Friday, December 03, 2004

Government Study Highlights Need for Integrated Counseling for Women with Substance Abuse and Mental Disorders and Trauma
SAMHSA press release - "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today released study findings showing that women with mental and substance abuse disorders and histories of violence (trauma) can improve when treated with counseling that addresses all three of their service needs. Women who have a voice in their own treatment report better outcomes than women who do not. The findings come from the Women, Co-occurring Disorders and Violence Study (WCDVS), a five-year study conducted by SAMHSA of over 2,000 women with co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders and trauma histories. The study was not randomized, but rather, women who fit the study eligibility criteria were recruited into a group receiving integrated services, or a group receiving usual care, which treated mental health, substance abuse, and trauma issues in isolation from each other."  
  

Survey finds global rise in antidepressants prescribed to children
NewsRx.com story reprinted at PsycPORT - "Children throughout the world are increasingly being prescribed antidepressants and other drugs designed to calm or stimulate the brain, finds new research. Prescription rates increased the most in the U.K., the research suggests. In one study, researchers from the University of London analyzed prescribing trends in nine countries, based on information provided by an international database (IMS MIDAS) between 2000 and 2002. The database contains a representative sample of medical practitioners in each country. The information was collected on children and adolescents up to the age of 17 in the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Canada, U.S., Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Types of drugs included antidepressants, stimulants, tranquilizers and medication for psychotic episodes. Findings were published in Archives of Disease in Childhood. "  
  

Discrimination could lead to an increase in mental health problems among gay men, lesbians and bi-sexual men and women
Story at News-Medical.net (UK) - "A team of researchers have discovered that high levels of discrimination could lead to an increase in mental health problems among gay men, lesbians and bi-sexual men and women. In a report published today in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the team from Imperial College London, University College London and the University of Brighton found that high levels of discrimination including physical attacks and bullying could be linked to high levels of mental disorder."  
  

Cannabis linked to mental illness risk
Story in The Guardian (UK) - "Some young people who smoke cannabis are at real risk of developing psychotic mental illness, according to a major study announced yesterday. The new survey of 2,500 young people aged 14 to 24 will be discussed at the start of an international conference today on cannabis and mental health convened by the Institute of Psychiatry in London. It shows that regular cannabis smoking increased the risk of developing psychosis by 6% over four years. But there was a substantially greater impact on young people who had already been identified by psychiatrists as having the potential to become psychotic. Regular cannabis smoking raised their risk of developing psychotic mental illness by 25%..."