Mental Health

A new study from University of Pittsburgh researchers finds that when predicting suicide risk in young adults, extra focus should be paid to the fluctuation of depressive symptoms.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale and Democratic state Rep. Mike Schlossberg of Lehigh County are calling for increased resources for mental health services. The two fielded questions at a Facebook town hall Tuesday. 

The first day of the new year is a great date to turn over a new leaf, but setting an overly ambitious new year’s resolution may not be the best way to make a major change.

New mothers dealing with pregnancy-related mental health disorders can keep their babies with them as they seek treatment at West Penn Hospital's new Alexis Joy D'Achille Center for Perinatal Mental Health. 

A 2014 study of 1,609 Allegheny County teens between the ages of 14 and 19 found those who have lost a friend or family member to murder are three times more likely to attempt suicide. In total, 13 percent of those surveyed reported to have suffered this loss. 

It’s been more than a week since the shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue, and those who were part of the emergency response might only now be starting to confront the effects of trauma caused by this tragedy.

A report on safety threats and security concerns in Pennsylvania schools concludes there is a need for better access to mental health services.

The death of black teenager Antwon Rose at the hands of a white police officer has been a catalyst for social activism in Pittsburgh, and might also stir up past trauma for people of color.  

A University of Pittsburgh psychiatrist is one of the primary collaborators on a new, public health toolkit that presents important information related to the Netflix program “13 Reasons Why,” a teen drama that depicts events surrounding a high school girl’s suicide.

The second season came out earlier this month. 

Even as Jason McKoy struggled with mental illness, he understood that the disease was invisible, and that he shouldn’t talk about it. He called this phenomenon “contextual camouflage.”

“I felt like I was camouflaging my true feelings,” he said. “That’s what a lot of people with mental-health disorders have to do. … We have to walk around camouflaging.”

This year, Avonworth High School students arrived at their first period, for the most part, after sunrise.

The district recently shifted its first period start time from 7:15 to 8 a.m., and Superintendent Thomas Ralston said his students now pass what he calls "the eye test."

“You can see that kids are coming to school, and they’re awake. They’re coming in when it’s light outside,” he said. “Our faculty have reported that kids are more attentive in class … and faculty feel more prepared.”

Many people find it difficult to work, exercise and socialize this time of year due to a type of depression called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD.

A new long-term care facility for older adults in Allegheny County could be the first of its kind, according to local mental health professionals. It will serve aging patients living with neurological and psychiatric conditions.

The 45-bed unit at Kane-Glen Hazel Regional Care Center in Hazelwood provides a nursing home environment while also treating the special emotional and physical needs of patients, including those with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

For people with anxiety or depression, an online therapy can be similarly effective to seeing a mental health professional, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh. The cognitive behavioral therapy program (CBT), called "Beating the Blues," consists of eight one-hour video sessions that teach patients to overcome negative thoughts.

Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary John Wetzel began his criminal justice career in 1989, just as the commonwealth's prison population began to balloon.

It was the beginning of America's mass incarceration era -- one that Wetzel said his office is only now beginning to reverse.