Mental Health Weekly最新文献

The long wait for a resolution of Pennsylvania's state budget impasse finally ended last month, but budget-related anxiety for the state's mental health provider community lingers.

Despite growing awareness of mental health needs, managing insurance decisions remains a major barrier to care. According to new survey data, 20% of U.S. adults have postponed therapy because they couldn't make sense of their coverage options during open enrollment. For those already juggling work and family demands, the added complexity of insurance decisions can be overwhelming.

Patients with eating disorders often face a double burden: not only do they struggle with the physical and psychological toll of their illness, but many also experience mood disorders that resist standard treatment. Depression and bipolar disorder are common among this population, and when conventional therapies fail, the risks escalate —suicidal thoughts and behaviors become more likely, and mortality rates climb, report the authors of a new study published in the Journal of Eating Disorders.

The American Psychiatric Association is holding its 2026 Annual Meeting on May 16–20 in San Francisco. For more information, visit https://psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/meetings/annual-meeting/registration.

Washington's young adult suicide rate rose more than 13% from 2014 to 2024, mirroring a national trend, a recent analysis finds, and Axios Seattle reported Dec. 9. The increase underscores the toll of the country's mental health crisis — particularly in the state of Washington, where the suicide rate among young people remains higher than the national average. The suicide rate for Washington adults aged 18 to 27 climbed 13.3% between 2014 and 2024, reaching 18.8 per 100,000 people, per a new analysis of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from Stateline, a nonprofit newsroom. Nationwide, the suicide rate among that age group saw a sharper 20% increase. Yet the national rate — 16.4 deaths per 100,000 — remained lower than in Washington. The rising suicide rate among 18- to 27-year-olds comes as Gen Z members enter that age range and the Millennials leave it. “Theories behind the increase range from bullying on social media, since Gen Z was the first generation to grow up with the internet, to economic despair, to cultural resistance to seeking help for depression,” per Stateline. Seattle officials have been looking at ways to address youth mental health. An education levy approved by voters last month will add five new school-based health centers to Seattle, which will help provide K–12 students with mental health care both in-person and virtually.

A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate last week could mark a major step forward for mental health care access. The Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health Act seeks to strengthen Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) by creating a permanent funding structure and expanding coverage for their services under Medicare.

A newly awarded grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) will allow a research team to evaluate a training workshop designed to promote the mental health and resilience of first responders. Prior research has already demonstrated the Worker Resilience Training (WRT) program's health-promoting benefits for disaster workers.

Following reports by clinicians about gaps in suicide prevention knowledge and discomfort in addressing the topic during routine medical visits, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) developed a new initiative aimed at giving medical professionals practical tools to identify and support patients at risk.

More than half of psychologists reported using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to assist them with their work at least once in the past 12 months, according to the American Psychological Association's (APA's) 2025 Practitioner Pulse Survey. The annual survey was conducted by APA and its companion organization, APA Services, Inc., and was completed by 1,742 psychologists in September 2025.

The American Psychiatric Association is holding its 2026 Annual Meeting on May 16–20 in San Francisco. For more information, visit https://psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/meetings/annual-meeting/registration.