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What APA is Doing for You: Diversity and Health Equity Resources
- By Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., FRCP-E, FRCPsych
Diversity is one of the main pillars of APA’s mission and values, both in terms of making sure our profession is diverse and inclusive of a wide range of voices and viewpoints, and in addressing the issues that cause disparities in care for our minority and underserved patients. July is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, and with that in mind I wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the ways that APA is working to ensure our members help address these care disparities through cultural competency training.
Sense of Smell, Memories and Emotions
Many people have had the experience of a familiar smell bringing up a memory or a feeling. That is just one of several ways our sense of smell is associated with mental health and emotions. Memories associated with a specific odor may be particularly strong. In writing about the relation of these odor-evoked memories to our mental health, psychologist Rachel Herz, Ph.D., concludes that “from numerous perspectives it is evident that the autobiographical memories and emotional associations that are triggered by odors are essential to our psychological and physiological health.”
Recognizing Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
- By Steven Starks, M.D.
In 2008, Congress passed a resolution that established the month of July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. This month highlights the following aims: To improve access to mental health treatment and services. To address the need for improved access to care, treatment, and services for those diagnosed with severe and persistent mental health disorders. To enhance public awareness of mental illness and mental illness among minorities.
Irritability in Children Can be More than Just a Bad Mood
Irritability, defined as a low threshold to experience anger in response to frustration, is one of the main reasons children are referred to a mental health evaluation. Irritability can appear as age-inappropriate temper outbursts and a sullen, grouchy mood and is associated with several child and adolescent mental health conditions.
Is Internet Use Changing Our Brains?
It’s easy to see how much the internet has changed our lives. Most adults go online daily and more than one in four are online “almost constantly,” according to a recent Pew Research Center report. But is our extensive online activity affecting our brains? That is the question looked at in a recent study published in World Psychiatry.