Mental Health Conditions Archives - NWI
Research: Teaching Kids Mental Health Skills Can Ease Anxiety, Suicidal Thoughts
June 26, 2017 | Emily Taylor
EMPATHY is a pilot program used to promote mental health in Canadian middle school and high school students. A study by researchers at the University of Alberta in Calgary looked at the impact of the program on 6,000 youth who were offered the EMPATHY training between 2013-2015. The results showed declines in suicidal thoughts, anxiety and depression.
Research: Quality of Early Family Relationships Affects Children’s Mental Health
June 22, 2017 | Emily Taylor
Researchers from the Academy of Finland conducted a seven-year longitudinal study to investigate the impact that the transition to parenthood has on families and what effect early family relationships have on children’s emotional development. The study included 710 Finnish families during pregnancy, when the children were two months, and again at one year and middle childhood. Researchers identified various family types and found that problematic family types were tied to different emotional regulation problems in middle childhood.
Research: Mental Health Crises in Children and Young Adults
June 7, 2017 | Emily Taylor
Research published this month in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry found more than half of youth admitted to the hospital for a mental health issue had no previous history of contact with mental health care services. Researchers looked at data on emergency hospital visits for more than 100,000 young people aged 10-24 in Ontario, Canada over a four year period. Findings suggest that improved access to primary care would help to prevent emergency hospital visits.
Research: Increase in Suicidality of Children and Teens
May 31, 2017 | Emily Taylor
Earlier this month, researchers presented “Trends in Suicidality and Serious Self-Harm for Children 5-17 Years at 32 U.S. Children’s Hospitals, 2008-2015” at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting. After analyzing administrative data from 32 children’s hospitals around the U.S., researchers found the incidence of suicidality doubled over the study period.
Search for mental health care for children is often fruitless
May 15, 2017 | Emily Taylor
A recent Boston Globe article highlights the results of a 2015 Harvard study published this month in International Journal of Health Services. Researchers posing as a parent of depressed 12 year old called 913 doctors listed as network providers by Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations in Boston, Chapel Hill, N.C., Houston, Minneapolis, and Seattle. On average, they were able to schedule an appointment with a pediatrician only 40 percent of the time. Appointments with psychiatrists were only scheduled 17 percent of the time.
Telehealth Guidelines for Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services
May 5, 2017 | Emily Taylor
The American Telemedicine Association has published telehealth guidelines for the delivery of mental health and behavioral services by a licensed health care provider through real-time videoconferencing for children and adolescents. Telemedicine is one potential way to address the lack of child- and adolescent-trained behavioral health providers.
The Impact of Incarceration on Dependent Children
May 1, 2017 | Emily Taylor
A recent article in the National Institute of Justice Journal looks at research on the effects of parental incarceration on the well-being of their dependent children. The author, Eric Martin, a social science analyst in NIJ’s Office of Research and Evaluation, outlines the scope of the issue, potential risks for children as well as policy recommendations.
Research Shows Benefit of Pediatric-Based Brief Behavioral Treatment
April 27, 2017 | Emily Taylor
Results of a randomized clinical trial published this month in JAMA Psychiatry found that 56.8% of youths in pediatric-based behavioral treatment were clinically improved compared with 28.2% of youths provided with assisted referral. Improvement was greater for Hispanic youths, with 76.5% of those in behavioral treatment improving compared with 7.1% of referred youths.
Issue Brief: A Call for Comprehensive Perinatal Psychotherapy Training
April 21, 2017 | Emily Taylor
A new issue brief from SPARC and UMass and written by Carolyn Broudy outlines the need for perinatal psychotherapy training to better treat perinatal depression and avoid negative outcomes for mothers, infants and families.
Early Intervention Can Help Combat Depression in Children
April 19, 2017 | Emily Taylor
A recent article from a New Jersey paper highlights ways local pediatricians are working to identify and treat depression and other mental health issues early with screening tools and collaborative care approaches. One pilot program will bring a licensed social worker and psychiatrist into the pediatric primary care office, and in another program a psychologist and a “patient navigator” will work with parents when children are diagnosed as needing treatment for a mental health issue.