Last month, the 19-year-old student at the heart of a New York Times campus sexual assault exposé received an unusual email from a stranger. Brett Sokolow wrote to the alleged assault victim, Anna, that he had been engaged by her school to act...
About a year ago, I started wondering about the impact of climate change on mental health. After all, depression is already the second leading cause of disability around the world, depression can be kicked off by stress, and watching the ocean inch up...
Medical tests are rarely a pleasant experience, especially if you're worried that something could be seriously wrong. That's true even though we know that regular screenings and tests often help doctors catch issues early. But of course, humans don't...
Occasionally, scientific research comes up with banal findings that should nonetheless stop us in our tracks. For example, researchers recently published a study showing that a father’s brain will change its hormonal outputs and neural activity...
It’s clear that young people are getting caught in the crossfire of the latest round of fighting between Israel and Palestine and the conflict is taking a huge toll on them. And the effects of the war are not just physical. Having studied how...
Perhaps because it’s a state issue, people don’t realize this change has happened slowly but systematically over the past two decades. It’s seemingly accelerated in recent years, as state funding for public mental health treatment...
As an abstinence-based therapist, I assumed that failure and frustration came with the territory. When I adopted the values and strategies of harm reduction, I was finally able to offer my clients real help. The philosophy of harm reduction is based...
Most of us are familiar with food banks and soup kitchens, where donated food goes to feed hungry people in the community. Yet we rarely talk about the connection between mental illness and hunger and how access to food can do more than just provide a...
A new study demonstrates that childhood abuse affects the way genes are activated, thereby influencing a child’s long-term development. Previous studies focused on how a particular child’s individual characteristics and genetics interacted...
Mackenzie says this latest string of suicides is worrisome and Halifax Regional Police Chief Jean-Michel Blais agrees. “When people ask what keeps you up at night, that is one of the things,” Blais said. “We should not be afraid to...
Ruling by Apellate Court threatens physicians' ability to counsel parents about firearm safety, putting children's lives at risk. Elk Grove Village, IL (July 28, 2014) -- The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold a "physician gag law"...
Experts have long known that neglect and abuse in early life increase the risk of psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety, but now neuroscientists are explaining why. They’re showing how early maltreatment wreaks havoc on the...
As a schoolteacher who left the Philadelphia School District in frustration, I understand the concerns raised by former teacher Maria Ciancetta in a recent Inquirer article by Kristen A. Graham. Like Ciancetta, I tried my best to stay but was...
“These students' higher cognitive skills may lead them to better health literacy and decision-making," said the study’s lead researcher Dr. Mitchell Wong, a professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health...
The nature of rotating shifts makes it hard for workers to maintain a regular sleep-wake cycle. This reduction in sleep or sleep quality may weaken insulin resistance, consider the authors. The authors add that other research has shown that shift work...