Children learn about the world through a variety of sources, including parents, teachers, friends, and the media. Although news gleaned from television, radio, or the Internet can be a positive educational experience for kids, problems can arise when the images presented are violent or news stories touch on disturbing topics. Reports on subjects such as […]

Good news for chocolate lovers.
Scientists have found that eating dark chocolate appears to improve the function of important cells lining the wall of blood vessels for at least three hours.
The study, involving 17 healthy young volunteers who agreed to eat a bar of dark chocolate and then get an ultrasound, found that eating […]

Parents should try to encourage their children to exercise by scheduling at least 30 minutes of family physical activities each day, according to the American Physical Therapy Association.
Nearly one in five U.S. children is overweight, and the principle of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ should not apply when parents are encouraging […]

The Food and Drug Administration and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. warned doctors that the company’s antipsychotic drug Geodon has been linked to extremely high blood sugar and diabetes.

The great outdoors provides great benefits to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
So says a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign study in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
The nationwide study of more than 400 5- to 18-year-old children with ADHD found that spending time outdoors enjoying nature on weekends and after […]

Paying Tribute to Hospice Pioneer Kubler-Ross
Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, who revolutionized the way the world looks at terminally ill patients, has died at age 78. Her book On Death and Dying launched her career as a pioneer for hospice care. John Biewen of American Radioworks reports. (NPR audio and link to related news story.)

Integrating osychotherapy by telephone into a program for treating depression can significantly improve outcomes, according to a study in the August 25 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Both antidepressant medication and structured psychotherapy have been proven effective, but less than one-third of people with depressive disorders receive effective levels of either […]

Due to a high rate of mental illness found among the college population, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill urges parents to talk to their children about mental illness before college and maintain an open dialogue throughout young adulthood. This recommendation follows the release of a new study, conducted by NAMI and Abbott Laboratories, […]

If you are headed off to college for the first time this month or next, you may be facing more than new academic challenges.
Many of today’s students find themselves challenged to get enough sleep, according to national surveys.

Combo Therapy Best for Teen Depression
When it comes to treating teenage depression, two treatments appear to be better than one. Almost three out of four depressed teens reported feeling better when they were treated with a combination of an antidepressant and cognitive behavioral therapy, reports a study in the Aug. 18 issue of the Journal […]

Bush launches controversial mental health plan (BMJ)
President Bush announced on 26 July 2004 that his administration has begun implementing the recommendations of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health to “improve mental health services and support for people of all ages with mental illness” through comprehensive screening.
The plan states that schools are in a “key […]

Not only are eating disorders dangerous to one’s physical and mental health, but they cost U.S. companies millions of dollars. The overall medical and mental health costs to U.S. businesses in 2001 for all eating disorders combined including anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder (BED) and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS),
totals more than $3.8 billion.
“Statistics […]