Building Knowledge and Understanding to Help Prevent Suicide

• Anxiety, Depression

Each year more than 45,000 lives are lost to suicide in the U.S. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for adults 35 to 54 years old and the second leading cause of death for youth and young adults aged 10 to 34 years. (1) But there is hope. New research is helping us understand who is at greatest risk—and this understanding will help psychiatrists and the mental health field at large save lives.

New Study: Community College Students Often Face Mental Health Challenges

• Anxiety, Depression, Patients and Families

Community college students have higher rates of mental health problems compared to same age peers at 4-year institutions, according to a new national study. It also found that community college students from traditionally marginalized backgrounds were more likely to have mental health problems and less likely to get treatment. The study appears online this week in Psychiatric Services, a journal of the American Psychiatric Association.

Creative Arts: Enhancing Mental Health and Well-being

• Healthy living for mental well-being, Patients and Families, Treatment

Creative arts are used in supporting mental health care in a variety of ways. Art therapy uses creative means to treat mental illnesses and improve mental health. It can involve various treatments, such as theater therapy, dance movement psychotherapy, music therapy, poetry, pottery drawing, painting and craft therapy. Art therapy uses integrative techniques to captivate the soul, body and mind in ways that verbal expression alone doesn't appear to (Shukla)

The Menstrual Cycle and Mental Health

• Patients and Families, Suicide and self-harm, Women

Premenstrual exacerbation (PME) of psychiatric symptoms (worsening of mental health conditions just prior to a woman’s period), is not a new term or idea. Yet PME of psychiatric symptoms such as depression, mania, and psychosis, to name a few, has been understudied compared to other illnesses related to the menstrual cycle. The work that has been done surrounding this idea has mostly asked women to report past experience of worsening psychiatric symptoms around their menstrual cycle. This is pro

Two in Five Americans Say Their Mood Worsens in Winter; 29% Say “Falling Back” Hurts Their Mental Health

As the nation “falls back” to standard time, Americans are twice as likely to say their mood declines in the winter (41%) as they are to say it improves (22%). But, as also found in the latest Healthy Minds Monthly Poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA), when spring comes around, 61% report feeling better.

November Is National Family Caregivers Month

• Healthy living for mental well-being, Older adults, Patients and Families

Day in and day out, more than 4 million family caregivers in the U.S. provide care for adult family and friends with chronic illnesses or other needs for assistance. National Family Caregivers Month offers an opportunity to raise awareness of the issues; celebrate their efforts and increase support for family caregivers.

Honoring Women’s Contributions to Psychiatry Research

All across the field of psychiatry, women make an impact every day in furthering our understanding of the brain and how to treat mental health and substance use disorders. In recognition of Women’s History Month, APA is highlighting six women whose research contributions have meant better outcomes for people with mental illness.

LGBTQ+ Mental Health and Participation in Sports

• LGBTQ+

Approximately 7-9% of youth identify as LGBTQ+, including 2% identifying as transgender. Well-established research shows LGBTQ+ persons are at a higher risk for anxiety, depression, substance misuse, disordered eating, homelessness, and suicide. Since youth participation in sports has been linked to better outcomes in academics, self-esteem, confidence, stress, anxiety, depression, and risky behavior engagement, it would seem to make sense to encourage LGBTQ+ people to participate in sports as o

APA’s 2024 Annual Meeting Made News: Don’t Miss Out on ’25!

Press covered over 500 sessions and interviewed experts on new research in psychedelics, substance use disorders, drugs/medications, and mood disorders.

Introduction

Learn the basics of child and adolescent telepsychiatry in APA@s Telepsychiatry Toolkit.

Working with LGBTQ Patients

Learn more working with LGBTQ patients, including demographics, significant history, best practices and disparities.

Working With Indigenous Patients

Learn more working with Native American patients, including demographics, significant history, best practices and disparities.