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APA Statement on Concerning Lawsuit Challenging Final Parity Rules

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) expresses deep concern over the recent lawsuit filed by The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), a trade association that advocates on behalf of large employers, which seeks to invalidate the Final Mental Health Parity Rule. The final rule is intended to improve access to timely care for mental health and substance use disorders by ensuring that insurers are held accountable to the public on the fair provision of these treatments.

Crisis Hotlines: A Vital Response Resource

  • Anxiety, Depression

Crisis hotlines provide support and assistance easily available to anyone 24 hours a day, a vital resource at any time, but especially critical during our current national crisis. Many hotlines are seeing significant increases in calls. A national crisis hotline run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Disaster Distress Helpline, saw an increase in calls of more than 300% in March compared to February this year.

“Nowhere to Turn”: COVID-19 and Caregiver Stress

  • Older adults, Patients and Families

“I need help, and I have nowhere to turn.” I find this a frighteningly common refrain among my patients who are also caregivers for people with dementia, autism, or children with a panoply of mental health conditions who need consistency and structure. As an individual psychiatrist, there seems to be no option, and I simply listen.

Remembering Rep. John Lewis, a Civil Rights Icon

  • APA Leadership

Rep. John Lewis, the congressional leader from Georgia and lifelong advocate for freedom, equality and basic human rights for Black Americans and other underrepresented groups, died recently after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. His passing should cause us all pause to reflect on what he meant for this country and what he did to improve the lives of so many.

City Living and Mental Well-being

  • Anxiety, Depression, Patients and Families

 More than half the world’s population lives in cities, and the number is expected to continue to increase in the coming decades. Living in urban areas has been associated with increased risk for mental disorders, including anxiety, depression and schizophrenia. Research using functional magnetic resonance imaging has identified changes in the brain indicating that urban upbringing and city living are linked to social stress processing.

New Study Tests a Curriculum for Medical Students on Detecting and Treating Opioid Use Disorder

From December 2020 to December 2021 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. increased by nearly 15%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the nearly 71,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2019, 70% involved opioids. A presentation at this year’s American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting examined one approach to ending this crisis: offering focused training as part of the medical student curriculum.

Quitting Smoking Saves Lives, But Medications to Help Are Under Prescribed

  • Serious mental illness, Treatment

On Nov. 17, 2022, the country will mark the Great American Smoke-Out, an event organized by the American Cancer Society to encourage people to quit smoking. Despite overall drops in tobacco usage over the past few decades, smoking still kills nearly an estimated 480,000 people a year.  

Maui Wildfire Response: Resources for Mental Health Clinicians Who Are Helping

  • Trauma

In the aftermath of the dreadful wildfires in Maui, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster has prepared the following list of resources for mental health clinicians. These resources are fully vetted by physicians and are free to all who may need them.

8 Step Mental Health Checkup

  • Healthy living for mental well-being, Patients and Families, Public awareness

We often focus more on treating illnesses, both physical and mental, than on staying healthy. But the absence of mental illness does not necessarily mean good mental health.

Connecting Children with Nature to Improve Mental Well-Being

  • Children and Youth, Healthy living for mental well-being, Patients and Families

Children and teens face a variety of stressors and concern about youth mental health has increased in recent years. These issues were highlighted in the Surgeon General’s advisories on Protecting Youth Mental Health, Social Media and Youth Mental Health and Loneliness and Isolation. One approach gaining more attention is tapping into the health benefits of spending time outdoors in nature.

Medical leadership for mind, brain and body.

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