Tag: Mental health

Science for the People: Falling into the Fire

sftpThis week, Science for the People gets a gripping first person account of the challenges involved in mental health diagnosis and treatment. They spend the hour with Dr. Christine Montross, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, and the Director of Counseling Resources at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, to talk about her book Falling Into the Fire: A Psychiatrist’s Encounters with the Mind in Crisis.

*Josh provides research help to Science for the People and is, therefore, completely biased.

Science for the People: Mental Health Myths

sftp-square-fistonly-whitebgThis week, we’re listening to “Mental Illness Myths,” a panel discussion about public perceptions of mental health  at CONvergence 2014. Panelists Megan Press, Miri Mogilevsky, Julia Burke and Olivia James discuss misconceptions about diagnosis, treatment and symptoms, and the harm that stigma does to individuals affected by mental illness.

 

Up and Over

Science Careers has compiled an excellent list of articles and stories about scientists overcoming disability, mental health issues, and scores of other problems. With all of the negativity surrounding maintaining a career in science, it’s refreshing to read about how a scientific career is possible even with a few extra hurdles.

You are probably going to be ok

Vaughan Bell penned an insightful piece for The Guardian about psychologically recovering from disasters. Evidence and expert opinion from world leading health agencies supports the statement that the vast majority of people who experience a “disaster-level” trauma recover, psychologically, on their own.

The evidence does not support the trendy notion of “psychological debriefing” – one-off counseling immediately after events to help people “process” – in fact it shows that it is worse than doing nothing. The actual experts in disaster relief seem to be wise to the research and using methods to help identify those people who do need help, rather than “helping” people who do not need it.

*Hat tip to Ed Yong.

%d bloggers like this: