A pilot study of a new smartphone app developed by researchers as Dartmouth College to help students track their stress levels and overall mental health shows promising initial results. In alignment with the modern effort to integrate technological advances with forefront research, this new app called StudentLife app, utilized consistent recording of parameters such as student location, conversations, mobility, sleep patterns, as well as information from periodic questionnaires on mood and stress to correlate mental health with academic performance. Forty eight Dartmouth students had their information recorded continuously over a ten week period, and evaluation of early results show the apps potential ability to predict episodes of mental distress and academic performance. The lead author of the study, Dr. Campbell, hopes that over time this app may be incorporated as an intervention tool for early assistance of students exhibiting mental health risks or declining academic trends.
Link to the article can be found here:http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119524/dartmouth-studentlife-app-predicts-depression-college-students Many of us grew up with books and movies like Winnie the Pooh, and of course our Disney favourites such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King along with countless others. While cute or comedic stories at the time, researchers have gone back to their childhoods and reviewed many of these films and their animated characters to determine if there are underlying references to mental illness, and if so, how those characters are portrayed and what impact that may have on children and their attitudes towards mental health. Take a few minutes today and check out the two articles below, the first on the psychosocial problems and pathologies in the Hundred Acre Woods, and the second on the prevalence of mental illness references in Disney movies. Develop your own opinion as to whether these films further perpetuate the stigma and stereotypes surrounding mental health conditions. "Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: A neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne" by Sarah E. Shea, Kevin Gordon, Ann Hawkins, Janet Kawchuk, Donna Smith (CMAJ) "Mental Illness in Disney Animated Films" by Andrea Lawson & Gregory Fouts (Canadian Journal of Psychiatry) Today marks the 13th anniversary of 9/11, a day of tragedies that forever changed many lives and had an immense impact on thousands, particularly those who live and work in New York City as well as those who lost loved ones that terrible day. Since 9/11, many mental health researchers and professionals have been learning more about how such disasters or traumatic events can affect one's mental health. The article "The Changing Mental Health Aftermath of 9/11" , originally written in 2011 (a decade after 9/11), highlights some of what has been discovered including how "'the mental health toll of disasters and terrorism is not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder.' They can also trigger major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, complicated grief (recognized in the mental health world as being unusually strong and long-lasting), substance abuse and a host of other symptoms that might come and go over time." The article also recognizes how the anniversaries of these events can be a difficult and emotionally challenging time, in addition to exploring how the psychological "first aid" protocol for handling large-scale traumatic events has evolved over time. Definitely worth a read! Do you enjoy history or learning about the history and research behind medicine and medical treatments? If so, check out the article "A Brief History of Psychedelic Psychiatry"! The article provides some fascinating background into the use of substances like LSD to treat mental health conditions such as alcoholism, schizophrenia, and even autism beginning in the 1950s. It also documents some of the controversy surrounding psychedelic therapies that arose in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when these substances began to be viewed more as drugs of abuse. "Two forms of #LSD therapy became popular. One, called psychedelic therapy, was based on Osmond and Hoffer’s work, and involved a single large dose of LSD alongside psychotherapy. Osmond and Hoffer believed that hallucinogens are beneficial therapeutically because of their ability to make patients view their condition from a fresh perspective. The other, called psycholytic therapy, was based on Sandison’s regime of several smaller doses, increasing in size, as a adjunct to psychoanalysis. Sandison’s clinical observations led him to believe that LSD can aid psychotherapy by inducing dream-like hallucinations that reflected the patient’s unconscious mind and enabling them to relive long-lost memories." |
Description
Supporting and enhancing students' and health professionals' knowledge and understanding of mental health and psychiatry
Archives
June 2017
Categories
All
|