Mental Health

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Mental disorders in children are often difficult to identify due to the myriad of changes that occur during the normal course of maturation. For the first time, researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health have reported on the prevalence data on a broad range of mental disorders in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents, which show that approximately one in five children in the U.S. meet the criteria for a mental disorder severe enough to disrupt their daily lives. [continue reading…]

Britain’s £100bn mental health crisis

The Independent on Sunday: Nina Lakhani looks at Britain’s Mental Health Crisis:

Mental illness in England cost the nation more than £100bn last year, highlighting some of the most serious emotional and psychological problems in Europe. More than £21bn was spent on such health treatments as antidepressants and social care such as befriending services, an increase of 75 per cent since 2003.
Experts warned that the figure is likely to rise as government cuts to public services start to have an impact. read article

Source: The Independent

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A joint study by Indiana University and Columbia University researchers found no change in prejudice and discrimination toward people with serious mental illness or substance abuse problems despite a greater embrace by the public of neurobiological explanations for these illnesses.

The study, published online Sept. 15 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, raises vexing questions about the effectiveness of campaigns designed to improve health literacy. This “disease like any other” approach, supported by medicine and mental health advocates, had been seen as the primary way to reduce widespread stigma in the United States. [continue reading…]