Category Archives: Mental Health and Wellness
Friday Factoids: Islamophobia
At the beginning of the 1990s, the term Islamophobia emerged for the first time in the United States and Great Britain. It is a term used to describe an intense fear, dislike or hate of Muslims. A wealth of misinformation … Continue reading
First Episode Psychosis: A Review of NIMH’S White Paper
The National Institute of Mental Health’s White Paper on evidenced-based programs for first episode psychosis (FEP) suggests treatments which are not currently in place in Western Kentucky. At the time of this article review, twenty states currently have evidence based … Continue reading
Friday Factoid: Sleep is More Than a Symptom
Americans are notoriously sleep deprived, but those with psychiatric conditions are affected even more. Chronic sleep problems affect 50 percent to 80 percent of patients in a psychiatric setting, compared with 10 percent to 18 percent of adults in … Continue reading
Friday Factoid (Catch-Up): Rural Psychologists Face Additional Ethical Challenges
Many psychologists choosing to work in a rural setting need to negotiate a delicate balance between their specialty setting and the APA ethics code, which was written within an urban context. The APA ethics code is not only important … Continue reading
Friday Factoid Catch-Up: Self-Care for Psychologists–Ethical and Necessary
Self-Care seems to be a topic frequently addressed with graduate students and psychologists. We often hear these messages, but at the same time mentally run down a list of things we need to do in our head. Often, these mental … Continue reading
Article Review: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in DSM-5: New Criteria and Controversies
As our knowledge of mental health issues continues to increase, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) must consistently update its analytic and disorder-specific criteria. It is essential to do so to ensure not only its relevance, but … Continue reading
Friday Factoid- Rising Mortality Rates for Middle-Aged White Americans
Case and Deaton (2015), both economists from Princeton, found that mortality rates for middle-aged white Americans have risen since 1999. In contrast, the death rate for middle-aged blacks and Hispanics continued to decline during the same period, as did death … Continue reading
Article Review: Impact of Person-Centered Planning and Collaborative Documentation on Treatment Adherence (Stanhope, Ingoglia, Schmelter, & Marcus, 2013)
Purpose Mental health providers are faced with the challenges of completing quality documentation on time, building a therapeutic alliance, and managing a client’s treatment compliance. Stanhope, Ingoglia, Schmelter, and Marcus (2013) examined the impact of person-centered planning and collaborative documentation … Continue reading
Friday Factoids: Promising Long-Term Treatment for PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can result from being the victim or witness to a number of traumatic events including war, an automobile accident, physical abuse, assault, homicide, and other difficult or devastating experiences. It is an equal opportunity disorder … Continue reading
Friday Factoids Catch-Up: Is Stress Contagious?
Research is demonstrating that stress can be contagious across various populations. In a study completed by Waters, West, and Mendes (2014) results indicate that babies quickly pick up their mother’s stress and show corresponding physiological (cardiac) changes. West et al. … Continue reading