The New York Times (8/24, BU4, Korkki, Subscription Publication) reports that a new study in The American Sociological Review “aimed to see whether the stress of work-life conflicts could be eased if employees had more control over their schedules, including being able to work from home,” finding that “compared with another group that did not have the same flexibility, employees interviewed by the researchers said they felt happier and less stressed, had more energy and were using their time more effectively.”

Study author Erin Kelley “emphasized that for programs like these to be successful, they must be applied department wide and have the full support of managers.” The study was “financed by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

Related Links:

— “Yes, Flexible Hours Ease Stress. But Is Everyone on Board?,” Phyllis Korkki, New York Times, August 23, 2014.

In an opinion piece in the Indianapolis Star (8/22), Richard Gunderman, MD, chancellor’s professor at Indiana University, and Mark Mutz, an attorney and consultant, wrote in wake of comedian Robin Williams’ suicide and lifelong struggle against substance abuse, “the president of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Paul Summergrad, was quoted as saying that we must ‘stop seeing these illnesses as faults and blames, and instead see them for what they are: medical conditions, genetic conditions and brain disorders.’”

But, according to Gunderman and Mutz, “it would be a mistake to say that disorders such as depression, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts are simply a reflection of biochemical imbalances and nothing more,” when certain “other factors, such as life experiences, are clearly important.”

Related Links:

— “Factors that lead to suicide are complex, as is life itself,” Richard Gunderman and Mark Mutz, Indianapolis Star, August 22, 2014.

The Tennessean (8/23, Wilemon) reports that a new study in JAMA Psychiatry indicates that “people battling severe depression have greater odds of recovery if they confront their fears through cognitive therapy while taking antidepressants,” and that “odds of recovery improved by as much as 30 percent over those who just took the medicine.” The article notes that the study “was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health.”

Related Links:

— “Vanderbilt research shows cognitive therapy aids depressed,” Tom Wilemon, The Tennessean, August 23, 2014.

NBC News (8/21, Fox) reports on its website that research published in the Journal of Medical Ethics indicates that “more than 600 people traveled to Switzerland to die between 2008 and 2012, and the numbers doubled over those years.” Study author Dr. Saskia Gauthier wrote, “The main reasons were neurological disease (47 percent), followed by cancer (37 percent), rheumatic and cardiovascular disease.”

The New York Times (8/21, Belluck, Subscription Publication) reports that researchers found twenty-one individuals arrived in Switzerland from the United States for an assisted suicide between 2010 and 2012.

Related Links:

— “Seeking Death: ‘Suicide Tourism’ to Switzerland Doubles,” Maggie Fox, NBC News, August 20, 2014.

TIME (8/21, Sifferlin) reports that according to results of a 452-patient study published online Aug. 20 in JAMA Psychiatry, “a combination of antidepressants and therapy work to help severely depressed patients recover.”

Medscape (8/21, Cassels) reports that the study revealed that “patients with severe, nonchronic depression had better rates of recovery if they were treated with cognitive therapy (CT) combined with” antidepressants, compared with patients who received antidepressant medications alone. The investigators found, however, that “this treatment strategy had little, if any, benefit for patients with less severe or chronic major depression.”

Related Links:

— “Therapy and Antidepressants Work Better Together Than Just Pills Alone,” Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, August 20, 2014.