Kaiser Health News (12/9, Stephens) reports on warmlines. Unlike hotlines “for those in immediate crisis, warmlines provide early intervention with emotional support that can prevent a crisis – and a more costly 911 call or” visit to the emergency department. Warmlines “are typically free, confidential peer-support services staffed by volunteers or paid employees who have experienced mental health conditions themselves.” Currently, “about 30 states have some form of a warmline within their borders.”

Related Links:

— “‘Warm’ Hotlines Deliver Help Before Mental Health Crisis Heats Up, “Stephanie Stephens, Kaiser Health News, December 10, 2019

The New York Times (12/8, A25, Petersen) reported on “several new psychotherapies to treat anxiety and depression in people with cognitive impairments, including early to moderate dementia.” Two examples highlighted in the article were Problem Adaptation Therapy, or PATH, which “focuses on solving tangible problems that fuel feelings of sadness and hopelessness,” and the Peaceful Mind program, which “simplifies traditional cognitive behavioral therapy and focuses on scheduling pleasurable activities and skills.” The Times added, “Early research on the new approaches is encouraging, but longer and larger studies will be needed to fully assess the effectiveness.”

Related Links:

— “New Therapies Help Patients With Dementia Cope With Depression, “Andrea Petersen, The New York Times, December 8, 2019

MedPage Today (12/8, George) reported, “Teens with epilepsy were more than twice as likely as adults to talk about suicide on the Internet, an analysis of 222,000 online posts” demonstrated. In fact, “a total of 3,200 of 41,000 posts (8%) by teens with epilepsy discussed suicide, compared with 5,800 of 181,000 posts (3%) by adults with epilepsy,” the study found. The findings were presented at the American Epilepsy Society annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Teens With Epilepsy More Likely to Discuss Suicide Online, “Judy George, MedPage Today, December 8, 2019

Psychiatric News (12/6) reported, “Almost half (48%) of children and adolescents with a psychotic disorder said they recently had suicidal thoughts or had in the past considered death by suicide when interviewed in the emergency department (ED) using a brief screening questionnaire,” research indicated. What’s more, “most of these youth did not report a chief complaint related to suicidal ideation or behavior when arriving at the ED.” The study suggested there may be utility to screening for suicide risk among pediatric patients with psychosis. The findings of the 87-child and adolescent study were published online Dec. 4 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Integrating Brief Screen in ER May Better Identify Youth With Psychosis at Risk of Suicide, Psychiatric News, December 6, 2019

The Wall Street Journal (12/5, Kesling, Subscription Publication) reports that mental health disorders prior to enlistment, not just the experiences in combat, may contribute to ongoing psychiatric problems in many veterans and active-duty military personnel, studies indicate.

Related Links:

— “For Many Soldiers, Mental-Health Issues Start Before Enlistment, “Ben Kesling, The Wall Street Journal, December 5, 2019

HealthDay (12/5, Holmes) reports, “The more often young teens turn to social media, the more prone they are to eating disorders,” researchers concluded after looking “at close to 1,000 middle school students and their use of four social media networks: Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Tumblr.” The findings were published online Dec. 4 in the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Healio (12/5, Gramigna) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “More Teen Time on Social Media, More Eating Disorders?, “Rich Holmes, HealthDay, December 5, 2019

HealthDay (12/4, Reinberg) reports that researchers have “found a strong association between vaping and depression in a study of nearly 900,000 U.S. adults,” with the “apparent culprit” being nicotine. The findingswere published online Dec. 4 in JAMA Network Open. Healio (12/4, Gramigna) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Another Downside to Vaping: Higher Odds for Depression, ” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, December 4, 2019

Medscape (12/4, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “Brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is likely a cost-saving intervention for suicidal active-duty Army soldiers,” investigators concluded in “a new economic analysis of the treatment.” In order to arrive at these findings, investigators used data from a 152-patient study, “as well as epidemiologic datasets,” to create “a decision analytic model that compared effects and costs of 12 individual brief CBT sessions plus treatment as usual vs only treatment as usual for soldiers who had recently experienced a suicidal crisis.” The findings were published online Nov. 27 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Brief CBT Lifesaving, Cost-Effective for Suicidal Crises, “Megan Brooks, Medscape, December 4, 2019

MedPage Today (12/4, Hlavinka) reports, “Patients with chronic or recurrent major depressive disorder [MDD] who achieved recovery had a higher chance of sustaining recovery when they stayed on maintenance antidepressant medication,” researchers concluded in “randomized phase II trial.” The study revealed that “among 292 adults who had achieved recovery with either medication treatment alone or combined with cognitive behavioral therapy…recurrence was significantly less likely among patients who stayed on maintenance therapy compared with those who were withdrawn from medication treatment, regardless of whether they achieved remission through medication alone” or “with combined treatment.”

Psychiatric News (12/4) reports, “Maintenance of antidepressant medication treatment was associated with a reduced risk of depressive recurrence, but previous treatment with cognitive-behavioral therapy was not,” the study revealed. The findings were published online Dec. 4 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Study Raises New Questions About How Best to Reduce Risk of Depression Recurrence, Psychiatric News, December 4, 2019

In the New York Times (12/3), pediatrician and author Cara Natterson, MD, writes, “One of the biggest myths about the beauty myth is that it’s female,” because “boys suffer from unrealistic beauty standards, too.” Natterson observes, “Many thoughtful researchers have offered up data about male body dysmorphia, showing that body image concerns and eating disorders alike are basically gender neutral.” For that reason, “we need to call out the disconnect between ideal health and ideal physique for boys, something we have done for females for many years now.” Boys need to be asked “about their experiences as emerging men in a culture often saturated with toxic masculinity; about their knowledge of what’s actually happening to their changing bodies; about the pressures associated with body goals.” Natterson concludes, “The key to raising boys begins with dialogue.”

Related Links:

— “The Beauty Myth for Boys, “Cara Natterson, The New York Times, December 3, 2019