similar vein, doctors are also writing prescriptions for fruits, vegetables and other wholesome food, which...

Kristin Neff, associate professor of human development at the University of Texas and pioneer of research on self-compassion, believes that our society’s emphasis on achievement and self-esteem lies at the heart of much unnecessary and even counterproductive suffering. It is quite simply impossible to be better than everyone at all times. Yet research shows that when we lose, we tend to feel highly self-critical, adding to our misery. Faced with criticism, we become defensive and may feel...

One simple act of kindness has made college football player Travis Rudolph a "hero" in the eyes of a Florida mother. The Florida State University wide receiver was visiting Montford Middle School in Tallahassee on Tuesday, when he noticed a sixth grader eating lunch alone, according to the Tallahassee Democrat . "I saw him sitting there by himself and I got a plate of pizza and I asked him, can I sit with him, and he said, 'Sure, why not,' " Rudolph, 20, said. That little boy was Bo Paske, a...