75 Results
APA Member Serves as Inaugural Director of MGH Psychiatry Center for Racial Equity and Justice
APA sat down with Director Olivia I. Okereke, M.D., M.S. to learn more about the MGH Psychiatry Center for Racial Equity and Justice in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.
How to Talk About Suicide on Social Media
Social media has tremendous reach and influence. When people post on social media about suicide, that influence can be helpful or hurtful. Conversations about suicide on social media can promote misperceptions and stigma and potentially influence others to attempt suicide
New APA Poll: One in Three Americans Feels Lonely Every Week
In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., called loneliness a public health epidemic. The latest Healthy Minds Monthly Poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) finds that, early in 2024, 30% of adults say they have experienced feelings of loneliness at least once a week over the past year, while 10% say they are lonely every day.
Supporting Student Mental Well-Being with Mindfulness Programs
A variety of mindfulness-based programs are increasingly being used in schools to help support and improve students’ mental, emotional and behavioral health. A new study looks at the evidence about their effectiveness.
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.
Hispanic Heritage Month: How One Psychiatrist Explored Culturally Competent Care
One in five (22%) Hispanics/Latinos have a mental illness and one in 20 have a serious mental illness, according to the latest federal government data (SAMHSA 2023). Yet only 36% of Hispanics/Latinos received mental health services, compared to 52% of whites. During Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15), we can celebrate the achievements and contributions of Hispanics/Latinos while also acknowledging the equity work that still needs to be done to increase access to care and decrease stigm
How to Discuss Controversial Issues with Your Mental Health in Mind
As elections, wars, and other controversial events and issues swirl in the news feeds and on social media, you may have strong viewpoints and feel passionately about a cause. You will also encounter people who have an opposing view to yours — in your family, at work or school, on social media or somewhere else in your life.
Positive Psychiatry: Promoting Well-Being
Positive psychiatry focuses on the positive aspects of mental health. It is defined as the “science and practice of psychiatry that focuses on the study and promotion of mental health and well-being through enhancement of positive psychosocial factors,” in a recent special report in Psychiatric News by former APA President Dilip V. Jeste, M.D. As Dr. Jeste notes, while about 20% of people are affected by mental disorders, “100% of people have mental health including some positive traits. Positiv
Recognizing and Addressing Bias in the Workplace
I was the attending psychiatrist working at a busy, urban emergency room speaking outside a treatment room with a patient’s daughter, a middle-aged Caucasian woman. I was taking notes when a male trainee approached and interrupted, speaking directly to the patient’s daughter. He assumed she was the doctor (I was wearing scrubs and my physician ID) and called her Dr. Hart and mentioned he needed to discuss a patient.
Bias and Stigma in Health Care Systems
Stigma and bias toward mental illness can be major barrier to people accessing needed care. When that stigma and bias exists within the health care system, it can have an especially harmful impact. The Mental Health Commission of Canada has undertaken a multi-year effort to better understand equity and the systemic implicit bias against mental health and substance use, how it impacts health outcomes and quality of life, and what can be done to reshape and improve care for people with mental illn
Observing Juneteenth and Supporting Mental Health Equity
This weekend, we acknowledge and observe Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the day that the end of slavery was announced in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. Juneteenth has been celebrated by the Black community since the late 1800s. Now, pending President Biden’s signature, expected this afternoon, it will be a federal holiday in recognition of the end of the dark chapter of human slavery in America, and the start of the long march towards equality for the Black community.
Can Mindset Training Reduce Student Stress?
A person’s mindset refers to a set of beliefs or attitudes that frame how they see the world. A new study shows that mindset training can help adolescents manage stress and improve resilience and well-being. The online training module used in the study combines two existing interventions covering a “growth” mindset and a “stress-can-be-enhancing" mindset, which target different aspects of people’s experience of stress.