APA Blogs
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Mental Health Equity Champion Spotlight: Lisa Fortuna
This quarter’s Mental Health Equity Champion is Lisa Fortuna, M.D., M.P.H., M.Div., professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at the University of California Riverside School of Medicine.
Marking Two Years of 988: The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Two years ago, on July 16, 2022, a new, easy-to-remember, three-digit number (9-8-8) to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline became available across the United States. The three-digit number provides easy access to crisis services for people with mental health and substance use issues and helps reduce the stigma surrounding these conditions. The 9-8-8 number is considered the 9-1-1 of mental health and substance use issues. The goal of 9-8-8 is to have 24/7 crisis call centers (someone to talk to), mobile crisis teams (someone to respond to crises), and crisis stabilization programs (somewhere to go).
An App for Therapy? Exploring Digital Therapeutics
In May 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first app for the treatment of depression, Rejoyn. This new smartphone app is intended to help treat people who don’t fully respond to antidepressants and it is expected to be available for patients starting this summer. This is the latest in a series of FDA approvals of digital therapeutics for mental health conditions
Climate Cafés: A Resource to Help with Climate Distress
The multiple impacts of climate change are increasingly part of everyday discourse. These impacts weigh on the minds of many, and elicit several emotions, such as distress, worry, anxiety, sadness, and others as described in the Climate Mental Health Network’s Climate Emotions Wheel. In 2023, 64% of adults in the United States reported being worried about climate change, according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication’s Climate Opinions Map. Meanwhile, other research suggests that a majority of youth are very or extremely worried about climate change.
An Interview with APA CEO and Medical Director Marketa Wills
Azza Hussein, M.A., with APA’s Division of Diversity and Health Equity, interviewed Marketa Wills, M.D., M.B.A., the new CEO and Medical Director of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Her appointment is a historic milestone as she is the first woman and African American to hold this role.