The importance of cultural intervention in mental health care
The first study to examine the initial impact of a culturally-adapted health care manager intervention aimed at helping Hispanics with serious mental illness, led by Leopoldo Cabassa of the Brown School, finds the intervention shows potential for improving health outcomes for Hispanics.
Helping women escape sex trafficking
As a survivor of sex trafficking, Katie Rhoades, MSW ’11, is passionate about helping women in the commercial sex industry. After graduating from the Brown School, she founded Healing Action, a nonprofit that helps women move on from their trauma.
Many patients in urban clinics need mental health treatment
The American health care system must do a better job of systematically detecting and treating mental health problems within outpatient primary care clinics, especially those that serve vulnerable populations, finds a study led by Darrell Hudson, assistant professor at the Brown School.
Two-drug combo helps older adults with hard-to-treat depression
More than half of older adults with clinical depression don’t get better when treated with an antidepressant. But results from a multicenter clinical trial that included Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that adding a second drug — an antipsychotic medication — to the treatment regimen helps many of those patients.
WashU Expert: Picking up the phone to improve mental health in seniors
A new study in JAMA Psychiatry shows that therapy provided via telephone for older adults in rural areas is effective in treating anxiety disorder. In an accompanying editorial, Eric J. Lenze, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, wrote that the health-care system lacks the capacity to help the growing elderly population and that relying too heavily on sedative medications isn’t the answer.
Mental health soon after war-zone concussions predicts disability
Evaluating military personnel with blast-related mild traumatic brain injuries, researchers have found that early symptoms of post-traumatic stress, such as anxiety, emotional numbness, flashbacks and irritability, are the strongest predictors of later disability. The study was led by the School of Medicine.
Among prescription painkillers, drug abusers prefer oxycodone
A nationwide survey of opioid drug abusers in rehab indicates that because of the high it produces, the prescription painkiller oxycodone is the most popular drug of choice. Hydrocodone, also prescribed to treat pain, is next in line. In all, some 75 percent of those surveyed rated one of these drugs as their favorite.
Excessive tantrums in preschoolers may indicate serious mental health problems
Certain types of tantrums in preschoolers may be a sign of serious emotional or behavioral problems, according to researchers at the School of Medicine. Although temper tantrums are common and normal in young children, the researchers found that long, frequent, violent and/or self-destructive tantrums may indicate the presence of psychiatric illness.