Relationship With Patient Can Determine Treatment Success

Aaron Levin

 

An understanding of the patient’s values and the place of medication in a wider therapeutic program in which medication is one tool for recovery should inform a psychiatrist’s judgment.

Abstract Teaser

Medications may help psychiatric patients get better, but “getting better” is a “profoundly value-laden term,” said Ronald Diamond, M.D., a professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin.

“ ‘Better’ means different things to different people,” said Diamond at APA’s Institute on Psychiatric Services in New York in October.

“You and the patient might disagree not on what is happening but on its value,” he said. “It could be subjective improvement for the patient, better functioning, symptom improvement, reduced distress, or simply not getting worse.”

Medications are a tool for recovery and can make nonpharmacological treatments more effective, possibly by making the brain less sensitive to stimuli, he said.

“Medications are never a goal of treatment; rather, they can help patients reach their own goals,” he said. “Ambivalence about medications is normal, but people will take them if they feel they will help them and won’t if they don’t.”

All medications have potential risks as well as benefits, so side effects are best seen from the patient’s point of view. To read more, click here.

Research redefines 'recovery' in bipolar disorder

Researchers have developed the first accurate tool for measuring bipolar recovery which takes into account the personal experiences of people living with the disorder.
The Lancaster University-led research team worked with people with bipolar disorder and clinicians to develop the 36 item bipolar recovery questionnaire (BRQ) to reflect changing attitudes to what counts as ‘recovery’ in a severe mental illness such as bipolar.

The questionnaire, which was then tested by 60 people with bipolar, focusses on personal definitions of recovery rather than symptom reduction and relapse prevention. It is the first self-report tool specifically designed to capture the subjective experience of recovery in individuals with bipolar disorder.

In tests it has proved to be a reliable tool, higher BRQ recovery scores were associated with lower depression and mania scores as well as higher wellbeing, better functioning, better mental health quality of life and personal growth.
The results of the study are published this month in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Professor Steven Jones of Lancaster University’s Spectrum Centre - a bipolar research centre dedicated to research which can improve the day to day lives of people living with this condition - - led the work.

He said: “The importance of personal recovery, rather than recovery as defined by an expert, in mental health is increasing widely recognised.

“But until now there has been no measure available to assess recovery experiences in individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

“For some people recovery means getting back into the gym for the first time in five years, for others it is rebuilding successful relationships with family or getting back into paid work.

Click here to read more.

Psychiatrists approve vast changes to diagnosis manual

11:40PM EST December 2. 2012 - Asperger's is out, but binge eating and hoarding are in as official mental disorders in the latest version of the diagnostic bible published by the American Psychiatric Association, following a weekend vote by its board.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — whose latest edition is nicknamed DSM-5 — is often called the "bible" because it's used to identify and classify mental disorders.

The vote gives only a hint of the massive changes that will be unveiled in detail in May when the guide is published. The last full revision was in 1994, with minor changes approved in 2000.

The revisions have been considered for more than a decade. Among the changes are:

Eliminating the mild form of autism known as Asperger's syndrome per se and including it as part of the autism spectrum disorder. To read more, click here.

Treatment Issues for Bipolar Disorder in Women

By HeidiAnne Duerr, MPH, Contributing Editor | November 9, 2012

 

Treating women with bipolar disorder (BD) requires some special considerations, explained Laura Miller, MD, during her presentation at the 2012 US Psychiatric & Mental Health Congress in San Diego. Miller reviewed treatment issues across the lifespan of women—from puberty and menstruation to sexuality to issues in menopause—and shared practical tips and clinical consideration with attendees.
Issues Associated With Menstruation
Miller, professor at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Women's Mental Health Divisionin the Department of Psychiatry at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said the hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle and menopause can complicate treatment and disease course. For instance, in a retrospective study of 2524 women, 65.1% of women with bipolar type I and 70.5% with bipolar type II reported increased premenstrual mood symptoms. Only 33.7% of women without BD reported increased mood symptoms.¹ She added that there are a number of well-documented cases showing a clear exacerbation of mood symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle. To read more, click here.

The benefits of gratitude

By Mary MacVean, Los Angeles Times

November 17, 2012

Before we eat Thanksgiving dinner at my house, along with saying grace, each of the 20 or so people at the table takes a turn lighting a candle and expressing gratitude. The appreciation can be lighthearted — for mashed potatoes or a day off from school. Or the thankfulness may be accompanied by a heavy heart — for the memories of a loved one recently passed.
As it happens, this expression is not an empty exercise. And if we developed the discipline to be consciously grateful on a regular basis, year-round, research shows we'd be happier and suffer less depression and stress. We'd sleep better and be better able to face our problems.

There's evidence that gratitude is uniquely important to well-being. Long embraced by religion as a "manifestation of virtue," it's one of the few things that "can measurably change people's lives," says Robert Emmons, a UC Davis professor who has been studying gratitude since 1998 and is the author of the book "Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier."

"Gratitude implies humility — a recognition that we could not be who we are or where we are in life without the contributions of others," Emmons writes. Click here to read more.

What Do Bullying and Youth Substance Use Have in Common? More Than You Might Think.

Written By: Frances M. Harding, Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention

October is Bullying Prevention Month and National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, a busy and important time for prevention efforts.  On the surface, bullying and youth substance use may seem like separate problems.  However, from research, we know that youth who use substances are at risk for other problem behaviors during their teen years.  In fact, new findings suggest that middle and high school students who bully their peers are more likely to use alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana.
Bullying and substance use among children and teenagers have shared risk and protective factors.  Effective prevention efforts minimize these risk factors and maximize protective factors in a child’s life.  If a problem has already surfaced, learn to recognize the warning signs of bullying and being bullied, underage alcohol use, and drug use to intervene before the problem becomes worse.
But let’s rewind: how do you know which risk and protective factors to focus on?  Read on!

Hormone Use in Menopause Lowers Depression, Anxiety

By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on October 6, 2012

 

According to a new study, low doses of estrogen pills, such as Premarin, can significantly improve levels of stress and depression that often show up during menopause.

In younger women, the drug has no negative effect on memory or the ability to think clearly, which can be a side effect for women over 65 who take hormones.

Nearly all previous hormone replacement therapy studies have involved older women, researchers said.

“While we saw there was a wealth of data, a lot of it might not be applicable to young women,” said Mitch Harman, director of the nonprofit Kronos Longevity Research Institute.

Researcher and physician JoAnn Manson said it is important to pay attention to the concerns of women who just recently reached menopause. Click here to read more.

Home-Based Assessment Tool for Dementia Screening

Posted October 2, 2012 Atlanta, GA

 With baby boomers approaching the age of 65 and new cases of Alzheimer’s disease expected to increase by 50 percent by the year 2030, Georgia Tech researchers have created a tool that allows adults to screen themselves for early signs of dementia. The home-based computer software is patterned after the paper-and-pencil Clock Drawing Test, one of health care’s most commonly used screening exams for cognitive impairment.

“Technology allows us to check our weight, blood-sugar levels and blood pressure, but not our own cognitive abilities,” said project leader Ellen Yi-Luen Do. “Our ClockMe System helps older adults identify early signs of impairment, while allowing clinicians to quickly analyze the test results and gain valuable insight into the patient’s thought processes.”
Georgia Tech’s ClockMe system eliminates the paper trail and computerizes the test into two main components: the ClockReader Application and the ClockAnalyzer Application. Click here to see a video demo.
ClockReader is the actual test and is taken with a stylus and computer or tablet. The participant is given a specific time and instructed to draw a clock with numbers and the correct minute and hour hands. Once completed, the sketch is emailed to a clinician, who uses the ClockAnalyzer Application to score the test. The software checks for 13 traits. They include correct placement of numbers and hands without extra markings. People with cognitive impairment frequently draw clocks with missing or extra numbers. Digits are sometimes drawn outside of the clock. The time is often incorrect. To contine reading click here.

The Stand Up Kid

Check out the Time to Change website:
http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/

5 Ways to Beat Job Burnout

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Vera Sizensky, Women's Health Online Editor and former Fit Bride

 

Feeling burned out? You’re not alone. According to a new survey published by ComPsych, the world’s largest provider of employee assistance programs, burnout is up among Americans, with 63 percent of the 1,800 surveyed participants citing work as the root cause of their stress.

This becomes a serious problem because the more a person experiences daily stress, the higher their risk of developing numerous health problems, including heart disease, depression, and obesity, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“Stress also affects productivity,” says Gloria S. Rothenberg, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist who is not affiliated with the study. “Fatigue and mental exhaustion lead to poor concentration and a greater rate of errors,” she says. In fact, more than one-third of the surveyed workers in ComPsych’s study lost an hour or more per day in productivity at work due to stress. Essentially, the more stressed you are about work, the less productive you become. Cue the vicious cycle. Click here to read more.

Family Stress In Infancy Linked to Anxiety in Teen Girls

By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on November 6, 2012

 

High levels of family stress during infancy are associated with future anxiety and everyday brain function problems in teen girls, according to a new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Babies who lived with stressed mothers were more likely to become preschoolers with higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. Fourteen years later, these girls with higher cortisol showed weaker communication between brain areas associated with emotion regulation.

Finally, both high cortisol and differences in brain activity predicted higher levels of anxiety at age 18.

The males in the study did not show any of these patterns.

“We wanted to understand how stress early in life impacts patterns of brain development which might lead to anxiety and depression,” said Dr. Cory Burghy of the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior.

“Young girls who, as preschoolers, had heightened cortisol levels, go on to show lower brain connectivity in important neural pathways for emotion regulation — and that predicts symptoms of anxiety during adolescence,” said Burghy.

For the study, scans designed by Dr. Rasmus Birn, assistant professor of psychiatry, showed that teen girls whose mothers reported high levels of family stress when the girls were babies had weaker connections between the amygdala (threat center of the brain) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (responsible for emotional regulation). To continue reading, click here.

Alcohol Abuse Common among Bullies, Victims

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on October 30, 2012

 

A new study suggests both school bullies and their victims are likely to abuse alcohol after a bullying episode.

University of Cincinnati researchers examined bullying, recent alcohol use and heavy drinking episodes among more than 54,000 7th – 12th grade students in schools across Greater Cincinnati, including the tri-state regions of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

Keith King, Ph.D., along with Rebecca Vidourek, Ph.D., discovered more than 38 percent of students were involved in school violent victimization, defined as ranging from verbal intimidation to threatening with and using a weapon.

Investigators also determined that school violent victimization was associated with increased odds of recent alcohol use and heavy drinking among males and females and across 7th-12th grades.
Click here to read more.

Bullying Has Long-Term Health Consequences

ScienceDaily (Oct. 30, 2012) — Childhood bullying can lead to long term health consequences, including general and mental health issues, behavioral problems, eating disorders, smoking, alcohol use, and homelessness, a study by the Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State University found.

"What is apparent from these results is that bullying victimization that occurs early in life may have significant and substantial consequences for those victims later in life," said Leana Bouffard, Director of the Crime Victims' Institute. "Thus, the adverse health consequences of victimization are much more far-reaching than just immediate injury or trauma. Understanding these long term consequences is important to assessing the true toll of crime on its victims and on society as well as responding to victims more effectively." To read more, click here.

Vikram Patel: Mental health for all by involving all

5 Tips for Talking About Mental Health

The Truth About Schizophrenia

A Most Misunderstood Illness

Borderline Personality Disorder: A Most Misunderstood Illness

by Perry D. Hoffman, Ph.D.,
President, National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder

Introduction

by Joyce Burland, Ph.D.
Director, NAMI Education, Training and Peer Support Center
There is perhaps no serious mental illness more maligned and misconstrued than borderline personality disorder. Years ago, when I started my clinical career, I was warned to “stay away from ‘Borderlines’.” Being of a suspicious nature, I began to search out information about this dread diagnosis, which was primarily attached to women, and carried with it such a blatantly stigmatizing reputation. As I began working with people with this disorder, I became aware of the enormous strength and resiliency they brought to the daily struggle of coping with the disruptive symptoms of the condition, and of the patience and loyalty shown by the families who loved and supported them.
Bringing this diagnosis out of the darkness is long overdue. Individuals and families living with the illness deserve current and correct information, and we must all advocate to dispel the myths which have made borderline personality disorder a “leprosy” of psychiatric diagnoses.
As part of the formal inclusion of borderline personality disorder in its list of priority populations in NAMI’s public policy platform, NAMI has invited Perry D. Hoffman, Ph.D., to write the article that follows. She is a pioneer in educating families about this disorder, and a prime mover in forming a collaborative effort with NAMI to increase visibility and understanding of this treatable mental illness.

---

To read more, click here.

Life events and borderline personality features: the influence of gene-environment interaction and gene-environment correlation.

Distel MA, Middeldorp CM, Trull TJ, Derom CA, Willemsen G, Boomsma DI.

Source

Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ma.distel@psy.vu.nl

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Traumatic life events are generally more common in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) than in non-patients or patients with other personality disorders. This study investigates whether exposure to life events moderates the genetic architecture of BPD features. As the presence of genotype-environment correlation (rGE) can lead to spurious findings of genotype-environment interaction (G × E), we also test whether BPD features increase the likelihood of exposure to life events.

METHOD:

The extent to which an individual is at risk to develop BPD was assessed with the Personality Assessment Inventory - Borderline features scale (PAI-BOR). Life events under study were a divorce/break-up, traffic accident, violent assault, sexual assault, robbery and job loss. Data were available for 5083 twins and 1285 non-twin siblings. Gene-environment interaction and correlation were assessed by using structural equation modelling (SEM) and the co-twin control design.

RESULTS:

There was evidence for both gene-environment interaction and correlation. Additive genetic influences on BPD features interacted with the exposure to sexual assault, with genetic variance being lower in exposed individuals. In individuals who had experienced a divorce/break-up, violent assault, sexual assault or job loss, environmental variance for BPD features was higher, leading to a lower heritability of BPD features in exposed individuals. Gene-environment correlation was present for some life events. The genes that influence BPD features thus also increased the likelihood of being exposed to certain life events.

CONCLUSIONS:

To our knowledge, this study is the first to test the joint effect of genetic and environmental influences and the exposure to life events on BPD features in the general population. Our results indicate the importance of both genetic vulnerability and life events.
To read more, click here.

Does Gluten Cause Mental Illness?

By Richard Zwolinski, LMHC, CASAC & C.R. Zwolinski

C.R. writes: Richard and I blogged about nutritionist Trudy Scott a few months ago, after we read her terrific book, The Antianxiety Food Solution.

Recently, over on Facebook, Trudy shared this article at CBS, containing a video about the problems with modern wheat—the gliadin component of gluten, for starters.  We were seriously happy to see this getting the main-stream attention it deserves. Scoffers abound, but gluten intolerance can contribute to a whole range of mental and physical health issues.

For example, autism. In a post called Whole-Body Strategies for Autism we explore Harvard professor and pediatric neurologist and researcher Dr. Martha Herbert’s cutting-edge holistic brain-gut approach to treating autism. Why is this still cutting-edge? After all, we’ve known about what’s sometimes called the second-brain or the brain-gut relationship for a while. (The second brain is the digestive tract! and its impact on brain function).

In the past, I’ve written about the serious mental and physical health problems we’re seeing with gliadin and gluten.  Over on my blog HealthyJewishCooking.com you’ll find a variety of posts (one on GABA rice, which is a sprouted rice, one on the possible link between serious (and mild) digestive disorders and personality, and  several posts on minimizing or avoiding gluten including the art of bread making and how you can maximize its digestibility with recipes and techniques for slow yeast-based fermentation, authentic sour dough starters, or sprouted grain breads. Click here to continue reading.

Therapists Spill: 8 Ways Clients Spoil Their Progress in Therapy (& How to Change That)

By Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S.

Therapy can be tremendously effective.

But sometimes as clients, we can stand in our own way. In fact, we might unwittingly hinder the therapeutic process and spoil our progress.

Below, clinicians share eight actions that typically prevent clients from getting the most out of therapy — and what you can do.

1. A poor fit between clinician and client.

It’s common — and recommended — to try out several clinicians before making your decision. According to Ryan Howes, Ph.D, a clinical psychologist and professor in Pasadena, California, “It’s important to check a potential therapist’s license and credentials, their areas of expertise, the logistical factors [such as] cost, distance [and] insurance, and then test drive a handful of therapists before selecting one.” While it might feel uncomfortable telling a therapist you don’t want to work with them, remember that the right fit is important for your progress. “If you don’t feel safe opening up to this person, you’re not likely to meet your goals,” Howes said.

2. Not asking questions. Do you know what your diagnosis means? What your goals are in therapy? What you need to do in between sessions? Many clients don’t ask their therapist questions, Howes said. “[Clients don’t ask] because they feel intimidated, or believe it wouldn’t be polite, or can’t get a word in edgewise,” he said. “Instead, they go home and ask their friends what the therapist meant when she said ______.” Howes encouraged readers to ask questions any time you need clarification. To continue reading, click here.

MHCC Newsletter

Click here for the Mental Health Commission of Canada newsletter.

Mental Health Commission of Canada

MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS US ALL

Mother, father, neighbour, friend – one in five Canadians will experience a mental health problem or illness every year, at a cost of over $50 billion to our economy. We need a national strategy to help combat mental health problems and illness. Click below to take action to support mental health in Canada.

Click here to check out this website.

Together Against Stigma: Changing how we see mental illness 5th International Stigma Conference

"People with mental disabilities and their families fail to seek the care and support
that they require for fear of being stigmatized"
World Health Organization, 2007

Organized by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the World Psychiatric Association Scientific Section on Stigma and Mental Illness, this international conference will bring together over 500 researchers, mental health professionals, policy makers and service users interested in stigma and discrimination. The focus will be on effective interventions to reduce stigma and discrimination against those with mental illness.
 To read more, click here. 

Heavy Cell Phone Use Linked to Depression, Sleep Problems in Young People

By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 17, 2012 

 

  Young people who heavily use cell phones and computers also complain more about sleep disturbances, stress and other mental health problems, according to researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
“Public health advice should therefore include information on the healthy use of this technology,” says researcher Sara Thomée from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.
Doctoral student Thomée and her research team conducted four separate studies aimed at investigating the correlation between computers and cell phones, and their impact on the mental health of young adults.
Researchers gave questionnaires to 4,100 young adults (ages 20-24) and interviewed 32 heavy users of information and communication technology (ICT).
The findings reveal that extreme use of cell phones and computers may be linked to stress, sleep disorders and depressive symptoms. The researchers could not determine causation, so it may be that people with depression or sleep problems are simply more likely to reach out to others using mobile technology.
“We looked at the effects both quantitatively and qualitatively and followed up the volunteers a year on,” explains Thomée, who will present the results in her upcoming thesis.
To read more, click here. 

11 Signs You Need to Change How You Communicate

By Christy Matta, MA

 

Strained relationships create stress and can have a negative impact on your mood and your ability to function throughout the day.  When you’re in conflict with someone else, you’re more likely to be worried, distracted or highly emotional.
We cannot make other people act as we’d wish, but we can become aware of when we act in ways that lead to problems in relationships.  As we identify our own communication problems, we can choose to make changes in how we interact. If you do, you might just find that you’re able to solve intractable problems and that habitual conflicts no longer occur.
Making even small changes to how you communicate can improve the quality of your relationships.

Signs You Need to Change Course:

1. You get an angry response.  You might have good reason to confront someone, but if you are getting an angry response, it may be time to step back and assess your goals in the situation.  When interactions begin to deteriorate into angry reactions, they often stop being productive.  Try taking a breather and remembering what you wanted to achieve when you began the interaction.  For example, were you hoping for an apology, did you want the other person to help you out or acknowledge wrong doing?  Is it a case of misunderstandings?  How might you describe your goal to the other person and ask for what you want, rather than become distracted by angry comments? Click here to read more.

25 Suggestions for Living a Contented Life by Managing Emotions, Part 1

By Karyn Hall, PhD

Emotionally sensitive people react to events quickly and with intense emotions, and then have difficulty getting their emotional reactions to subside. Finding ways to manage emotions effectively can decrease the pain they experience.
Below are some suggestions for coping with intense emotions.
1. Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness helps reduce anxiety and stress for everyone. Consider a way to practice mindfulness everyday that is easy to remember. Maybe mindfully brush your teeth or mindfully drink your coffee. Consider using a bracelet or a sticky note to remind yourself.
2: Play. If possible, find a way to laugh today. Be silly. Giggle. Dance, watch a comedy, run in the park, buy a balloon, dabble with paints, gather friends for games or play games designed for one player. Just for a few minutes. Enjoy a simple pleasure and focus completely on the activity – not on your concerns.

3. Practice gratitude. Each evening go through your day and list three things you are grateful for. Be specific. Then focus on those three experiences or interactions or things. Savor the positive
4: Nurture relationships. Friends will likely always make you angry or upset, but having friendships is one of the keys to contentment. When you spend time with friends, focus on what you like, what energizes you. Review the positive experiences in your mind to equal out the natural inclination to go over and over painful experiences.
5: Give up your attachment to outcomes. Being too attached to certain outcomes or living a certain way or having a certain solution limits you and leads to suffering. Be open to what comes.
Click here to read more.

CBT, Supportive Therapy Equally Effective for Bipolar

By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 8, 2012 

 

A recent study has found that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and supportive therapy are equally effective in treating the symptoms of bipolar disorder.
Researchers, led by Thomas D. Meyer, PhD, at Eberhard Karls Universität in Tübingen, Germany, wanted to investigate the effectiveness of currently available treatments for the disorder.
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness in which the sufferer experiences extreme and abnormal mood swings, from manic highs to potentially dangerous low depression. Over five million people in the United States suffer from bipolar — about 1.6 percent of the population.  It is the sixth leading cause of disability worldwide, and causes significant stress on families and relationships.
Earlier studies have proven that CBT is an effective treatment for the disorder, but these studies did not compare CBT to other types of treatments.
The randomized controlled trial included 76 patients with bipolar I or bipolar II. Patients were given either CBT or supportive therapy for 20 sessions over nine months. The participants were then followed for up to two years.
To read more, click here.

Fewer Drop Out of Phone-based Psychotherapy

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 7, 2012

A new study finds that individuals and therapists using telephone therapy improves access and compliance and has comparable outcomes to office-based care.
The ubiquity of cell phones and smartphones like the iPhone and Droid allows an individual to receive counseling in whatever setting they choose. A new Northwestern Medicine research study discovered patients who had therapy sessions provided over the phone were more likely to complete 18 weeks of treatment than those who had face-to-face sessions.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first large trial to compare the benefits of face-to-face and telephone therapy. Previous research has shown the effectiveness of telephone-based therapy.
Phone therapy is a rapidly growing trend among therapists. About 85 percent of psychologists now deliver some of their services over the phone because competing demands, transportation time and other problems make it difficult for many patients to get to their offices.
“Now therapists can make house calls,” said David Mohr, Ph.D., the lead author and a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Click here to read on.

Mental Health of the Elderly

Having good mental health throughout life does not ensure immunity from severe depression, Alzheimer's disease, anxiety disorders and other disorders in the senior years of life. In fact, some studies show elderly people are at greater risk of mental disorders and their complications than are younger people. However, many of these illnesses can be accurately diagnosed and treated.

• From 15 to 25 percent of elderly people in the United States suffer from significant symptoms of mental illness.
  
• The highest suicide rate in America is among those aged 65 and older. In 1985, this age group represented 12 percent of the total U.S. population, but accounted for 20 percent of suicides nationwide. That means close to 6,000 older Americans kill themselves each year.
  
• Worldwide, elderly people lead the World Health Organization's list of new cases of mental illness: 236 elderly people per 100,000 suffer from mental illness, compared to 93 per 100,000 for those aged 45 to 64, the next younger group.
  
• Severe organic mental disorders afflict one million elderly people in this country and another two million suffer from moderate organic disorders.

Sadly, many of the nation's elderly are reluctant to seek psychiatric treatment which could cure or alleviate their symptoms and return them to their previous level of functioning. Why? Many older people don't understand mental illnesses or acknowledge that they even exist. They feel ashamed of their symptoms or else feel that they are an inevitable part of aging. Medicare, which sets the standard for health care insurance coverage, has traditionally discriminated against psychiatric care by offering a low level of benefits. Elderly people, their loved ones and friends and often their own doctors fail to recognize the symptoms of treatable mental illness in older people. They blame them on "old age" or think nothing can be done to alleviate the problem. As a result:
To read more, click here.

Exercise Benefits Memory, Mental Health

Researchers at Dartmouth College have found that exercise can benefit memory, as well as help children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

By Janice Wood Associate News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on May 26, 2012

Over the past few years data has shown that exercise creates neurobiological changes, according to David Bucci, an associate professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences.
His latest research finds that the effects of exercise are different on memory, as well as on the brain, depending on whether the exerciser is an adolescent or an adult. Researchers have also identified a gene that seems to mediate the degree to which exercise has a beneficial effect, which has implications for the use of exercise as an intervention for mental illness, Bucci said.
He said he began his pursuit of the link between exercise and memory with ADHD, one of the most common childhood psychological disorders, noting he is concerned that the treatment of choice is medication.
“The notion of pumping children full of psycho-stimulants at an early age is troublesome,” Bucci said. “We frankly don’t know the long-term effects of administering drugs at an early age — drugs that affect the brain — so looking for alternative therapies is clearly important.”
Click here to read more. 

Cognitive Therapy for Depression

Are your thoughts dragging you down?

By Matthew Hoffman, MD
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

Almost everyone has dark thoughts when his or her mood is bad. With depression, though, the thoughts can be extremely negative. They can also take over and distort your view of reality.
Cognitive therapy can be an effective way to defuse those thoughts. When used for depression, cognitive therapy provides a mental tool kit that can be used to challenge negative thoughts. Over the long term, cognitive therapy for depression can change the way a depressed person sees the world.
Studies have shown that cognitive therapy works at least as well as antidepressants in helping people with mild to moderate depression. Treatment with medication and/or psychotherapy can shorten depression's course and can help reduce symptoms such as fatigue and poor self-esteem that accompany depression. Read on to see how cognitive therapy or talk therapy might help you start thinking and feeling better if you are depressed.

Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A Thinking Problem

Cognitive therapy was developed in the 1960s as an alternative way to treat depression, says Judith S. Beck, PhD. Beck is director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research located outside Philadelphia. She tells WebMD that the principle underlying cognitive therapy is "thoughts influence moods."
According to cognitive therapists, depression is maintained by constant negative thoughts. These thoughts are known as automatic thoughts. That means they occur without a conscious effort. For example, a depressed person might have automatic thoughts like these:

• "I always fail at everything."
• "I'm the world's worst mother."
• "I am doomed to be unhappy."

To read more, click here. 

Glenn Close: Let's End the Stigma Around Mental Illness Now

In 1987, when Glenn Close was cast as Alex Forrest -- the iconic lead character in Fatal Attraction -- Close met with several psychiatrists. She was hoping to learn more about the obviously troubled lead character. Little did she know, she was also about to learn something more troubling about the status of mentally ill people in our society.
Glenn says those visits provided insight towards the stigma around mental illness: "Not only did I not have a vocabulary for it, I realized, startlingly, that [the psychiatrists] didn't either." She realized that even mental health professionals still struggled to speak openly about mental illness. That experience, along with the experiences in her own family, is part of what made her into the mental health advocate she is today.
I recently had the privilege of attending the annual meeting of One Mind for Research at UCLA. With the ambitious title "Curing Brain Disease," the conference was filled to capacity with neuroscientists and policymakers with a powerful vision: that all mankind experiences a lifetime free of brain disease.
A highlight of the conference was "The Science of Stigma," a panel led by Glenn Close. I was fortunate enough to sit in, and to interview Glenn and the panelists afterward.
 To read more, click here.

The 3 Minute Test for Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder and PTSD

These are serious conditions that affect, not only your quality of life, but your physical health.

Did you know that having a mood disorder may increase your heart attack risk and decrease your ability to recover from other illnesses like stroke, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and cancer?

Your M3 score is a number that will help you and your doctor understand if you have a treatable mood disorder, like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or post traumatic stress disorder. You can even monitor your score to see how your mental health is changing over time.

What's my M3? Knowing can help you take control of your mental health, and you can discover yours in about three minutes with our free, confidential test.

Click here to read more.

Screening for mental illness? Yes, there's an app for that

By Michelle Healy, USA TODAY

There are numbers to track cholesterol and numbers to assess blood pressure, body temperature and weight. But can a number give an accurate read on your mental health?

The medical team behind a screening tool called Whats MyM3 says it can — and it can tell if you're at increased risk for depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

WhatsMyM3 (originally My Mood Monitor) can help adults, whether in treatment or not, "monitor their own symptoms and have a view of what's going on" in terms of mood and anxiety, says psychiatrist Steven Daviss of M3 Information, Bethesda, Md. Daviss is chairman of psychiatry at Baltimore Washington Medical Center.

WhatsMyM3 is available as a mobile app ($2.99 for iPhone, iPad and Android), or free on the Web (WhatsMyM3.com). M3Clinician is a version for physicians. The company has no financial or other relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, says president Michael Byer.

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Preemies at Greater Risk for Future Bipolar, Depression, Psychosis

By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 3, 2012

Babies born prematurely are at a much greater risk for developing severe mental disorders including psychosis, bipolar disorder and depression, according to a new study.

Researchers found that individuals born very prematurely (less than 32 weeks) were three times more likely to be hospitalized with a psychiatric illness at age 16 and older than those born full-term.
The scientists believe the increased risk may be due to small but critical differences in brain development if the child is born before the full 40-week gestation period.
The risk varied with each condition. Psychosis was two and a half times more likely for premature babies, severe depression three times more likely, and bipolar disorder 7.4 times more likely for those born before 32 weeks.
Researchers also found smaller but significant increased psychiatric risks for infants born only moderately early, between 32 and 36 weeks.
“Since we considered only the most severe cases that resulted in hospitalization, it may be that in real terms this link is even stronger,” said Chiara Nosarti from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, who led the research.
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By John Draper, PhD, Vice President
Crisis and Behavioral Health Technology
and Lifeline Project Director
Mental Health Association
of New York City (MHA-NYC)

T he Facebook safety team sees messages like the following every day: “I’m goin to kill myself this is my last post ever ill will miss u all…” 1 Since there are more than 37,000 deaths by suicide every year,2 and more than 50% of Americans have a Facebook profile,3 it’s not surprising that people are expressing their feelings of hopeless and suicidal ideation on the world’s most popular social networking site. That’s one reason the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline began offering crisis services to Facebook users in suicidal crisis via chat. Since 2006, the Lifeline has been working with Facebook to provide help to at risk users, harnessing the power of social media to reach people where they are. The Mental Health Association of New York
City (MHA-NYC) has been administrating the Lifeline project through our subsidiary, Link2Health Solutions, since 2004. The Lifeline is a nationwide network of more than 150 local crisis centers, including
New York City’s LifeNet, providing telephone and online help, federally funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Although the Lifeline on average handles 70,000 calls per month, we heard from our Facebook fans and others that many people in crisis do not feel comfortable
picking up the phone. Now there is a way for at-risk people to get the help they
need the way they want it. Initially, people who reported a friend’s troublesome content on Facebook
would generate a message from Facebook encouraging the friend to call the Lifeline
at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The new service, which began in December 2011, enables friends using either the Report Suicidal Content link or the report links found throughout the site, to cause an email from Facebook that now also includes a link to begin a confidential chat session with a trained crisis counselor.To read more, click here.