From Our Newsroom Partners
Why is it so hard to find therapists who take insurance in Illinois?
Chicago Tribune, August 21, 2022, by Lisa Schencker: Meena Thiruvengadam faced a choice when her therapist stopped taking health insurance about a year ago. She could try to find someone else who would take her insurance, or she could pay her therapist — whom she trusted and had already been…
How Georgia’s new mental health law works
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 3, 2022, by Katherine Landergan: There’s a new law on the books that should make accessing treatment for mental illness and addiction much easier. But some proponents of the new law fear that many Georgia residents may not know about the change. That means patients could…
How researchers are getting farmers to talk about mental health
Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), August 9, 2022, by Riley Bunch: Christina Proctor spent many hours during her childhood on the front porches of neighborhood farms in Madison County. She had a rough upbringing, she said, and lived in a house scarred by substance abuse. “But we lived on this road…
Farmers have silently struggled with their mental health for years. Are they ready to talk?
Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), August 9, 2022, by Riley Bunch: Drew Echols doesn’t remember ever talking with his father about mental health. Or his grandfather. In fact, he doesn’t remember the last time he talked about his mental health at all. “We talked about work a whole lot more than…
It’s the most important part of addiction recovery — and often the most difficult to access
Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), August 4, 2022, by Ellen Eldridge: Residents in rural South Georgia are adamantly fighting a zoning request — a faith-based nonprofit called Redeemed Living wants to build cabins for men in addiction recovery on 23 acres of local farmland. But the neighbors don’t want them living…
Why The Pandemic Took An Especially High Mental Health Toll On New Parents
KPCC, July 26, 2022, by Elly Yu: About six weeks after she gave birth to her son in the summer of 2020, Erin Sricharoon was driving to her local Starbucks in Yucaipa to get an iced chai latte when she had to pull over. “I had all these flashes of…
CARE Court Aims To Help People Living With Serious Mental Illnesses. Would It Bring New Solutions Or More Problems?
KPCC, July 20, 2022, by Robert Garrova: There’s a bill making its way through the state legislature that aims to create new avenues for people living with a serious mental illness to get life-saving treatment. The plan, first introduced by Governor Gavin Newsom in the spring, is called the Community…
For trans youth in North Texas, finding affirming mental health care can be a challenge
KERA, July 21, 2022, by Elena Rivera: Texas leaders have targeted trans youth, their families and gender-affirming care practices for months. It’s exacerbated feelings of anxiety and fear in trans youth, who already experience higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicide than their cis peers. Mental health practitioners can help…
Permanent funding solution elusive as mental health provider shortage plagues Arizona schools—and students
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting (AZCIR), July 21, 2022, by Maria Polletta and Shaena Montanari: At times, seventh grade felt like one long string of panic attacks to Zoe Edelstein. The Phoenix student, who’d been living with anxiety and panic disorder since early elementary school, had started in-person at a…
Amidst a lack of mental health services, the ‘Living Room’ approach aims to plug gaps
Side Effects Public Media, July 13, 2022, by Carter Barrett: After a bad breakup, 19-year-old Benjamin Kowalczyk said everything felt like it was crumbling around him. He dropped out of college, and felt himself getting angry with his family. “I had fallen into a bad depression state,” said Kowalczyk, who…
Crisis ‘living rooms’ offer an alternative to emergency room visits and hospitalizations
WBUR: Here and Now by Carter Barrett, July 14, 2022: The following story deals with suicide. If you have suicidal thoughts, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 (En Español: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889). For suicide prevention resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, click…
With few other resources, people with behavioral health issues find treatment in jails and prisons
Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), July 8, 2022, by Ellen Eldridge: Nova Jaswan would like to stop using cocaine. And she’d like help with some of the other issues that feed into why she uses cocaine. “I’m schizoaffective; I have PTSD and I have mood disorder NOS — not otherwise specified,”…
PA’s controversial mental health law on involuntary treatment stands to get a test run more than 3 years after its passing.
PublicSource, July 5, 2022, by Juliette Rihl: Paul and Christine, of Montgomery County, know what it feels like to helplessly watch their child’s mental health deteriorate. After two hospitalizations in 2020 and 2021 for mental health crises, their 30-year-old son stopped taking his medication and following other aspects of his…
A new national mental health crisis line launches soon. Some states aren’t ready.
Side Effects Public Media, June 13, 2022, by Carter Barrett: Staff at Memorial Behavioral Health in Springfield, Illinois, are on call around the clock to talk with people struggling with suicidal thoughts, drug addiction or other mental health crises. They provide a listening ear and help connect people to resources…
PA eased telehealth regulations during the pandemic. What happens if the waiver expires?
PublicSource, June 9, 2022, by Jourdan Hicks: At first, the pandemic actually kept us in our homes. Y’all remember that? Being on lockdown? For many, COVID and the response to it only intensified the need for health care. And by health care, I mean physical and mental. But have the…
Law enforcement enlists mental health experts to help save lives — ‘a paradigm shift in policing’
Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), June 8, 2022, by Riley Bunch: SAVANNAH, Georgia — Sometimes when Savannah Police Department officers are called to a scene of a crisis, those who respond may not look like police at all. Officers arrive in an unmarked Ford Explorer, donning a simple blue polo and…
Georgia students’ private battle: Anxiety disorders in the classroom
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 1, 2022, by Vanessa McCray and Eric Stirgus: Latha Wright studies Latin, draws her own comics and films videos with her little brother. The 16-year-old Atlanta student also battles anxiety. When her family sought help, they encountered obstacles that make it difficult for many Georgia teens…
The Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas are tackling mental health, one patch at a time
KERA, May 19, 2022, by Elena Rivera: The COVID-19 pandemic worsened stress, anxiety and depression for young people—especially young girls. Those are things the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas have addressed through their mental health patch, called Okay to Say. It’s one part of a wider prevention effort to mitigate…
In a pandemic, people might know they need food or housing. But how do you help them realize they also need therapy?
Chicago Tribune, March 30, 2022, By Alison Bowen: As the pandemic wore on, Kayode Martin felt stuck. He’d graduated virtually, a high school senior when COVID-19 arrived in Chicago. A year later, in 2021, he was working at a store but struggling to find a routine that felt on good…
Mental health care at work: Roundup of recent research on employee assistance programs
The Journalist’s Resource, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard University May 24, 2022 Insurance makes seeking mental health care more affordable for those who have it, but workers often have access to an additional form of help at no cost: employee assistance programs. By Clark Merrefield The…