The Baltimore Sun (7/29, Cohn) reports that Maryland health officials are seeking a waiver from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to “use federal dollars to pay for Medicaid patients to get substance-abuse and mental-health treatment outside the state’s general hospitals.” Lifting the ban on such spending “would expand the options for people seeking care, allowing them to use community treatment facilities that specialize in those services and tend to be less costly than hospitals, said officials from the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.”

Related Links:

— “Maryland seeks to expand access to drug, mental health treatment in the community,” Meredith Cohn, Baltimore Sun, July 28, 2015.

The AP (7/28, Crary) reports that mental illness is often “cited as a possible factor in…high-profile mass” killings. But, Renee Binder, MD, president of the American Psychiatric Association, explained, “Most people who suffer from mental illness are not violent, and most violent acts are committed by people who are not mentally ill.” According to 2102 estimates from the NIMH, “there were an estimated 9.6 million adults in the U.S. – 4.1 percent of the total adult population – experiencing serious mental illness over the previous year.” Dr. Binder pointed out, “If you look at that large pool of people, only a tiny proportion of them will eventually commit violence.” She added, “How are you going to identify them? It’s like a needle in a haystack.”

Related Links:

— “MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS RESPOND CAREFULLY TO MASS KILLINGS,” David Crary, Associated Press, July 27, 2015.

The Washington Post (7/28, Berger) reports that although “a purified version of ecstasy, or MDMA, Molly is commonly thought to be a safe drug,” the version “sold on the street often is laced with other substances — such as acetaminophen, amphetamines and ketamine, a compound used in anesthesia — that can be deadly in large enough doses.”

Related Links:

— “Molly, a form of MDMA or ecstasy, can cause fatal reactions,” Susan Berger, Washington Post, July 27, 2015.

HealthDay (7/28, Preidt) reports that research offers “insight into how Facebook use by young women can lead to poor body image and risky dieting.” The research, which is published in the August issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, “included 128 college-aged women who completed an online survey about their eating habits and their emotional connection to Facebook…and whether they compared their bodies to friends’ bodies in online photos.” Investigators found that “women who had a greater emotional connection to Facebook were more likely to compare their bodies to their friends’ bodies and to engage in more risky dieting.”

Related Links:

— “Does Facebook Lead Young Women to Dangerous Diets?,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 27, 2015.

In a nearly 3,200-word piece to appear in its Aug. 2 Education Life section, the New York Times (7/28, Scelfo, Subscription Publication) reports that across the US, “the suicide rate among 15- to 24-year-olds has increased modestly but steadily since 2007: from 9.6 deaths per 100,000 to 11.1, in 2013 (the latest year available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” a trend also seen on US college campuses.

Now, “a survey of college counseling centers has found that more than half their clients have severe psychological problems, an increase of 13 percent in just two years.” The Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State University has found that “anxiety and depression, in that order, are now the most common mental health diagnoses among college students.” Students with mental health problems may run into difficulty getting a leave of absence to work through their problems, which may deter them from seeking help.

Meanwhile, on the front of its Personal Journal section, the Wall Street Journal (7/28, D1, Linden, Subscription Publication) reports on an increase in self-harm behaviors, primarily cutting, among adolescents of both genders, as a coping mechanism for those who cannot deal with strong emotions. In some cases, dialectical behavior therapy may be helpful for teens who self harm.

Related Links:

— “Campus Suicide and the Pressure of Perfection,” Julie Scelfo, New York Times, July 27, 2015.