A behavioral therapy designed to treat children diagnosed with social phobia helped them overcome more of their symptoms than the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac), according to an NIMH-funded study published in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Social phobia, also called social anxiety disorder, is characterized [...]
The majority of Hurricane Katrina survivors who developed mental disorders after the disaster are not receiving the mental health services they need, and many who were receiving mental health care prior to the hurricane were not able to continue with treatment, according to an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print December 17, 2007, in the [...]
Humans tend to be overly optimistic about the future, sometimes underestimating risks and making unrealistic plans, notes NIMH grantee Elizabeth Phelps, Ph.D., New York University. Yet “a moderate optimistic illusion” appears to be essential for maintaining motivation and good mental health. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Phelps and her colleagues have now shown that [...]
Two studies help explain why teens exposed to fetal alcohol are at high risk for heavy drinking and perpetuating a family cycle of alcohol addiction WASHINGTON, DC—Young people whose mothers drank when pregnant may be more likely to abuse alcohol because, in the womb, their developing senses came to prefer its taste and smell. Researchers [...]
Calls on APA To Develop Further Policies, Education To Protect Integrity of Research, Practice and Applications WASHINGTON, DC—Corporate funding – particularly from pharmaceutical companies – has the potential to create both individual and institutional conflicts of interest and could pose a threat to the integrity of psychological research and practice, according to a special task [...]
First-ever report ranks states based on depression status; calls for mental health monitoring system to inform state policies impacting access to care Contact: Heather Cobb, Mental Health America, (703) 797-2588 Alexandria, VA (November 28, 2007) – Mental Health America today released its report, “Ranking America’s Mental Health: An Analysis of Depression Across the States,” a [...]
Only a few legislative days are left in the current session of Congress, and ACA and other mental health advocacy organizations are working to push mental health and addictive disorder parity legislation over the goal line. A very strong parity bill -H.R. 1424, the “Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act” – has been [...]
Study finds rats with amygdalas damaged at birth showed abnormal adult behavior related to fear plus greater cocaine sensitivity WASHINGTON, DC—Why do mental illness and drug addiction often go together? New research reveals that this type of dual diagnosis may stem from a common cause: developmental changes in the amygdala, a walnut-shaped part of the [...]
Leading Authorities Address Cutting-edge Treatments of Major Mental Illnesses Arlington, Va. – Gabbard’s Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders, 4th Edition, will debut as part of the core offerings at www.PsychiatryOnline.com in January 2008. More than 160 authorities share insights gained from firsthand experience in a state-of-the-art text that covers all major treatments in psychiatry linked to [...]
AJP Study Underscores the Value of Mood-Stabilizer Medications in Risk/Benefit Equation Arlington, Va. (Dec. 1, 2007) – Women with bipolar disorder who stop taking their medication – such as lithium, antipsychotics and anticonvulsants prescribed as mood stabilizers – before or shortly after becoming pregnant appear to be much more likely to suffer a recurrence of [...]
Arlington, Va. (Nov. 30, 2007) – The holiday season can be a happy time of year, as family andfriends gather to share warm memories and create new ones. However, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) recognizes that for some people, the holidays bring stress, anxiety and feelings of depression.
An intervention designed to enhance family interaction and improve foster parenting skills may benefit young foster children who had experienced extreme neglect or maltreatment in early life. The intervention stabilizes the children’s daily patterns of cortisol, one of several hormones controlled by the stress management system called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The study was published [...]