Mental Health

This interview accompanies the third podcast in our National Recovery Month series with Kim MacDonald-Wilson, ScD, CPRP, senior program director, Recovery and Wellness Transformation, and Tracy Carney, CPS, CPRP, senior recovery and resiliency specialist, Community Care Behavioral Health Organization.

Results show that cognitive decline, combined with factors like smoking, obesity, and chronic health conditions, sharply increased the likelihood of premature death among patients with schizophrenia.

This interview accompanies the second podcast in our National Recovery Month series with Mandy Faubel, PhD, LCSW, UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Safe Harbor, and Rebekah Sedlock, DSW, LCSW, UPMC Insurance Services Division with Community Care.

Ali Khawar, Employee Benefits Security Administration, US Department of Labor, believes the final rule will be a benefit to employers and health plans that are trying to do the right thing and offer robust mental health benefits or substance use benefits.

While psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin are generally well tolerated in clinical and research settings, study authors suspect inconsistent reporting of adverse events.

This interview accompanies the first podcast in our National Recovery Month series with Michael Lynch, MD, attending emergency physician and medical toxicologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Brooke Kempf, PMHNP, from Indiana University Indianapolis, discusses the importance of timely outpatient care and how innovative approaches like long-acting injectables (LAIs) are helping to bridge the gap in treatment for schizophrenia.

Learn more about the negotiated Medicare drug prices and what the FDA's rejection of therapeutic MDMA means for mental health care through expert reactions. Other highlights include pharmacy-based HIV care, gaps in care for gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and the obesity epidemic.

The growing utilization of long-acting injectable (LAI) medications for treating patients with schizophrenia indicates a positive trend in mental health practice, according to Brooke Kempf, PMHNP, Indiana University Indianapolis.

The FDA's decision to reject midomafetamine (MDMA) capsules in combination with assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AT) for adults with PTSD reignited the controversial conversation around investigative psychedelic therapy.

Along with the company reorganization, Lykos announced it will be reducing its workforce by approximately 75%, with the remaining team focused on continuing efforts in clinical development, medical affairs, and engagement with the FDA.

Today, the FDA issued a complete response letter (CRL) for midomafetamine capsules (MDMA) in combination with assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) for adults living with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Over 60 bipartisan members of Congress wrote a letter to President Joe Biden stating the urgent need to address the suicide epidemic among veterans, advocating for innovative treatments like therapeutic MDMA.

The Center on Health Equity & Access reported on new research in youth mental health, with expert perspectives on HIV, liver cancer, and health outreach.

Researchers analyzed the availability of telehealth services at mental health treatment facilities across the US before and after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency through a national secret shopper analysis.

Those in minority groups face barriers even after they’ve made the hard decision to seek mental health care. The Department of Labor aims to address systemic issues on a personal level.

Roughly 7% of US women of reproductive age have attempted self-induced abortions after the overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022; the FDA announced that the cost to file a drug using clinical data will increase to about $4.3 million in 2025; the suicide rate among US children aged between 8 to 12 years has steadily risen during the past 15 years.

Suicide has emerged as the leading cause of death among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youths, a demographic that is rapidly growing in the United States.

For Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, the Employee Benefits Security Agency (EBSA) in the US Department of Labor highlights the critical need to address mental health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities.

Screening for postpartum depression while patients are pregnant is a crucial step to ensuring they get access to treatment if they need it postpartum, according to Rachel Dalthorp, MD, of LifeStance Health.

Using the modified Tinkertoy Test (m-TTT), recent findings further the understanding of specific cognitive deficits affecting life skills in individuals with schizophrenia, revealing a critical link between divergent thinking and daily functioning.

Ron Grunstein, MD, PhD, head of sleep and circadian research, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, details results from the ALKS 2680 trial and the study's next steps.

The 2025 Physician Fee Schedule includes a conversion factor reduction, expanded behavioral health services, extended telehealth waivers, new Quality Payment Program pathways, and measures to address suspect billing, alongside a Biden administration initiative introducing federal maternal health standards for hospitals.

Rachel Dalthorp, MD, explains that zuranolone is recommended as the first-line medication, alongside psychotherapy, to effectively manage postpartum depression (PPD) and mitigate long-term impacts.

Despite extensive research into patient-level differences in antidepressant treatment outcomes, the variability among clinicians themselves hasn’t been thoroughly evaluated.

Donanemab-azbt is the first and only amyloid plaque-targeting therapy approved for adults with early symptomatic Alzheimer disease.

Patients who received long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) in the hospital but discontinued them early faced a 22% to 25% higher readmission risk than those who did not receive LAIs.

With an effective therapy available for treating postpartum depression, Rachel Dalthorp, MD, believes health care providers need to focus on educating patients and helping them navigate the health system so zuranolone can reach those who need it.

As health care leaders, it’s our responsibility to know the importance of psychological safety and actively promote an environment that supports emotional and mental well-being, no matter one’s position or background, notes Carolyn Tandy of Humana.

"As a health care provider and as a psychiatrist, it's something that I think about first—instead of step therapy, when I have a patient with postpartum depression, this is what they need to be on," Rachel Dalthorp, MD, explains.