Is the Over-Organization of Youth Sports Taking Away from Their Benefit?

• Patients and Families

Although sports undoubtedly contribute to the positive health and well-being of student athletes, recent cultural changes in youth sports including overtraining, early sport specialization, and increased parental pressure are contributing to burnout and pushing student athletes out of sports.

Suicide and Self-Harm: Cultural Connections May Help Protect Hispanic/Latino Youth

• Diverse populations, Suicide and self-harm, Teens and young adults

Suicide is a growing concern among the Hispanic/Latino population, especially among youth. Research finds that aspects of Hispanic/Latino culture and their associated familial and community connections may help in preventing suicide

Decriminalizing Mental Illness and Promoting Mental Health Equity 

• Diverse populations, Serious mental illness, Teens and young adults, Trauma

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 Equity on a Global Scale: An Interview with Dr. Pamela Collins

• Diversity News and Updates

There are more universals in the global fight to achieve mental health equity than there are differences, according to Dr. Pamela Collins, the Director of the Consortium for Global Mental Health at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Addressing the Public Mental Health Challenge of Climate Change

• Patients and Families, Public awareness, Trauma

For most Americans, the face of climate change is extreme weather and natural disasters. More than 40% of Americans live in a county impacted by a major natural disaster in the last year. In the last seven years, natural disasters cost the United States more than a trillion dollars in damage and more than 5,000 lives were lost.

Personal Perspectives on Family Engagement and Support

Ken Duckworth, M.D., chief medical officer, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) leads a deep discussion with individuals who reflect on their years of lived experience with serious mental illness (SMI) and the critical role family members played in their journeys.

Let’s Talk about the Impacts of the Current Mental Health Crisis

Today, on World Mental Health Day, the American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF) is launching a new monthly podcast to engage the public in conversations about the current mental health crisis. Each episode of Mentally Healthy Nation will be centered around an aspect of mental health that impacts the community, where people live, learn, work and worship.

APA Offers Tips for Understanding Prolonged Grief Disorder

Americans are currently facing several ongoing disasters that have caused death and suffering, such as COVID-19, the wind-down in Afghanistan, floods, fires, hurricanes and gun violence. While many Americans are mourning, some may experience prolonged grief disorder, which is characterized by incapacitating feelings of grief.

Nation’s Top Child-Focused Organizations Strongly Urge California Federal Court to Oppose Trump Administration’s Move to End Flores Settlement

On behalf of a coalition of the nation’s leading organizations dedicated to protecting the health and welfare of children, Arent Fox LLP filed an amicus brief in the US District Court for the Central District of California in support of the Plaintiff in Jenny Lisette Flores, et al., v. William Barr, Attorney General of the United States, et al. More than 20 organizations adamantly oppose the Trump Administration’s new regulations that overturn protections guaranteed to immigrant children under t

Providing Veterans with Video-Enabled Tablets Leads to Improved Mental Health Care Access

A Veterans Health Administration (VHA) program that provides tablets to veterans with mental disorders leads to improved access and continuity of care. A new study published online in Psychiatric Services in Advance finds that video-enabled tablets can improve mental health care access for patients who experience barriers because of geographic, social, or health-related circumstances.

Mental Health Impacts of Increasingly Severe Storms: Lessons from the 2017 Atlantic Storm Season

The 2017 Atlantic storm season provides important lessons on the need to anticipate and prepare for the mental health impacts of increasingly severe weather events, according to new research presented here at the American Psychiatric Association’s 2019 Annual Meeting.

Microaggressions: Subtle, Pervasive, Harmful

• Patients and Families

As rapper and songwriter Kanye West stated in “Never Let Me Down:” “racism’s still alive, they just be concealin’ it.” The subtle, yet insidious, nature of “concealed” forms of discrimination has garnered increasing attention in popular media. Recent films and television shows such as “Get Out” and “Dear White People,” have showcased the occurrence and effects of microaggressions. Despite intermittent attention in news outlets, this pervasive form of discrimination is often misunderstood and cri