Two more communities are stricken with grief in the wake of the Jan. 21 shooting at Monterey Park, Calif., that left 11 people dead and nine wounded, and the Jan. 23 shooting in Half Moon Bay, Calif., that killed seven and injured one. Families and friends of the victims, as well as those who were injured, are no doubt gripped with grief, anguish and despair.
2022 was the year mental health was fully embraced as a national issue – and seen, finally, as a major human crisis that had long been ignored. It was a year of unprecedented attention and funding. And, for many, it was a year of fear and anxiety.
Chicago has been rolling out a pilot program testing alternative ways to respond to mental health-related 911 calls. The program is meeting with success, but handles only a fraction of those calls. The effort has kicked off a debate about the role of police.
The fledgling 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – which has struggled to get sustainable funding from states – got a lifeline of its own last week when the Department of Health and Human Services announced awards of more than $130 million to 51 states and territories to support and expand the national network of 988 call centers.
Overwhelmed by a continuous barrage of wildfires, Cal Fire firefighters have grappled with mounting mental health problems. Now a new contract provides pay hikes, but delays for two years the shorter workweeks they wanted to relieve job-related stress.
Experiencing neglect, abuse or other forms of adversity as a child greatly increases lifelong health risks. In 2020, California launched an effort to screen children and adults for ACEs – and has screened about 900,000. But the state is failing to track whether patients receive the follow-up services or support they might need.
Many of the nation’s two million children or young teens with a learning disability are diagnosed only in second or third grade, after falling behind their classmates. Without screening or testing, teachers and school staff often don’t spot the need.
MindSite News contributors won two awards from the San Francisco Press Club including the top prize in the Series/Continuing Coverage category for our compelling stories on the changing views of mental illness in films, streaming series, novels and television.
Next year, California will become the first state in the country permitted to use Medicaid funds to pay for a controversial approach: paying meth users with a negative urine test small amounts of money to reinforce their abstinence. Research shows the approach – used in combination with other therapy – works.
This year’s State of Mental Health in America Report, produced by Mental Health America, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, painted a picture of a country experiencing high rates of mental illness, limited access to services and significant barriers to care.
The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a steep toll on the mental health of many people but have struck hardest at communities of color. A new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation makes this clear.
MindSite News—the only news site dedicated exclusively to reporting on mental health in America—is launching a live public conversation series that will take place throughout the month of October to engage the public in conversations about psychedelics and mental health. The campaign also aims to raise funds to support our nonprofit journalism and ongoing coverage of this important topic.
With demand rising for mental health care, and providers in short supply, experts explain how California got here – and where we may be headed.
As a high school student growing up in Utah, Daniel Thatcher grappled with depression and the suicide of a close friend. Now the Utah state senator is co-chair of a new legislative caucus working to improve mental health services across the country.
As companies rush to open or buy ketamine clinics to treat mental health conditions, concern is growing about protocols, staffing levels and the safety of the newest approach: take-home ketamine.
An expert committee said a Cook County detention facility that houses up to 175 youths is “isolating and deprivational” and should be closed. The committee found that most kids there spend at least 13 hours per day locked in small cells.
When the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline launched last month, many mental health providers, researchers, and advocates celebrated. Finally there was an easy-to-remember three-digit number for people to call. But not everyone felt the same way.
Over the past two years, mobile crisis response units have transformed from theoretical idea to functioning program in many cities. A new national Safer Cities survey shows widespread public support for these programs.
The digital mental health startup Cerebral experienced meteoric growth with its launch in early 2020. More recently, it has become entangled in investigations and regulatory changes that have left some patients scrambling to fill their prescriptions.
In March, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a controversial proposal to compel people with serious mental health issues into care and housing. Mental health advocates, mayors and family members heralded the plan as a visionary move. Some county officials say they were stunned.
The death rate for people with schizophrenia increased more than any other group during the pandemic, along with many excess deaths from other mental illnesses and brain-related disorders.
The ruling is a major blow to efforts to require health insurers to cover care for mental health and substance use treatment in ways that are broadly equivalent to that for medical care.
Our own Dr. Tom Insel, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, author of the new book Healing, and a cofounder of MindSite News, was interviewed last night by Judy Woodruff on PBS New Hour.
President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union speech to address the mental and emotional suffering that has been festering in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recognized that people with schizophrenia and mood disorders such as major depression have a heightened risk of severe outcomes if they contract COVID-19, which increases their chances of being admitted to intensive care units.
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