Seven years after voters passed Proposition 63 -- the landmark legislation that was supposed to radically improve mental health care in the state -- California is facing a deepening statewide mental health crisis. As the state struggles under the weight of a lingering recession and an enormous deficit, county mental health programs are often failing to provide care for even the sickest patients. In many cases, the minimal safety net that used to exist is disintegrating.
A community’s mental health is difficult to quantify: It’s highly dependent on self-reporting and deeply entwined with cultural context. While physical health problems are easily spotted, mental health issues are harder to see – and often harder to fix.
Documents behind a controversial Seroquel drug trial raise serious questions about how patients with mental disorders are judged competent to participate in clinical trials all over the world.
While other social services are facing budget cuts, the funding to serve Del Norte County’s mentally ill population seems relatively secure.
How did human penises evolve without spikes? Stanford researchers suggest one explanation, plus more from our Daily Briefing.
Serious depression is a growing problem for multicultural seniors. But unlike older whites, ethnic people 50-plus are blocked from treatment by poverty, limited or no insurance, lack of programs geared for them—and the stigma of mental problems that permeates many cultures. New America media senior editor Paul Kleyman begins his occasional series on mental challenges for ethnic seniors with this article on treatable depression.
When work and life collide: Reporting on an emotionally-charged story at an emotionally-charged time
One of the happiest moments of 2009 for me personally was when I found out I received a fellowship from the California Endowment to produce a video series on teen suicide.
Eleven million Americans have eating disorders. Here are tips on covering this complex disease from a veteran journalist who faced the issue in her own family.
