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How Do Companion Animals and Therapy Animals Support Mental Well-being?
Companion animals are increasingly being used to support mental wellbeing and to augment mental health treatment. A new book from APA Publishing, The Role of Companion Animals in the Treatment of Mental Disorders, reviews recent research and highlights the variety of ways mental health professionals are working with companion animals to support treatment and promote mental health.
Decriminalizing Mental Illness and Promoting Mental Health Equity
A poll commissioned by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) found that only 1 in 5 Americans believe that those in jails and prisons are getting the mental health care they need while 75% believe mental health support should be provided for incarcerated people.
Mental Health Parity: New Proposed Rule
On July 25, 2023, the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services released a proposed rule intended to strengthen enforcement of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) and improve patients’ ability to access care for mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUD). At the same time, the agencies also released a Technical Release, seeking feedback on data requirements related to network composition and a possible enforcement safe harbor; a second Report to Congr
APA Condemns Fatal Police Shooting in Philadelphia; Calls for Expansion of Crisis Intervention Capability
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) today issued the following statement in response to the police shooting death this week of Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old Black male who had mental illness and needed crisis intervention.
APA Calls on Administration to Provide Humane Care for Asylum Seekers at U.S. Border
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is deeply concerned with the recent reports regarding the conditions children and their families who are seeking asylum at the U.S. border are being held in, and the traumatic affects those conditions will have on their mental health. In response, the APA released this statement from APA President Bruce Schwartz, M.D.:
APA Endorses Federal Parity Bill; Urges Congress to Quickly Pass Legislation
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is endorsing “The Mental Health Parity Compliance Act,” a new bipartisan bill introduced today that would enhance the transparency and accountability of insurers’ coverage of mental health and substance use benefits, in compliance with the federal parity law.
APA and Illinois Psychiatric Society Joint Statement on Shooting in Aurora, Ill.
The American Psychiatric Association and the Illinois Psychiatry Society release the following joint statement in response to the deadly shooting at the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, Ill.
Know the Basics: Applying Telepsychiatry for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
People with intellectual (ID) and developmental disabilities (DD) and suffering from co-morbid psychiatric or behavioral disorders need specialized behavioral and psychiatric evaluation and intervention.
APA’s Goldwater Rule Remains a Guiding Principle for Physician Members
APA released the following statement regarding The Goldwater Rule.
American Journal of Psychiatry Articles Honored as 2021 Leading Research Achievements in Mental Illness
Four articles published in 2021 by the The American Journal of Psychiatry have been honored by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation as 2021 Leading Research Achievements for notable contributions to research on mental illness and the biology of the brain by its grantees, prizewinners, and scientific council members.
APA Ethics Committee Issues Opinion on the Spread of Disinformation
"When speaking publicly about a pandemic, therefore, it is particularly incumbent upon psychiatrists to honestly and responsibly share factual information,” states a new opinion from the American Psychiatric Association’s Ethics Committee. “Disseminating falsehoods about a pandemic disease such as COVID-19, including misleading information about scientifically supported public health protocols or vaccines, is unethical.”
Racial Disparities in Childhood Adversity Linked to Brain Structural Differences in U.S. Children
Black children in the United States are more likely to experience childhood adversity than White children, and these disparities are reflected in differential changes to regions of the brain linked to psychiatric disease like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to new research led by McLean Hospital, a member of Mass General Brigham.