Articles, Leading Stories

July 1st, 2017

“13 Reasons Why” sparks controversy

By Pamela Berard

Mental health professionals have expressed concern about “13 Reasons Why,” the Web television series on Netflix that tells the story of Hannah, a teen who leaves behind...

July 1st, 2017

Study: Facebook makes you feel bad

By Janine Weisman

Nearly 1.3 billion daily active Facebook users around the world spend an average of 50 minutes each day using the social media network or one of its apps, according to the...

July 1st, 2017

Teen’s viral Facebook post could be useful to therapists

By Janine Weisman

“I brushed my hair today” begins a Facebook post that appears at first glance to be the sharing of ordinary and otherwise unremarkable information.

Except that...

July 1st, 2017

Depression decreases after intervention

By Susan Gonsalves

A five-year study, recently published in JAMA Psychiatry, showed that a brief depression intervention could reduce symptoms among mothers by 40 percent. Women with lower...

July 1st, 2017

Area of brain impacts anxiety about the future, study says

By Rivkela Brodsky

A  group of researchers at Dartmouth College have found a connection between an area of the brain, the striatum, and a person’s intolerance of uncertainty – anxiety or...

July 1st, 2017

Psychologist’s work centers on children, parenting

By Catherine Robertson Souter

Parenting is tough. But, is it tougher than it used to be? Is there better information out there for parents… or just more information that can become...

June 1st, 2017

Psychologist shortage: factors affect access to care

By Phyllis Hanlon

The Kaiser Family Foundation issued a report in January citing a significant shortage of mental health care practitioners nationwide. In New England, the “percent of need...

June 1st, 2017

Push for prescribing privileges fizzles in Vermont

By Janine Weisman

With the stroke of Gov. C. L. “Butch” Otter’s (R) pen on April 4, Idaho became the fifth U.S. state to permit clinical psychologists with advanced specialized training to...

June 1st, 2017

Vacant building in Westborough to become behavioral hospital

By Phyllis Hanlon

Later this year, Westborough will become the site of a new behavioral health care hospital. In April, selectmen in the town gave approval for the construction of a facility...

June 1st, 2017

Lawsuits address segregation of mentally ill prisoners

By Catherine Robertson Souter

Concern over the use of solitary confinement for inmates who suffer from mental illness has propelled a spate of lawsuits over the past few years in the state of...