September 2016

There’s a new social media campaign for mental illness and this one is directed at men. While more women are diagnosed with mental health conditions, men die by suicide at a rate of nearly four times that of women. It is the seventh leading cause of death for American males while it’s the 14th for females, according to the Center for Disease Control. One of the reasons for this “gender paradox of suicidal behavior” is that men are less likely to seek help for psychological issues for fear of...

My daughter didn't sleep well one night this week. She was looking forward to seeing friends back at school. But there are so many new kids in her grade and she's heard there's lots more home work this year. One the way to school she said she was "exstressed" (excited plus stressed). Back to school time can be a busy and expensive time for many of us. Our kids may be sleeping less, struggling with homework demands and social pressures while trying to keep up with jobs, responsibilities or...

If you are like many teachers, social workers, or administrators in schools, you've been reading about the need for trauma informed care and trauma sensitive schools. Odds are you didn't need to read the research to know something that you were already seeing in your classrooms, school hallways, and community. Unfortunately reading about it, seeing the need, wanting to make changes, doesn't make the change happen. Five years ago, as the executive director of a school that needed to change, I...

William Clevenger remembers clearly when he began to believe he could regain control over his life: It was the moment last year that he mastered the rising trot while riding a dappled gray Percheron named Dakota. In the decade since Clevenger returned to the U.S. from Iraq, where he served three tours as a sergeant in the Marine Corps, he suffered from combat-induced hyper-vigilance. In 2006, he was diagnosed with adult leukemia and almost died. He became so depressed he had a hard time...

Betsy Levy Paluck has always been interested in how societies find ways to reject violence and prejudice. That curiosity led her to Princeton University, where she works as a researcher, and then to the halls of New Jersey's middle schools, to see whether social psychological theory could help students stamp out bullying and other forms of conflict. To make that happen, her research team relied on an unusual set of partners: students, including those identified by their classmates as...

Correctional administrators should focus on staff training, appropriate programming and facility conditions to ensure the safety and healthy development of girls locked up in adult jails and prisons, a new report says. While policymakers should do all they can to keep girls out of adult jails and prisons, some girls do end up in adult facilities and their needs must be met, said researchers from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency . Correctional staff play a key role in making sure...

The discussion quickly took a telling turn from witty confessions about mild inconveniences to more serious discussions about the difference between feeling sad and being clinically depressed. Scientifically speaking, the difference is depression is a result of a chemical imbalance. People diagnosed with this mental disorder have less seratonin neurotransmitters , which produce what are often referred to as the " feel good chemical ." But there are other factors. Genetics, stress,...

[Photo by sekihan ] New research by the Center for Hunger-Free Communities at Drexel University shows that participants in a federal assistance program for families living in poverty have overwhelmingly high levels of adversity and exposure to violence that can limit their success in the workplace. In spite of that, employment is a requirement to qualify for many of these programs. [For more go to https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160901125053.htm]

Using data from a survey that screened more than 46,000 Americans for depression, researchers found evidence that the condition is not properly diagnosed in many people. And even when diagnosed correctly, depression often goes untreated. The nationwide survey was undertaken in 2012 and 2013 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. It used a well-validated scale to determine depressed mood, and the researchers defined treatment as having visited a psychotherapist or other mental...

Fines and fees imposed in juvenile court can drive youth deeper into the system and their families deeper into poverty, a new report says. Every state imposes monetary penalties or costs on juveniles, a burden that hits families who are already struggling especially hard, both emotionally and financially, according to the report by the Juvenile Law Center of Philadelphia. The costs can include fees to attend programs that are alternatives to incarceration or to have a mental health...

Camden, New Jersey, has long had a reputation as one of the most dangerous cities in America. In 2012, the city made an unprecedented move by terminating its entire 270-person police force in favor of hiring non-unionized workers supervised by the county. Officials at that time said that union contracts, in a city with a major lack of revenue , made it financially impossible to keep enough officers on the street. Two years after the overhaul , the department employed 411 officers with nearly...

Just days after the nation’s deadliest mass shooting — at June’s Pulse Nightclub in Orlando—California’s state legislature voted to fund what would be the first publicly chartered center for firearm research in the country. The timing was a coincidence, but an apt one. And since then, progress has been steady. This week, the University of California announced where the center will be headquartered: on a UC medical-school campus in the state capitol. It will be led by Garen Wintemute , a...