HealthDay (5/29, Norton) reports, “Various forms of ‘talk therapy’ can help people with depression, but no single type stands out as better than the rest, according to a new analysis” published online May 28 in PLoS Medicine. After analyzing “nearly 200 clinical trials testing seven different types of psychotherapy for major depression,” researchers found that “overall…all of the therapies were better than no treatment. The typical effect was ‘moderate to large,’ they say – which means that the average patient who received the therapy was doing better than half of the patients in the untreated, comparison group.”

Related Links:

— “Talk Therapy Can Ease Depression, But No Single Type Deemed ‘Best’, “Amy Norton , HealthDay, May 28, 2013.

Medscape (5/29) reports that research published in JAMA Psychiatry indicates that “that psychogenic pain, back pain, and migraine, but not arthritis or neuropathy,” may be “associated with an increased risk for suicide.” Investigators came to this conclusion after looking at data from “treatment records of all patients (n = 4,863,036) who were seen in the Veterans Health Administration system in fiscal year 2005 and who were alive at the start of fiscal year 2006.” While “some of this risk appears to be due to co-occurring mental health problems, there may be something about the experience of pain that also contributes directly to suicide risk, lead author Mark A. Ilgen, PhD, told Medscape Medical News.”

“In the wake of… high-profile killings,” such as the Denver theater and Sandy Hook Elementary massacres, theColumbus (OH) Dispatch (5/26, Johnson, Candisky) reported, “America’s political leaders promised a grieving nation an examination of both guns and mental health.” However, “the discussion again has focused on a firefight over guns, with little real emphasis on the shortcomings of the nation’s underfunded, overwhelmed mental-health system.” The Dispatch notes, “President Barack Obama’s proposed $150 million-plus ‘mental-health first aid’ and similar programs for schools have stalled, while federal funding for the National Institute of Mental Health is being cut by $12 million on top of a 5 percent reduction already targeted from cutbacks known as the sequester.”

In a second article, the Columbus (OH) Dispatch (5/27, Johnson, Candisky) highlighted how access to mental healthcare is “woeful” in Ohio, adding, “With an estimated 57.7 million people in the U.S. suffering from some type of mental illness – approximately 1 in 4 adults – there are no easy answers on how to deal with this complex disease.” However, “one theme is cited again and again, both by experts and families involved in the struggle: Americans simply lack access to adequate mental-health care.”

Related Links:

— “Mental-health system overwhelmed, underfunded, “Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch, May 26, 2013.

The Washington Post (5/25, McCrummen) offers a gripping, 4,165-word report that details a mother’s attempts to help and guide her 19-year-old son through a complex form of schizophrenia. The report follows Naomi Haskell of Houston and her son Spencer through the rolling changes typical of his illness, including hallucinations, depression, and, once, a suicide attempt. The Post says, “This is what it is like to be the mother of a son with a severe mental illness – an hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute vigil. At a time of increasing public concern about the role mental illness might have played in mass shootings in places like Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., Naomi’s worry on a Tuesday in Texas is different. It’s about keeping her son well.”

Related Links:

— “A mother helps son in his struggle with schizophrenia, “Stephanie McCrummen, The Washington Post, May 25, 2013.

CBS News (5/28, Jaslow) reports on new research out of the American Academy of Pediatrics which shows that “children of military personnel may be at an increased risk for social, emotional and behavioral problems.” Published Monday in the AAP journal Pediatrics, the report “aims to raise awareness among pediatricians for the mental health needs for military children.” In a statement, study author Dr. Beth Ellen Davis said, “In the past 10 years, more than 2 million children in the U.S. have experienced the emotional and stressful event of being separated from a loved one deployed for active duty. Most children cope and adapt quite well, but all children experience a heightened sense of fear and worry during a parent’s deployment. It’s important for pediatricians caring for these families to be aware of their family’s situation so they can guide them appropriately.”

Related Links:

— “Pediatricians warned children of military personnel face mental health risks, “Ryan Jaslow, CBS News, May 27, 2013.

MedPage Today (5/24, Gever) reports, “Prejudices about individuals with mental illness play a role in many healthcare [professionals’] treatment decisions involving physical conditions,” according to research presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting. “When [professionals] of all types – even mental health professionals – were presented with hypothetical vignettes of patients with medical conditions such as obesity, the treatment plans differed markedly when the patient also had schizophrenia, said Dinesh Mittal, MD, of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.” Healthcare professionals “tended to assume that schizophrenia patients would be less adherent to instructions, more likely to miss appointments, and less competent at making their own medical decisions – none of which are justified by evidence, Mittal said.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Illness Stigma Affects Medical Tx Plans, ” John Gever, MedPage Today, May 23, 2013.

HealthDay (5/23, Thompson) reports, “People who endure chronic migraines or back pain are more likely to attempt suicide, whether or not they also suffer from depression or another psychiatric condition, according to” research published online in JAMA Psychiatry. The researchers “found that all pain conditions except arthritis and neuropathy were associated with elevated suicide risk.” However, “when they took into account the mental-health problems that chronic pain patients also had, the associations reduced for all but three types of chronic pain: back pain, migraines and psychogenic pain, which stems from psychological factors.”

Related Links:

— “Migraine, Chronic Back Pain Tied to Higher Suicide Risk, “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, May 22, 2013.

USA Today (5/22, Hellmich) reports, “The emotional after-effects of living through a traumatic event like the Oklahoma tornado could last for weeks or even longer, especially for children.” Psychologists interviewed in the article recommended that parents offer empathy to the youngsters and allow them to discuss what happened. Parents are also advised to place limits on children’s exposure to television reports about the tornado. One expert noted that the majority of children who experienced the tornado will not go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, but nightmares, sleeping difficulty and anxiety are to be expected for the near term. As for talking to children in other parts of the country about what happened, “how much you tell kids about the disaster is based on two factors: the child’s age and the vulnerability of the child.”

Related Links:

— “Kids who survived tornado face emotional after-effects, “Nanci Hellmich, USA Today, May 21, 2013.

Medscape (5/22, Jeffrey) reports that according to survey results presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting, healthcare professionals, “even those involved in the delivery of mental health care, are not immune to bias against patients with serious mental illnesses.” In fact, “given two identical clinical scenarios, one of which involved a patient with schizophrenia, a group of healthcare [professionals] that included psychiatrists and primary care physicians as well as primary care and mental health nurses tended to view the patients with serious mental illness more negatively than those without mental illness, and these attitudes colored their treatment decisions, including referrals.” Jeffrey Borenstein, MD, chair of the Council on Communications of the American Psychiatric Association, said, “We use the word stigma, but I would use a different word – prejudice.”

Medscape (5/22) reports, “Children in the United States who experience both school bullying and cyberbullying are at alarming risk for suicidal behavior,” according to research presented at the American Psychiatric Association meeting. Investigators who analyzed data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey found “that the combination of both types of bullying was associated with a 4-fold higher incidence of all suicide risk factors, including suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts, compared with those who experienced no bullying.” Investigators found that “cyberbullying alone was associated with a 3-fold increased risk for suicidal behaviors.”

MedPage Today (5/22, Gever) reports on the cyberbullying study, and also point out that “a separate analysis of YRBS data…found that teenagers with four or more previous sex partners, those starting to have sex before age 13, and those who said they had been forced into sex all showed much higher rates of suicidal ideation or attempts than the general high-school-age population.”

Related Links:

— “Cyberbullying, Risky Sex Hike Teen Suicide Risk, “John Gever, MedPage Today, May 21, 2013.