Welcome to the Nexus of Ethics, Psychology, Morality, Philosophy and Health Care
Thursday, April 11, 2024
FDA Clears the First Digital Therapeutic for Depression, But Will Payers Cover It?
Sunday, March 24, 2024
From a Psych Hospital to Harvard Law: One Black Woman’s Journey With Bipolar Disorder
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Biden just signed the largest executive order focused on women’s health
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Canada Postpones Plan to Allow Euthanasia for Mentally Ill
- This plan has been postponed until 2027 due to concerns about the healthcare system's readiness and potential ethical issues.
- The original legislation passed in 2021, but concerns about safeguards and mental health support led to delays.
- This issue is complex and ethically charged, with advocates arguing for individual autonomy and opponents raising concerns about coercion and vulnerability.
- Vulnerability: Mental illness can impair judgement, raising concerns about informed consent and potential coercion.
- Safeguards: Concerns exist about insufficient safeguards to prevent abuse or exploitation.
- Mental health access: Limited access to adequate mental health treatment could contribute to undue pressure towards MAiD.
- Social inequalities: Concerns exist about disproportionate access to MAiD based on socioeconomic background.
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Characteristics of Mental Health Specialists Who Shifted Their Practice Entirely to Telemedicine
Saturday, February 24, 2024
Living in an abortion ban state is bad for mental health
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Americans are lonely and it’s killing them. How the US can combat this new epidemic.
- Loneliness Crisis: America faces a growing epidemic of loneliness impacting mental and physical health, leading to increased risks of heart disease, dementia, stroke, and premature death.
- Diverse and Widespread: Loneliness affects various demographics, from young adults to older populations, and isn't limited by social media interaction.
- Health Risks: The Surgeon General reports loneliness raises risk of premature death by 26%, equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes daily. Heart disease and stroke risks also increase significantly.
- Causes: Numerous factors contribute, including societal changes, technology overuse, remote work, and lack of genuine social connection.
- Solutions: Individual actions like reaching out and mindful interactions help. Additionally, public health strategies like "social prescribing" and community initiatives are crucial.
- Collective Effort Needed: Overcoming the epidemic requires collaboration across sectors, fostering stronger social connections within communities and digital spaces.
Friday, January 19, 2024
Asexuality Is Finally Breaking Free from Medical Stigma
- Asexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by a lack of sexual attraction to others.
- In the past, asexuality was often misunderstood and misdiagnosed as a mental health disorder.
- Today, asexuality is increasingly recognized as a legitimate sexual orientation.
- People who identify as asexual may or may not experience sexual attraction, and there is a spectrum of asexuality.
- Asexual people can face challenges in getting proper medical care, as some healthcare providers may not be familiar with asexuality.
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
On Edge: Understanding and Preventing Young Adults’ Mental Health Challenges
- A lack of meaning, purpose, and direction: Nearly 3 in 5 young adults (58%) reported that they lacked “meaning or purpose” in their lives in the previous month. Half of young adults reported that their mental health was negatively influenced by “not knowing what to do with my life.
- Financial worries and achievement pressure: More than half of young adults reported that financial worries (56%) and achievement pressure (51%) were negatively impacting their mental health.
- A perception that the world is unraveling: Forty-five percent (45%) of young adults reported that a general "sense that things are falling apart” was impairing their mental health.
- Relationship deficits: Forty-four percent (44%) of young adults reported a sense of not mattering to others and 34% reported loneliness.
- Social and political issues: Forty-two percent (42%) reported the negative influence on their mental health of gun violence in schools, 34% cited climate change, and 30% cited worries that our political leaders are incompetent or corrupt.
- Cultivating meaning and purpose in young people, including by engaging them in caring for
- others and service;
- Supporting young people in developing gratifying and durable relationships; and
- Helping young people experience their lives as more than the sum of their achievements.
Monday, November 13, 2023
Prosociality should be a public health priority
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Should Trackable Pill Technologies Be Used to Facilitate Adherence Among Patients Without Insight?
Sunday, October 1, 2023
US Surgeons Are Killing Themselves at an Alarming Rate
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
How does marijuana affect the brain?
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Yale University settles lawsuit alleging it pressured students with mental health issues to withdraw
Monday, July 31, 2023
Top Arkansas psychiatrist accused of falsely imprisoning patients and Medicaid fraud
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth Is Neither New nor Experimental: A Timeline and Compilation of Studies
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Machine learning uncovers the most robust self-report predictors of relationship quality across 43 longitudinal couples studies
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Institutional Courage Buffers Against Institutional Betrayal, Protects Employee Health, and Fosters Organizational Commitment Following Workplace Sexual Harassment
Sunday, March 12, 2023
Growth of AI in mental health raises fears of its ability to run wild
The rise of AI in mental health care has providers and researchers increasingly concerned over whether glitchy algorithms, privacy gaps and other perils could outweigh the technology's promise and lead to dangerous patient outcomes.
Why it matters: As the Pew Research Center recently found, there's widespread skepticism over whether using AI to diagnose and treat conditions will complicate a worsening mental health crisis.
- Mental health apps are also proliferating so quickly that regulators are hard-pressed to keep up.
- The American Psychiatric Association estimates there are more than 10,000 mental health apps circulating on app stores. Nearly all are unapproved.
What's happening: AI-enabled chatbots like Wysa and FDA-approved apps are helping ease a shortage of mental health and substance use counselors.
- The technology is being deployed to analyze patient conversations and sift through text messages to make recommendations based on what we tell doctors.
- It's also predicting opioid addiction risk, detecting mental health disorders like depression and could soon design drugs to treat opioid use disorder.
Driving the news: The fear is now concentrated around whether the technology is beginning to cross a line and make clinical decisions, and what the Food and Drug Administration is doing to prevent safety risks to patients.
- KoKo, a mental health nonprofit, recently used ChatGPT as a mental health counselor for about 4,000 people who weren't aware the answers were generated by AI, sparking criticism from ethicists.
- Other people are turning to ChatGPT as a personal therapist despite warnings from the platform saying it's not intended to be used for treatment.