Walker County Messenger (LaFayette, GA): Freedom Counseling Services Inc. in LaFayette, which opened less than three months ago, is already making plans to expand its services. Director David Burris said the drug and alcohol counseling center wants to offer more group sessions, network with jails and sheriff�s departments in neighboring counties, and open separate recovery houses for men and women. Burris said the center has served dozens more through individual counseling, group programs to prevent relapse or help addicts come off drugs, and family counseling services. Burris said there is a recovery residence for addicts in Trion, but it had to turn away 20 people in just the last month. He said he hopes someone from the area will step up to help, just as volunteers and donators pitched in to help Freedom Counseling get started.

Year-End Blowout Special!
Clips from the most listened to/downloaded shows from the first five months of the podcast. Closing music by KCentric, "Woo Who" from podsafe music network or KCentric's website. Enjoy the show and thank you for supporting me in 2005! May 2006 be as wonderful as my listeners have been....I wish all of you good mental health.

New Mexico Business Weekly (Albuquerque, NM): During the first week of January, the ABC- and PBS-affiliate television stations in New Mexico will air a documentary that focuses on youth in New Mexico and mental illness. "Not In My Family" revolves around the stories of four young people in New Mexico who are at various stages of their own mental illnesses, according to a release from KNME-TV Channel 5 in Albuquerque. The program includes comments that teenagers have filmed with their cell phones talking about the issue as well as a full classroom discussion. Following the documentary, a live program will use text messaging, Web cams and a small group of experts to discuss the issue. The "Not In My Family" project is being produced by SafeTeen New Mexico and Christopher Productions. The New Mexico Department of Health helped underwrite the documentary as a way to educate people about mental illnesses and provide resources for those who need services.

Lexington Dispatch (Lexington, NC): The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is using the Internet to reach out to troubled students. During the past two years, about 8,000 students received an e-mail message that directed them to an online questionnaire that helps screen for depression. More than 430 students have responded. Eighty-five came for more evaluation or treatment and more than three-quarters said they would not have done so without the e-mail contact, said researcher Jan Sedway. The e-mail communication fostered a trusting relationship in many cases, but Sedway said she was surprised by how reluctant some students were to seek help. "With many of them, it took 10 e-mail exchanges before they would come in. Many of them said they came in because they felt they knew me," Sedway said. Sedway communicated with one student via e-mail for a year while he studied abroad and when the student returned to the United States, he came in for counseling, she said.

Contra Costa Times (Stockton, CA): Latinos in San Joaquin County are five times less likely than whites to seek treatment for schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, according to county health officials. Asians and American Indians also are underserved compared to whites and African American in the county's Mental Health Services department, according to state Medi-Cal figures. "We've been working for more than 10 years to try to increase" treatment of Latinos and other ethnic groups, said Bruce Hopperstad, county mental health department director. "We just have a large gap." A major step in efforts to close that gap is under way as county mental health officials decide how to spend more than $5.6 million from Proposition 63, a tax-the-rich initiative approved by California voters in November 2004. It is the first of more than $10.7 million in new funds the county expects to receive this year from the ballot initiative, Hopperstad said. There is no one reason for the disparity, Hopperstad said. Language barriers, social stigmas and cultural pressure to "keep things within the family" all contribute to keep Latinos suffering from mental illnesses from seeking help, experts say.

Just a quick reminder that there is no show today due to the Year-End Blowout show scheduled for Thursday. Stay tuned!

I'd like to take a moment to thank you, my audience, for spending 15-20 minutes each week listening to my podcast. It warms my heart to know that you find the stories presented just as interesting as do I. May the season find you safe and sound. I wish you all good mental health!
Erik D.
G News Central Podcast

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, IN): Local mental health experts say increases in stress during the Christmas season result from myriad factors. Among those are financial constraints, unrealistic expectations, family discord, jam-packed itineraries or a recent death being brought to bear by a gathering. Theresa Krauhs, who co-owns Peace Counseling, a substance abuse center, sees another, more destructive side of stress management. She says substance abuse increases over the holidays. Still, in the layered field of mental health care, which includes everything from stress reduction services to counseling for more serious psychological disorders to inpatient psychiatric care, the holiday season doesn’t necessarily translate to inflated rolls. “This is a pretty quiet time,� says Dr. Kevin Murphy, medical director of Parkview Behavioral Health. In his experience, holidays don’t translate into a spike in acute psychiatric emergencies. Generally speaking, Murphy believes that the Christmas season probably isn’t the stress-inducing force it’s made out to be. If anything, he says the media contribute to the popular perception by bringing the subject up every year. “(Stress is) just a real problem all year long in my experience,� Murphy says. Other area psychiatric and counseling centers in Fort Wayne also report a lull in services provided in December. Most say that the busiest months are January, February and March.

All Headline News.com (USA): Researchers have found that older adults can respond to behavioral treatments for insomnia. An analysis of 23 studies found that as many as one-quarter of older Americans experience chronic insomnia which can cause fatigue and difficulty concentrating during the day. Other dangers from insomnia include risk of death from heart disease and devastating falling injuries, reports WebMD. Behavioral treatments can be used for a longer period of time than drugs. Additionally, the long-term safety of the newer sleep aids have not been extensively documented in older patients. "There has been a push, driven in part by the pharmaceutical industry, toward using drugs for the long-term management of insomnia, but the data to support the efficacy of this approach is very limited." Some of the behavioral treatments include: (1) Relaxation-based, (2) Behavior changes, such as sleep scheduling and sleep restriction therapy that limits sleep quantity in an effort to improve sleep quality and (3) Cognitive behavioral therapy, which examines lifestyle habits such as exercise and alcohol. The findings are published in the January 2006 issue of the journal Health Psychology.

Seattle Post Intelligencer (Spokane, WA): Spokane County commissioners have approved a 0.1 percent local sales tax to help the county provide mental health services, hoping that increased community support will bolster their case for additional state funding. Spokane County voters overwhelmingly approved the tax in an advisory vote in November. Commissioners approved the tax at a meeting this past week. The levy is designed to fill a mental-health funding gap created by reduced federal assistance, lower-than-anticipated state allocations and a lack of local mental-health reserve funds. About $500,000 a month has been cut from local mental-health services since the summer. It is expected to generate $3.9 million during the second half of 2006 - not enough to resolve the deficit but enough to prevent further cuts, said Christine Barada, the county's community services director.

Psychology Today: It's true: Some people really do have "gaydar." Until now, the concept has been the stuff of urban legend. But in fact, according to a study conducted in 2005, some people are better at identifying gays than others, and overall, gays are better at it than straight individuals. William Lee Adams, an undergraduate at Harvard College who studied the topic for his senior thesis, found that when volunteers quickly view a stranger with minimal information—from neck-up photos and videos, without jewelry or makeup—homosexual men and women are more accurate in identifying other homosexuals. Neither the viewers nor the videotaped volunteers knew the purpose of the study. Gay men and women not only made more accurate assessments, they were efficient, too: It took about 2 seconds for gays to decide whether a person was straight or not. Says Adams, "You either have gaydar or you don't."

CentralNewsPoint.com (Central Point, OR): The holiday season is a time of optimism and good cheer, but for many, it is also the season for depression. The "holiday blues" is characterized by self-evaluation, loneliness, reflection on past "failures" and anxiety about an uncertain future. Seasonal blues can be caused by many factors: increased stress and fatigue, unrealistic expectations, and family issues. Environmental factors, such as Seasonal Affective Disorder caused by lack of sunlight, can also contribute to feelings of depression. The National Mental Health Association offers some tips to help you cope with seasonal blues: 1) Be realistic about what you can and cannot do, 2) Don't be disappointed if your holidays are not like they used to be. Each holiday season is different and can be enjoyed in its own way, 3) Do something for someone else. Try volunteering some time to help others and 4) Don't drink too much. Excessive drinking will only make you more depressed.

Cherry Hill Courier Post (Cherry Hill, NJ): Cheap, easily available and hard to detect, PCP is becoming an increasingly popular, and dangerous, drug in Camden. "Sometimes you feel like you're the Incredible Hulk," said one 18-year-old Camden man who used PCP regularly for six years. But with that feeling of power comes a tendency to be aggressive and violent. The Camden 18-year-old spent two years in the county juvenile jail for stabbing his mother's friend while using the drug. "They're stuck," said Barry Bailey, a drug counselor and chief operations officer of Genesis Counseling Center in Collingswood. "There's no real lucidness in the individual when you're trying to talk to them." Bailey oversees Genesis' Camden program, which treats about 80 teenagers who have been arrested in drug-related crimes. These are kids who have already served time, but more than 90 percent of them have tested positive for PCP, he said. And it's showing up among suburban teens as well.

Show Notes: Are there differences in child mental health prior to parental divorce versus the actual event? And in Fayetteville, NC, children face their fears with the help of a puppet show. Next, a school community joins forces for a brainstorming session...what's the topic? Take a listen. Plus, this week's featured website of the week! [Tonight's featured music: The Sassy Astronauts]

Westport Minuteman (Westport, CT): Mental Illness can affect women to a greater extent than men due to various biological and social factors. The Women's Unit will provide exceptional care for women with mental health problems, especially those with mood and anxiety disorders and issues related to abuse. The opening of the Hall-Brooke's Women's Unit will complete a continuum of mental health care with a specific gender focus. The unit joins existing women's mental health services at the newly opened center for outpatient services for the provision of comprehensive mental health care for women. Together, the inpatient and outpatient services will serve women's psychiatric needs on all levels, from hospitalization to outpatient day and partial day programs.

WOOD-TV (Grand Rapids, MI): Cell phones have become a necessary communication tool for many people, however they may effect your mental health. While cell phones can make you more accessible, a new study suggests there's a price to pay for that convenience. Researchers found people who regularly used cell phones and pagers showed an increase in psychological distress and reduced family satisfaction. Researchers say cell phones allowed job worries to spill over into home life and worries at home to spill into work. The study was published in the Journal of Marriage and Family.

The Standard Times (New Bedford, MA): A controversial plan to test students for drugs passed the School Committee unanimously and could be implemented early next year. The plan to test students for drugs was proposed two years ago by Mayor Kalisz and School Superintendent Longo. At the time, the proposal was seen as a way to prevent and reduce drug use among students in the city's public school system, and act as an early warning system to parents that their child may be using illegal drugs. The Drug Free Student Assistance Program is unique among school drug-testing programs in that it does not have a punishment for positive tests, and is completely voluntary. In fact, program administrator Carl Alves said neither law enforcement nor school officials would be notified of a positive test. Only the parent and the student would be informed. Instead of punishment, a positive test would trigger counseling and treatment.

WRTV-6 (Indianapolis, IN): Testosterone replacement therapy may help improve the quality of life for elderly men with mild cases of Alzheimer's disease, according to new research. The 24-week study, led by neuroscientists at the UCLA Alzheimer Disease Research Center, included 16 male patients diagnosed with mild Alzheimer's disease and 22 healthy men. Half the members of each group were given a daily testosterone treatment in the form of a gel. Based on assessments from their caregivers, Alzheimer's patients who received the treatment showed improved quality of life measurements, which included memory, relationships, physical health, energy and other factors.

National Institute of Mental Health (USA): A brain chemical recently found to boost trust appears to work by reducing activity and weakening connections in fear-processing circuitry, a brain imaging study at the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has discovered. Scans of the hormone oxytocin's effect on human brain function reveal that it quells the brain's fear hub, the amygdala, and its brainstem relay stations in response to fearful stimuli. The work at NIMH and a collaborating site in Germany suggests new approaches to treating diseases thought to involve amygdala dysfunction and social fear, such as social phobia, autism, and possibly schizophrenia. "Because increased amygdala activation has been associated with social fear in social phobia, genetic risk for anxiety and depression, and possibly with social fear in autism assessed during faces processing, this dual mode of action of oxytocin in humans suggests a potentially powerful treatment approach toward socially relevant fear," suggest researchers.

Virginian Pilot (Norfolk, VA): Gov. Mark Warner’s proposal to shrink and modernize four key mental health facilities, while upgrading community-based services, is rightly causing ecstasy laced with caution in mental health circles. Drawing on a healthy state surplus, Warner proposes to bring Western and Eastern State hospitals for the mentally ill and Central and Southeastern Virginia Training Centers for the mentally retarded in line with downsizing proposals that have languished on the drawing board for years. The plan will cost $290 million. While some patient advocates think the upgraded Central Virginia facility will still be too large, at about 300 beds, the overall decision to move hundreds of state patients into smaller group homes and intensify local services is on target. The remaining, and critical, question is whether a combined $170 million in state and federal money proposed by Warner for upgraded home and community-based treatment will satisfy the need. Patients transferred out of hospitals join those already on community waiting lists in competing for local support.

Show Notes: Coachella Valley residents are "up in arms" about recent incidents involving high school students. And in Wilmington, tobacco awareness is the talk. Meanwhile, DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) is looked at as a means of treatment for some individuals...who? Tune in to find out. Plus, the ever-popular Website of the Week!

News.com (Australia): Mental health and human dignity will be the focus of the 14th World Day of the Sick to be held in Adelaide on February 11. In a statement released by the Vatican overnight, Pope Benedict XVI said the Adelaide gathering of clergy, health professionals, government representatives and the public would underline the seriousness of the problems surrounding mental health. The event will actually be held over three days. Pope Benedict said the gathering would cause the world to reflect on the problems associated with mental illness which now afflicted one fifth of mankind and constituted a real and authentic social care emergency. "It should be observed that the prolongation of armed conflicts in various areas of the world, the succession of terrible natural catastrophes and the spread of terrorism, in addition to causing a shocking number of deaths, have also created mental traumas," the Pope said. "Next year's World Day of the Sick is aimed at challenging us to engage and experience the needs of those who are most vulnerable in our society and is an opportunity for those who work in the health care sector to reflect on their work."

Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MN): Some 2,200 students made nearly 10,000 visits last year to the mental health clinic on the U's Twin Cities campus, up 44 percent from five years ago. Antidepressants were second only to contraceptives as the most prescribed medication from the Boynton Health Service pharmacy on campus, with students spending more than $500,000 on antidepressants last year. In surveys, 20 percent of the U's undergraduate women say they have been diagnosed with depression, twice the rate of men. On their own for the first time, plunged into new pressures and a culture different from home, depression can take hold in students, observers say. Untreated, it can lead to suicide, the second leading cause of death in college students nationwide. Sixteen U students have killed themselves since 2000, according to data Boynton leaders will present today to university regents. This fall, the university began a push to make students aware of the help available. In October, when the U's parent Web site put up a page dedicated to student mental health, it received 1,000 hits within the first three weeks. Some universities require students to leave school if they're depressed or possibly suicidal. U officials say that's not happening here. But they acknowledge a "high and persistent level of mental health problems on campus" that needs more attention.

Psychology Today: Conventional wisdom holds that panic doesn't begin before late teens or early adulthood. Truth is, almost nothing is known about its life course. So New York psychiatrist Donna Moreau, M.D., put out a call to local emergency rooms for kids who might be brought in with the distinctive but disabling symptoms. Ninety children were referred to her for clinical testing at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Of the 90 brought in, 90 percent proved to have bona fide panic disorder. The youngest is a seven-year-old who complained of a racing heart and breathing trouble. In young children as well as adults, panic attacks occur spontaneously, not in reaction to obvious psychological stress. In kids, the attacks are often misdiagnosed as separation anxiety or school phobia. Typically, fear of having a full-blown panic attack leads victims to restrict activities and avoid going to school or other public places. "These children are really suffering," says Moreau. "It takes a long time for them to be diagnosed." No study yet indicates how many kids are prone to this disorder or what happens to them in adulthood. Both drugs and cognitive-behavioral therapies work in adults and, presumably, children with panic disorder. Identifying panic-prone kids and providing treatment may stave off serious consequences seen in adults.

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Daily Aztec (San Diego, CA): According to the "Definite Guide to Stressing Yourself Out," never taking a vacation, living in the past and setting unreasonable goals are a sure way to build frustration. Avoiding stress by pretending it doesn't exist only creates more pressure. Imagine lying on the beach, listening to the ocean waves roll in and crash against the shore. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly, expelling every anxiety. Forget about the day's stress and concentrate on relaxing. Taking a mere 10 minutes out of the day to practice deep breathing can help stimulate your mind and decrease stress.

The Journal News (Westchester, NY): The Westchester Children's Association has set its sights on the alarming problem of children with mental-health problems, and the current inadequacy of understanding, treatment options, community resources and insurance coverage to meet them. The WCA must confront the very same realities that parents of emotionally disturbed children do: overt and subtle stigma against mental illness, emotional disorders and behavioral problems. After two years of study, the association recently completed and released a 32-page report, "No Time To Lose: Rethinking Mental Health Services for Westchester's Children,'' that calls for changes in the way children with social and emotional problems get help. The report estimated that as many as 11,500 children in Westchester could be affected by serious emotional illness. Like the stigma against those with mental or emotional disorders, the systemic symptoms can be subtle: Try, for example, to find a child psychiatrist in the region who is a) taking new patients and b) affordable. Watch the efforts in New York state to pass Timothy's Law, which requires parity in insurance coverage for mental illness, and it doesn't take long to see the institutional bias against those people, let alone children, who need sustained treatment. Evaluate the increasing number of children who are suspended for behavioral problems from school and even nursery school, and those being classified as "emotionally disturbed'' for special-education purposes, and the situation is untenable.

Newsweek: A study published last month in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, the most definitive look at schizophrenia to date, argues that trauma or childhood abuse is a factor in the development of the disease. While schizophrenia is the product of a complex interplay between a host of environmental and genetic factors, it seems that "genes do not cause the outcome, but identify those who might be susceptible to the environmental risks," says Dr. Mary Clarke, a psychiatric researcher at Ireland's Royal College of Surgeons. A review of 46 studies of schizophrenics by Auckland University psychologist John Read found that 59 percent of male inpatients and 69 percent of females had experienced childhood physical or sexual abuse. In a separate study, which included physical neglect and physical or emotional abuse, the level rose to 85 percent of males and 100 percent of women. Says Read: "We have around the world millions of people with a diagnosis that masks the true social causes, and therefore prevents people from getting help which would be more effective and humane."

Show notes: The art of storytelling comes to South Mountain Community College. And in Michigan, counselor ratios are all the talk. Meanwhile, the aftermath of Katrina continues to be felt in Slidell, LA. And the Charlottesville School Board proposes changes to local school counseling programs...what changes? Tune in. Plus, the website of the week! (Show ran a bit long this week....sorry. Approx. 22 min.)

Psychology Today: A diet that includes blueberries, spinach or spirulina reduces the brain damage caused by stroke. The high levels of antioxidants in these three foods are protective. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, molecules in the body that are implicated in degenerative diseases, including heart disease. After only a month of dried-blueberry- or spinach-spiked diets, lab rats that had suffered strokes had only half the brain damage found in those on regular diets, according to a study published in Experimental Neurology. A diet that included spirulina resulted in a whopping 70 percent improvement. Paula Bickford, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of South Florida, says humans can reap approximately the same benefits by eating a cup of blueberries, a big spinach salad or a few teaspoons of spirulina powder every day.

myDNA News.com (Austin, TX): Preschool children are exhibiting signs of mental health problems that may disrupt their normal development, suggests new research. Researchers from Duke University examined 307 preschool children by having their parents answer detailed questionnaires designed to spot behavioral traits associated with different mental illnesses and disabilities. Surprisingly, one in ten of the children between the ages of two and five, met the criteria for mental and behavioral disorders. The involved child often displayed symptoms of more than one kind of disorder. Anxiety was expressed by fear, phobias and horror when separated from parents. Depressed children displayed sadness, irritability, disturbed sleep and lack of appetite. The symptoms were bad enough so as to affect the child's everyday life. Dr. Adrian Angold, from Duke University in North Carolina, who led the research, said, "Already by the age of two to five you are seeing rates of a variety of psychiatric disorders which are very similar to rates you see at nine, 17 and in the 20s. These are kids that have psychiatric problems with symptoms that are impacting on their lives in a negative way.

Racine Journal Times (Racine, WI): Local teenagers, and maybe even younger children, have participated in the "choking game," according to a local expert. Dr. Heather Martens said her clients have told her that local teenagers will cut off the flow of blood to their head to get a "high." While the act has several names, it's commonly referred to as the "choking game." It's not new - it's been done at parties for generations - there seems to be a troubling trend of some teens choking themselves while alone. In October, a 13-year-old in the Appleton area died after using a belt to cut off blood to his head. Locally, Martens said it's important for parents, and teenagers, to know that the choking game is occurring, and that it is dangerous. "Communication is the key," she said. "It's more prevalent than adults know." The act is typically related to peer pressure or low self-esteem, Martens said. What's particularly dangerous about choking, she added, is that there are few warning signs. One of the appealing things about the "high" is that it doesn't require alcohol or drugs. If parents suspect their children are choking themselves, they should try to talk with them. If the children don't respond, parents should consider sending them to a trained therapist, who can address underlying symptoms that may lead to future addictive behaviors. Young adults who are concerned about choking should talk with an adult, like their parents or a school counselor.

Seattle Post Intelligencer (Seattle, WA): Years of cuts in mental health funding have created backlogs at Western State Hospital, where defendants are often sent to determine whether they are competent to stand trial. As a result, some defendants are spending more time in jail waiting for a mental health evaluation than they would if they were convicted. The funding cuts, accompanied by a methamphetamine-driven increase in the numbers of defendants needing evaluations, have forced inmates to wait an average of two months to be evaluated for competency at Western State, in Steilacoom. The state Department of Social and Health Services, which oversees Western State, sends a form letter after every evaluation referral stating that it could take at least six to eight weeks before the hospital can complete the evaluation. It costs Cowlitz County nothing to house an inmate at Western, but every day an inmate sits in the county jail costs taxpayers about $67, said Corrections Director Dan Price. "The cost is substantially higher" than that for the mentally ill because of medication and overtime for increased supervision, he said. At the low end of $67 a day, an inmate waiting 60 days to enter Western State would cost taxpayers $4,020 for housing. The Legislature appropriated $6.3 million this year to allow the hospital to open a 29-bed forensics ward, but the ward soon filled up, and the waiting list is just as long as it was before.