Mental Health & Trauma

In many Asian communities, mental illness remains mired in stigma. A reporter in Orange County, Calif. explores how members of Korean, Vietnamese and Arab communities are affected by this barrier to care.

The burst of media coverage on the surge of unaccompanied minors coming to the U.S. in recent years has since ebbed, but the migration continues and many of the children’s basic needs still go unmet.

Parents love to make jokes about teenagers and their fitfully growing brains. But emerging researching supplies the science needed to understand the changes. In one key way, their brains are shrinking.

“Who has seen a behavioral counselor?” Roughly half of the kids at the Yurok Tribe's youth wellness event stepped forward. “Who has suffered from depression or anxiety?” Three-quarters of the kids came forward.

When it comes to addressing disorders of the brain, the medical toolkit is weak. But new mapping projects underway could gradually change our ability to treat many common brain disorders.

Angela Maria Naso wrote this story while participating in the California Health Journalism Fellowship, a program of the Center for Health Journalism at USC’s Annenberg School of Journalism.

A data-driven look at opioid addiction in San Diego found that old assumptions about addiction hotspots were outdated. Reporter Leo Castaneda shares this and other field lessons he learned along the way.

Stress, depression and anxiety have ballooned among undocumented students at the UC Berkeley this election season, reports Univision's Jenny Manrique.

This story was reported as a project for USC Annenberg's Center for Health Journalism National Fellowship.

Not your average public service announcement: A county in Washington state successfully used monthly surveys, data and community engagement to change perceptions and lower alcohol use among teens.