Category: mental health

State Laws Aim to Regulate ‘Troubled Teen Industry,’ but Loopholes Remain

Without a federal law governing private, for-profit residential programs for children with behavioral problems, regulation has been left to the states. But even in states that have sought to increase oversight, deaths and controversial tactics such as seclusion still happen.

A Catch-22 Trips Up Some in Legal Guardianship Who Try to Regain Independence

If a judge decides someone cannot make their own decisions, the person can be placed under a court-appointed guardianship, also known as a conservatorship. Some states are beginning to allow less-restrictive alternatives.

Pandemic Poses Short- and Long-Term Risks to Babies, Especially Boys

A mother’s immune response to covid can be a greater danger to the fetus than the virus itself.

Wartime Trauma Hits Close to Home for Scholar of Dementia

The federal government is putting up $7.2 million for a study into the correlation between war trauma and dementia in Vietnamese immigrants. Oahn Meyer, an associate professor at the University of California-Davis who is leading the study, wonders whether her mother’s dementia is linked to trauma she suffered during the Vietnam War.

Sex Apps for Gay Men Join Forces to Fight Online Insults

A San Francisco-area group that pushes for healthier internet behavior aims to show that being mean isn’t sexy and can lead to mental anguish and unsafe sexual encounters.

As Climate Worsens, Environmentalists Grapple With the Mental Toll of Activism

After her son’s death by suicide, a mother promotes mental health for environmentalists. It’s part of a larger push to address the burnout and psychological stress that can affect activists.

Watch: No Extra Resources for Children Orphaned by Covid

Grieving children face grave risks to their well-being, both in the short and long term. But there is no concerted government effort to help the estimated 140,000 children who have lost a parent in the pandemic.

‘I Can Go Anywhere’: How Service Dogs Help Veterans With PTSD

The PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act means more veterans with symptoms of traumatic stress can get specially trained service dogs.

California Joins States Trying to Shorten Wait Times for Mental Health Care

In California, health insurers blame long waits for therapy appointments on workforce shortages, but state lawmakers say that’s an excuse. A new law requires insurers to reduce wait times for mental health appointments to no more than 10 business days.

Etching the Pain of Covid Into the Flesh of Survivors

Memorial tattoos have grown more popular in recent years. Since parlors reopened after the lockdown, inkers have found that many people are eager to memorialize relatives and friends lost to covid.