As Americans Emerge from Pandemic, Many Report Adopting Better Habits, While One in Five Are Smoking or Drinking More

As states lifted masking requirements and infection numbers dropped late this winter, the majority of Americans reported their mood was stable since January (64%) and that the pandemic either hadn’t changed their daily habits (49%) or had changed them for the better (26%). However, nearly three in 10 (28%) rated their mental health as merely fair or poor, and almost a fifth reported that they were smoking (17%) or drinking (18%) more.

March Issues of American Psychiatric Association Journals Cover Genomics and Mental Illnesses and Associations Between Recent Public Health Crises with Traumatic Stress

The March issues of two of the American Psychiatric Association journals, The American Journal of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Services are available online.

Americans Overwhelmingly See Gun Violence as a Public Health Issue; They Want Congress to Act and CDC to Conduct Research

Americans are more united than divided when it comes to guns – they see gun safety as an issue and they want to see actions to prevent gun violence. The majority of Americans (87 percent) see gun violence as a public health threat, including 77 percent of Republicans and 96 percent of Democrats, according to a new national poll released today by the American Psychiatric Association, (APA).

APA Statement on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) today commends Congress for passing the first meaningful gun safety legislation in 30 years and looks forward to President Biden signing it into law. The bipartisan deal is a long overdue but important step in combatting the public health crisis of gun violence.

African Americans

Learn more about treating African American patients experiencing stress and trauma related to changing political and social environments.

The Science and Experience of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis

This special episode of The Medical Mind is co-presented by SMI Adviser, a Clinical Support System for Serious Mental Illness; and by NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Mental Health Pathfinders: Amalia Londoño Tobón, M.D., and Hector Colón-Rivera, M.D.

The co-chairs of APA's Spanish Language Working Group, Amalia Londoño Tobón, MD, and Hector Colón-Rivera, MD, join us to discuss LaSaludMental.org, APA's online home for evidence based information and resources in Spanish. The conversation also covers the unique mental health challenges facing the Hispanic/Latino community in the U.S., and how cultural competency can help physicians from any background better engage with and treat patients from this community. 

Well-being and Burnout

APA is committed to helping psychiatrists achieve well-being and addressing individual and system-level challenges which contribute to professional burnout.

Coping After Disaster

Learn more about the recommended steps to begin coping with the possible stress that follows a tragedy.

Choosing Wisely

On April 23, 2015 APA published a revision to the third item on its Choosing Wisely list to better reflect that there are instances in which dementia-associated symptoms (e.g., aggressive behavior due to paranoid delusions) pose an acute threat to the individual and others, and in these instances antipsychotic medications must be used before formal nonpharmacologic measures can be instituted.

Are there Mental Health Benefits to Being a Morning Person?

• Depression, Patients and Families, Serious mental illness, Sleep Disorders

Many of us identify ourselves as either a morning person or a night owl, and these preferences are at least partly the result of our genes. New research finds associations between the timing of your sleep/wake preferences and your mental health.The study from researchers at the University of Exeter and Massachusetts General Hospital suggests that being genetically programmed to rise early may lead to greater well-being and a lower risk of depression and schizophrenia.

American Psychiatric Association Foundation and Friends of Virginia’s Central State Hospital Host Joint Reception; Discuss History of First State Mental Hospital for Black Americans

On Sept. 13, the American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF) and Friends of Virginia’s Central State Hospital brought together psychiatrists, families, historians, and administrators at a reception to mark their recent exhibit on the history and meaning of the hospital.