Join Us for the Fourth Annual APA Moore Equity in Mental Health 5K!

In celebration of Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, APA and APAF invite you to participate in the Fourth Annual APA Moore Equity in Mental Health 5K.

Climate Cafés: A Resource to Help with Climate Distress

• Anxiety, Patients and Families, Public awareness

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

The Mental Health Impacts of Wildfires

Wildfires, like other natural disasters and traumatic events, take a toll on the mental health of those directly affected and in the community. Whether the impact is the loss of a home, having to flee unexpectedly, dealing with the uncertainty of a fire’s path or worrying over smoke-filled skies, wildfires can lead to emotional distress.

New Reports Examine Trends in Youth Mental Health

• Children and Youth, Patients and Families, Teens and young adults

Several recent national and international reports offer some insights into youth mental health with some encouraging signs along with some concerning trends.

Personal Perspectives on Early Psychosis, Part 2

This episode is the second of a two-part discussion about early psychosis led by Dr. Ken Duckworth.

Mental Health Equity Champion Spotlight: Junji Takeshita, M.D.

• Diversity News and Updates

Dr. Junji Takeshita is the President of the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry. He is a member of the Asian-American Caucus of the American Psychiatric Association and has presented nationally regarding cultural issues in psychiatry.

Strained Relationships, Past Trauma and Family Responsibilities Contribute to Loneliness among Midlife Women

Urban minority midlife women commonly experience significant loneliness due to strained family and romantic relationships, responsibilities as a caregiver, past trauma and social isolation, according to new research being presented today at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting here. Supportive relationships were identified as protective against feelings of loneliness.

Employees Say Workplaces Are Offering Fewer Mental Health Services in 2022, According to APA Poll

As the pandemic wanes, employees report employers are offering fewer mental health services and are more reluctant to address mental health concerns in the workplace, according to the 2022 Healthy Minds poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA). About half of employees work at home at least some of the time and about one in five works at home all the time. 

Special Issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry Examines Structural Racism and Mental Health Disparities, Offers Solutions

A special issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, released today at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting, highlights the pervasive negative consequences of structural racism on mental health and the importance of community and system-wide interventions and proposes mental health inequity research priorities.

Among LGBTQ+ Adults, Mental Health Improves with Age

• LGBTQ+

Many years of research have identified health and mental health disparities among LGBTQ+ individuals, showing they experience higher rates of mental health problems compared to the heterosexual, cisgender population. A recent APA national poll found that LGBTQ+ adults are more likely than adults overall to be anxious about a number of current issues, including gun violence, climate change and the future of reproductive rights. They are twice as likely (62% vs 31%) to be anxious about the future

Intersectionality and Crisis Intervention

• Suicide and self-harm, Teens and young adults, Trauma

Officer for Crisis Text Line. “We are losing children of color at rates that are epidemic,” says Shairi Turner, M.D., M.P.H., an internist and pediatrician with a background in trauma.  She is Chief Health Officer for Crisis Text Line, a national non-profit providing 24/7 crisis counseling via text in both English and Spanish. 

Black History Month: Resistance, Accountability, and Progress

• Diverse populations, Patients and Families, Public awareness

As we begin Black History Month, we are both encouraged to celebrate and challenged to understand the essential role that Black Americans play in U.S. History. While this time is devoted to recognizing the experiences and successes of Black Americans, it is also a chance for government to take accountability for the role that it has played in the historical disenfranchisement of Black Americans. These commemorative practices play a role in the collective healing of marginalized communities. Furt