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Joni Mitchell's recent hospitalization has brought to light issues around so-called psychosomatic disorders and how we understand them as a society. In this podcast, learn about how all symptoms and disorders are at least in part psychosomatic and how we can reduce stigma and confusion around mind-body issues moving forward. [More]

In recent years, however, the safety of the sport is being scrutinized as there’s a growing body of research evidence suggesting a clear link between football and brain injury. Specifically, repeated head concussions endured by many professional football players have been found to cause a brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). According to Wikipedia, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is described as a form of progressive degenerative disease. Currently, this brain condition can only be diagnosed definitively postmortem, which means that it cannot be diagnosed in living people. [More]

Eating her own carpet padding is a typical behavior for one child in England. Meet four-year old Jessica Knight of Cambridgeshire. Little Jessica has been struggling with a psychological condition known as Pica; a condition in which an individual craves and ingests non-nutritional substances, such as mud, chalk, paint, glue, etc. Parents Kelly and Chris Knight were interviewed and reported that they were unaware of their daughter’s unusual habits at until Jessica was around 2 years old and was discovered eating her faux-leather chair. In response to her most recent Pica activity, Kelly expressed shock at the amount of Jessica’s carpet padding that was eaten away. [More]

Especially among combat veterans, the prevalence of depression, PTSD, and suicide rate is even more staggering. According to 2012 VA Suicide Data Report, rates of veteran suicide are much higher than previously thought – approximately 22 veterans commit suicide every day. It is further estimated that male veterans ages 18 to 24 are particularly susceptible as evidenced by their suicide rate still increasing. [More]

If your child is struggling with Social Anxiety, it’s important to know that you are not alone. It is a very common disorder that can be treated effectively. Listening to your child, and providing support and encouragement will go a long way toward helping your child recover from this disorder. Social anxiety does not have to limit your child or keep them on the sidelines. [More]

There are many challenges facing the care of persons with mental illness. Most people who have been diagnosed face stigma from multiple directions, such as society, friends, family and health care practitioners and face obstacles to the best course of treatment depending on the philosophies of their healthcare provider. Historically, the medical model approach in Western culture continues to attempt to address only the physiological aspects of mental illness without taking into account the individual’s needs. [More]

American youth are growing up in a society where competition and the pressure that comes with it, begin at the very beginning of their life experiences. It is not uncommon for parents to go to classes, read books, do research, and gather as much information as they can about parenting. Well-meaning parents want the best for their children. There are programs for babies to read, infants to swim, even sports that begin in toddlerhood. Often, parents will pick homes in good school districts so they can ensure a good education for their children. [More]

New research from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health takes one more step toward finding the causative factors behind the development of schizophrenia (Stansfield, et al., 2015). Studying the brains of rats exposed to lead brought more strong indications that this kind of exposure may be a precursor to schizophrenia. [More]

Psychotherapy in the 21st century has changed its face. Growing from the early days of psychoanalysis and behavioral therapies, it was once primarily for the severely mentally ill. People who needed and entered therapy were usually viewed as “crazy”. Today, psychology in general, permeates nearly every important field. [More]

When children are appropriately diagnosed and treated, they can lead healthy, active, normal, fulfilling lives. They learn about their diagnosis and that having a disorder does not define them, they learn ways to control their behavior, they learn skills to prevent trouble, they learn self-control, and most of all they learn resilience. [More]