Breathing disorders that disrupt sleep may contribute to developing Alzheimer’s, according to new studies. Presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London on Tuesday, 3 studies from Wheaton College researchers found connections between disorders…
Zimbabwe’s Friendship Bench Project offers an example for filling the gap in mental health care in the US: peer counseling. In Harare and other cities, “community grandmothers”—lay health workers trained in problem-solving therapy—meet with people on wooden park benches…
Although 46% of Americans experience a mental illness or substance abuse disorder in their lifetime, strong public stigma around the 2 issues persists. This has made reforms to improve treatment, like those under the Affordable Care Act and the Wellstone-Domenici parity law…
For many outside Africa, the continent’s name may evoke poverty, conflict and disease. A 5-year-old viral Instagram account called Everyday Africa is challenging those notions with images of daily life in vibrant and culturally diverse African nations. Co-founder Austin…
Ghanaians with mental illness often are sent to prayer camps to heal because their families cannot afford clinical care. The camps have stayed open and unregulated despite years of criticism for their inhumane methods, such as restraining and caging patients. Ghana’s…
Mass fainting among female factory workers in Cambodia has led officials to blame exhaustion, malnutrition and unhealthy working conditions. However, a new study published in Transcultural Psychiatry finds that the fainting is a symptom of psychological trauma, a legacy of…
My favorite definition of mindfulness is “to pay attention with abiding faith in a loving universe,” from Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates. Put more simply, mindfulness is a practice of first observing and then letting go of various thoughts and feelings. It takes…
Elon Musk’s new company, Neuralink, will attempt to connect computers directly to human brains, the Wall Street Journal reports. With Neuralink, Musk intends to explore “neural lace” technology — tiny implanted electrodes through which the brain could communicate with…
Scandinavians are battling seasonal depression (the winter blues) with giant rotatable mirrors, light-therapy clinics and positive thinking, but the disorder continues to puzzle researchers. A leading theory for the winter blues is the “phase-shift hypothesis.” It says…
Psychiatrist Lise Van Susteren specializes in the psychological effects of climate change—and believes that mental health professionals—by the nature of their training—are uniquely positioned to reach people and bring about change. Van Susteren is part of the Climate…
