Mental Health & Transformation in the Media
Submit A News Article
Have you seen an article in the media related to mental health and/or transformation that you'd like to share with others? Let us know by copying the complete website address to the specific news article you'd like to share in the field below:
Notice! Some online news services display articles for a limited period of time before archiving them and charging users to view the article, and in some cases may no longer be available. Some sites require free site registration. At the time these links are posted, they were free to view.
Estrogen May Have Preventive Role in Women's Schizophrenia
Washington Post - August 04, 2008
The estrogen estradiol, when combined with antipsychotic drugs, may help relieve psychotic symptoms in women with schizophrenia, an Australian study suggests.
July 2008
Gene-Hunters Find Hope and Hurdles in Schizophrenia Studies
New York times - July 31, 2008
Two groups of researchers hunting for schizophrenia genes on a larger scale than ever before have found new genetic variants that point toward a different understanding of the disease.
Stress management can ease workplace tensions
Seattle PI - July 27, 2008
Sales are down, customers are paying late and vendors are all raising their prices. That's a combination
likely to raise stress levels for most small-business owners -- who in turn can pass on their anxiety and
create a stressful atmosphere for employees.
The Woman Who Died in the Waiting Room
Newsweek - July 21, 2008
Esmin Elizabeth green fell out of her chair in the waiting room of Brooklyn's largest psychiatric
hospital nearly an hour before anyone realized she was in trouble. For 20 minutes, she writhed and
twisted between two chairs under the watchful eye of a security camera whose footage would later
be broadcast across the country, spurring a public outcry.
Child Anxiety That Goes Beyond the Norm
New York Times - July 20, 2008
Everychild experiences anxiety, and usually a caring parent can help make it pass. But in 5 to 10 percent of cases, the problem goes deeper — panic attacks, obsessive behavior, depression — and the child can benefit from professional help.
The Voices of Bipolar Disorder
New York Times - July 17, 2008
I have long admired the bravery and selflessness of patients who are willing to tell their personal health stories. Today, “Patient Voices,'’ created by my colleague Karen Barrow, gives a voice to bipolar disorder, featuring nine courageous people who share their own stories of diagnosis, treatment, struggle and acceptance.
Calm Down or Else
New York Times - July 15, 2008
The children return from school confused, scared and sometimes with bruises on their wrists,
arms or face. Many won’t talk about what happened, or simply can’t, because they are unable
to communicate easily, if at all.
Children of conflict: stress takes its toll on both sides of border
Gaurdian UK - July 15, 2008
Fifteen-year-old Nour Aidi has hardly spoken in seven years since Israeli soldiers bulldozed the olive trees around his home, barricaded his family in a room and turned the house into a base, fortified with sandbags, camouflage netting, barbed wire and machine guns.
June 2008
Breakdown: Canada's Mental Health Crisis
Globe and Mail - June 20, 2008
Launched June 20, this series of reports from a leading Canadian news source provides a unique and comprehensive look at mental health conditions, issues and research. Coverage includes an in depth examinations of a wide spectrum of disorders from bipolar disorder to anxiety to OCD, as well as reports on issues such as mental health concerns in the workplace, criminal justice and foster care systems. The series also includes personal accounts from readers with mental health conditions and online discussions with mental health experts.
Mentally ill people fight unseen battles — and win
Daily Olympian - June 25, 2008
Every day she comes to work and every day she fights the terror that chokes off her air and covers her in a cold sweat. Still, she sits at her desk and does her work and you don't know the battle she's fighting. She has learned to hide it.
Record number of Japanese elderly kill themselves
Seattle Times - June 20, 2008
The number of elderly Japanese killing themselves surged 9 percent to a record high last year, fueled by mounting health and economic worries among seniors in a rapidly aging society, the government said Thursday.
A Culture Rethinks Psychology
Newsweek - June 09, 2008
The last time that China suffered a natural disaster approaching the magnitude
of the recent earthquake in Sichuan, its Maoist leaders considered psychology
a "bourgeois" discipline. Survivors of the 1976 Tangshan quake, which killed
at least 255,000 people, were left to cope on their own with posttraumatic stress
disorder.
The Analysis: Revelation Is Still a Risk
BusinessWeek - June 04, 2008
In the 10 years since Diane Coutu came out to her current employer about her clinical depression,
the only negative result she has experienced is her own occasional fear that her colleagues will
react badly. So far, not one has.
Clinic Treats Mental Illness by Enlisting the Family
New York Times - June 04, 2008
It was hard to tell just who was the patient, as the Cunanan siblings — Jennifer, Adrian and Anthony — sat in a
row on three chairs in a sparsely decorated therapist’s office at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan.
Emotional memory impaired in bipolar disorder
MedWireNews - June 04, 2008
The retrieval of emotionally charged memories is impaired in patients with bipolar disorder, say
researchers who believe that defects in amygdala brain circuitry may be the root cause of this impairment.
May 2008
The Stigma of Suicide
Tucson Weekly - May 29, 2008
Judy Schwartz recalls her husband's last visit to the cardiologist. He was
receiving care for a heart condition. He'd previously endured coronary artery
bypass surgery, and the new therapy consisted of applying pressure to his
heart to expand the blood vessels.
Army suicides reported up again at 115 in 2007
Seattle Times - May 29, 2008
The number of Army suicides increased again last year, amid the most violent year yet in both the Iraq
and Afghanistan wars. An Army official said Thursday that 115 troops committed suicide in 2007, a nearly
13 percent increase over the previous year's 102. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because a
full report on the deaths wasn't being released until later Thursday.
Mentally ill wait as council, executive feud
Seattle Times - May 24, 2008
As a volunteer counselor for families dealing with mental illness, Charlie Mays said he hears repeatedly how
people end up in jail because they aren't able to get treatment. Their jail stays are often longer as they
wait for evaluation and intervention, and they're more likely to reoffend once released because they don't
receive ongoing care./p>
Lawmakers told mentally ill could clog state's justice system
Desert News - May 21, 2008
A governor-appointed committee says Utah's criminal justice system is approaching
a major crisis when it comes to the growing number of mentally ill people being
repeatedly arrested and then released back on the street.
Work and self-worth: Woman struggling with mental illness gets help finding employment and finds stability in the process
Foster's Daily Democrat - May 19, 2008
At 60 years old, resident Rose Houle feels for the first time in her life she is a contributing member of
society. For many years, she was in and out of hospitals as she dealt with severe mental illness.
Official Urged Fewer Diagnoses of PTSD
Washington Post - May 16, 2008
A psychologist who helps lead the post-traumatic stress disorder program at a medical facility for veterans in
Texas told staff members to refrain from diagnosing PTSD because so many veterans were seeking government
disability payments for the condition.
Guardian writer wins Mind journalism award
The Guardian - May 15, 2008
Society Guardian writer Mary O'Hara has today been awarded the prestigious
Mind journalist of the year for her consistently excellent coverage of mental
health issues.
Suicides Point to Gaps in Treatment
Washington Post - May 13, 2008
Peasant farmer Jose Lopez-Gregorio, 32, left his wife and five children behind
in Guatemala with two bags of corn, barely enough food for one month, when he
decided to find work in the United States. Detained crossing the Mexican border
and held in an Arizona immigration center, he felt guilty, he told guards,
eating three meals a day. Lopez had been inside one month and eight days when
he strangled himself with a bedsheet.
A major swing in diagnosing bipolar disorder
Rhode Island News - May 12, 2008
A few years ago, Dr. Mark Zimmerman, a psychiatrist at Rhode Island Hospital,
started noticing that many patients were coming to his practice seeking
treatment for bipolar disorder. They’d received the diagnosis elsewhere, and
they "were invested in it," he said.
Lucas County 'Day in the life' program focuses on mental health
Toledo Blade - May 12, 2008
State Rep. Matt Szollosi (D., Oregon) tried to concentrate on what he was supposed to be reading —
but the voice loudly telling him he "smelled like garbage" made focusing difficult.
Idea a novel way for mentally ill to stay out of jail
Morning Sentinel - May 12, 2008
Kennebec County's Co-Occurring Disorders Court is a good thing -- but it's unfortunate that we need it. The
court provides a chance for inmates facing long-term sentences to redeem themselves and avoid prison. These
aren't just any inmates facing prison; they're the ones suffering from "co-occurring disorders" or multiple
psychological problems, including mental illness and drug or alcohol abuse.
Molecular profile overlaps in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Medwirenews - May 07, 2008
Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients appear to have a partially shared molecular profile that may point
to the discovery of a common pathophysiology and novel treatments, say US scientists.
H.O.P.E. for children with mental illness
St Joe News - May 07, 2008
Diane Redden didn’t know what to do with her granddaughter a couple of years ago.
The 5-year-old girl ripped holes in her furniture with a knife. In another
emotional episode, it took seven people, including a police officer, to get
her on an ambulance stretcher.
Sudden Death Of A Parent May Pose Mental Health Risks For Children, Surviving Caregivers
Science Daily - May 05, 2008
Children who had a parent who died suddenly have three times the risk of depression than those
with two living parents, along with an increased risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
according to a new article.
In teen's memory, a mental health push
Boston Globe - May 05, 2008
The teenager spoke so eloquently about the wild cycles of bipolar disorder that she drew tears from a
State House audience last May. Testifying about flaws she had seen in the mental health system, she
wanted to show that one girl could make a difference. She signed her notes, "Stay strong."
Study links child's autism, parents' mental illness
Reuters - May 05, 2008
In another sign pointing to an inherited component to autism, a study released on Monday found that
having a schizophrenic parent or a mother with psychiatric problems roughly doubled a child's risk of
being autistic.
Reports show systemic abuse at Texas' psychiatric hospitals8
Dallas News - May 04, 2008
Patients with severe mental illness are committed to Texas' state psychiatric hospitals to be protected
from themselves. Instead, some are suffering vicious abuse from the very caregivers hired to look after
them.
Video shows importance of work
Daily Olympian - May 04, 2008
Lenora Warden practiced taking the bus to a new job at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. She ran into
her new boss, who reminded her she didn't start for a week. "I said, 'I know, but I wanted to find my way.' And
he says, 'Well, You have found your way.' And that's all it took," Warden said. "When he said it, it was
like a light went on."
Prevention advocated as part of mental-illness treatment
Seattle Times - May 01, 2008
David Brenna wants people to think about mental illnesses the same way they
would other kinds of diseases. For instance, imagine a doctor treating someone
for a heart attack but not telling the person to eat a healthy diet and to
get more exercise.
April 2008
Study finds troops shy away from mental health care
CNN.com - Arpil 30, 2008
U.S. military personnel fear that seeking help for mental health problems
could harm their careers, according to a survey released Wednesday. Three of
five members of the military worry that it would have at least some impact,
according to the small online survey conducted for the American Psychiatric
Association.
Sierra Leone: 400,000 Cases of Mental Disorders?
AllAfrica.com - April 29, 2008
Consultant psychiatrist has revealed in Freetown that apart from inmates at the Sierra Leone
psychiatric hospital in Kissy some 10% of Sierra Leoneans would require psychiatric care,
meaning 400,000 have some form of mental disorder in the country.
Mentally ill 'overrepresented' in Canadian jails: report
Canada.com - April 29, 2008
More than one in four Canadians hospitalized for mental illness have had brushes with the law,
but researchers aren’t sure whether mental illness breeds delinquency or whether jailing people
makes them more prone to psychiatric problems, according to a report released Tuesday.
Stigma still plagues mentally ill
Nanaimo Daily News - April 21, 2008
Sometimes Susan Saunders needs to go to the hospital. But for Saunders, her experience of what most
Nanaimo residents take for granted tends to be different. Saunders has been diagnosed with bipolar
disorder, has been treated at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital psychiatric unit for her illness,
and thinks that when she arrives at the emergency ward that staff only see her psychological disorder.
Health Services for Students Go Beyond the School Nurse
Kitsap Sun - April 19, 2008
Josie Price, 18, hadn't been to the doctor in years when she entered Spectrum Community School,
North Kitsap School District's alternative high school, a year ago. Since then Price has been a regular
at Spectrum's school-based health clinic, operated with state and local funding by the Kitsap County
Health District.
Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Is Medicating a Nation
AlterNet.org - April 17, 2008
While we've now become accustomed to the barrage of prescription drug commercials on prime-time TV,
it's jarring to learn that this advertising is legal only in the United States and New Zealand.
Mental Health In Adolescents Influenced By Cultural Identity
Medical News Today - April 16, 2008
The first prospective study investigating cultural identity and mental health status among adolescents
living in a culturally diverse society has revealed that there is an association between the two,
and that effects differ by gender and ethnic group.
Who Are We? Coming of Age on Antidepressants
New York Times - April 15, 2008
"I've grown up on medication," my patient Julie told me recently. "I don't have a sense of who I really am
without it."
Kaine Touts Legislative Reforms for Mentally Ill
Washington Post - April 13, 2008
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) told Northern Virginia residents yesterday that
the state has taken steps to correct many of the problems in its mental
health system that might have contributed to Seung Hui Cho's shooting
rampage nearly a year ago at Virginia Tech.
Farm visits can ease mental illness
Reuters- April 11, 2008
Spending time on a farm looking after cows, horses, or other animals can
help people with mental illness better manage their anxieties and increase
their confidence, according to a study published on Friday.
Kaine Signs Set of Bills To Modernize Mental Health
Washington Post - April 10, 2008
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine signed bills Wednesday that will make it easier
for Virginians to receive treatment as part of the first significant
overhaul of the state's mental health system in three decades.
Say Hey Olympia offers work aid for people with disabilities
Daily Olympian - April 09, 2008
Job seekers nationwide with physical or mental disabilities face an unemployment rate of 70 percent,
according to the state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and some South Sound organizations met
Tuesday in an effort to improve that number locally.
Mental help from work pays off
Wall Street Journal - April 07, 2008
About 2 1/2 years ago, network-equipment provider Cisco Systems Inc. asked its U.S. workers to fill
out a health survey to gauge their well-being. The results were a shock to the system.
Army Is Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours to Iraq
New York Times - April 06, 2008
Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to
the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq
for this year and beyond.
March 2008
Mental Illness: Facing the reality
Seattle PI - March30, 2008
Nearly a half-century after the beginning of what Seattle P-I reporter Carol Smith describes
as "a grand experiment" in better treatment of the mentally ill, the law and institutions are
a long way from knowing exactly how to protect the public from the occasional deeply dangerous individual.
The Murky Politics of Mind-Body
New York Times - March 30, 2008
From Plato and Aristotle to Descartes, the great thinkers have for millennia
argued over what is known in philosophy as the "mind-body problem," the
relationship between spirit and flesh. Dualism tends to win the day: The mind
and the body, while linked, are separate. They exist independently, perhaps
mingling but not merging.
Life in Prison Looms for Mentally Ill Bremerton Man — but Should It?
Kitsap Sun - March 29, 2008
The 27-year-old Bremerton man told investigators he was trying to kill himself
when he lit his Trenton Avenue house on fire Feb. 10. He demanded police shoot
him in a subsequent standoff.
UW scientists find surprising genetic causes of schizophrenia
Seattle PI - March 27, 2008
As if the science of how genetics leads to disease isn't already complex enough,
researchers in Seattle and Long Island, N.Y., say individuals appear to develop
schizophrenia from a varying smorgasbord of bad genes rather than common genetic
flaws.
Now, not just anyone can be a counselor
SEattle Times - March 26, 2008
One of the most loosely regulated health-care professions will be
abolished and more than 18,000 people stripped of their counseling
credentials as part of legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Christine Gregoire.
Dangerous and mentally ill: A system in restraints
Seattle PI - March 26, 2008
Before James A. Williams was charged with stabbing a young Seattle woman to
death, he stood before a King County Superior Court on a different occasion,
accused of assaulting a different stranger, and asked to speak in his own
defense.
Safeguarding Private Medical Data
New York Times - March 26, 2008
Almost 2,500 patients taking part in a federal medical trial recently had
their private health data compromised when a researcher’s laptop computer
was stolen. The National Institutes of Health, which was responsible for
safeguarding the data, made things worse by delaying in notifying the
patients. This disturbing incident underscores the need for a strong
federal law to protect medical privacy and for greater responsibility
by those who handle sensitive medical information.
Experts troubled by at-home bipolar gene tests
msnbc.com - March 23, 2008
Dr. John Kelsoe has spent his career trying to identify the biological roots of bipolar disorder. In December, he
announced he had discovered several gene mutations closely tied to the disease, also known as manic depression.
Crime panel seeks tax boost for treatment programs
Seattle Times - March 12, 2008
It's stark language for a government document — especially one written, in part, by seasoned criminal-justice
specialists. For 38 pages, they lay out their case, musing about "the avoidance of human misery" and sharing
worries about people who've "fallen into the crevice of inaccessible care."
Senate Clears Prisoner Bill
Wall Street Journal - March 12, 2008
After three years of procedural and legislative delays, a prisoner re-entry bill first introduced in 2005
has cleared the Senate and is heading to the president’s desk.
Working Dad: Rise in childhood mental illness is perplexing
Seattle PI - March 06, 2008
Scrambled eggs and toast were on the kitchen table, a soccer game began in an hour and October sun
poured into Elizabeth Coplan's Seattle-area home. Yet it was 11 a.m., and her 10-year-old son would not get
out of bed, remaining tucked under his covers more like a teenager than a fourth-grader.
House Moves Closer to Mental-Health Bill
Wall Street Journal - March 06, 2008
New requirements for insurance plans to equalize mental-health benefits with those for other medical
ailments have cleared another hurdle in Congress.
Effects of New Mental Health Laws May Be Limited, Some Say
Washington Posst - March 06. 2008
On Tuesday, the Virginia General Assembly approved some of the most sweeping changes in mental health
law in a generation, but experts across the ideological spectrum said yesterday that the bills should be
considered a first, modest step toward reforming a complex system.
On Mental Health Parity, It’s Kennedy Vs. Kennedy
Wall Street Journal - March 06, 2008
Now that Congressman Patrick Kennedy (pictured, left) has won passage in the House for his mental health parity
bill, he has to work out a compromise with the Senate, which has passed a much less restrictive version of the
bill. Kennedy will be sitting across the negotiating table from one of the old lions of the Senate: his father,
Ted Kennedy (pictured right), a driving force behind the Senate bill.
Police tactics in talking woman off ledge included not talking
Seattle Times - March 01, 2008
The barefoot blonde teetered on a building ledge 60 feet above the
street, fidgeting with the zipper on her pink pajamas as hecklers
below taunted her to "jump."
February 2008
Biomarkers for Mood May Alter Psychiatric Treatments
Washington Post - February 28, 2008
Biomarkers in the blood associated with mood disorders have been identified by Indiana University School of
Medicine researchers, who said the finding may change the way bipolar illness is diagnosed and treated.
Allowing the Mentally Ill a Life of Their Own
Washington Post - February 28, 2008
Rafael Rivera sat comfortably in his neat, modest apartment off Route 1, talking to his caseworker, Carlos
Estrada. Seated nearby was Parnell Cornet, a psychiatrist. "So we're going to get you a job in the coming months,
right? Looks like you're almost ready to work again," Estrada said, looking around the apartment.
Senate backs overhaul bill that 'will save lives'
Seattle PI - February 26, 2008
In the first major overhaul of the Indian Health Service in more than a decade, Congress moved
Tuesday toward bolstering health-care screening, illness prevention and mental health benefits for
Native Americans.
Daring to Think Differently About Schizophrenia
New York Times - February 25, 2008
Scientists who develop drugs are familiar with disappointment — brilliant theories
that don’t pan out or promising compounds derailed by unexpected side effects. They
are accustomed to small steps and wrong turns, to failure after failure — until, in
a moment, with hard work, brain power and a lot of luck, all those little failures
turn into one big success.
Veterans Share Stories as Work Starts on Mental Health Bills
Washington Post - February 22, 2008
For two years, Edward Robinson was stationed at a Navy hospital in Portsmouth, Va., helping treat wounded
troops returning from battle in Iraq. The experience was so emotionally taxing that when Robinson moved home
to Annapolis in 2006, his life started unraveling.
VA announces plans for mental health facility in Walla Walla
Wenatchee World - February 20, 2008
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced plans Tuesday to build a
residential rehabilitation facility focused on mental health care at the Walla
Walla VA Medical Center, which serves some 69,000 veterans in Washington, Oregon
and Idaho.
Midlife Suicide Rises, Puzzling Researchers
New York Times - February 19, 2008
Shannon Neal can instantly tell you the best night of her life: Tuesday, Dec. 23,
2003, the Hinsdale Academy debutante ball. Her father, Steven Neal, a 54-year-old
political columnist for The Chicago Sun-Times, was in his tux, white gloves and tie.
"My dad walked me down and took a little bow," she said, and then the two of them
goofed it up on the dance floor as they laughed and laughed.
‘Have You Ever Been in Psychotherapy, Doctor?’
New York Times - February 19, 2008
A curious thing happened to one of my psychiatric residents not long ago. One of
his patients caught him off guard with a challenging question: "Have you ever been
in psychotherapy yourself?"
Murder suspect's troubles years old
Spokesman Review - Feruary 12, 2008
A Spokane woman charged with killing her roommate last week has struggled with
mental illness since she was a child. Natalie Orth ran away from her parents and
from foster homes, hung out on the streets with sex offenders, attempted suicide
and often wondered how'd she make it through another day, she told The
Spokesman-Review eight years ago.
Some link depression, failed LASIK
Seattle PI - February 08, 2008
Patients who undergo vision-correcting laser eye surgery sign a release form with
an extensive list of risks, but some researchers and former patients say a
potential complication is not mentioned: depression that can lead to suicide.
Where depression is still taboo
London Times - February 05, 2008
Stories of heavy boozing, drug-taking, long days and short fuses in the City are
legion, and recently there have been reports of a surge in referrals to psychiatric
practices as City workers struggle with stress, anxiety and depression.
Nature and nurture play role in mental illness
Reuters - February 4, 2008
Variations in a gene helped shield adults who had endured child abuse from becoming depressed as adults,
U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study that helps explain how nature and nurture give rise to mental
illness.
Suspect was turned away day of Capitol Hill killing
Seattle PI - February 02, 2008
The day James Anthony Williams allegedly stabbed to death a stranger on Capitol Hill,
the homeless, mentally ill ex-convict showed up at his probation officer's office
agitated, defensive and, the officer wrote, "barely able to hold himself together."
