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Navigating the Digital Minefield: Cyberbullying, Catfishing, and Vulnerability Among Neurodivergent Populations
Sometimes, I think about the 90s when I was in elementary school, and I’m glad that tablets and smartphones were not yet in the world. I had faced a significant amount of bullying in person, but being bullied online can be a different kind of struggle. Cyberbullying is just as prevalent as...
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Biden-Harris Administration Launches National Behavioral Health Workforce Career Navigator
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced on November 13 the launch of the Behavioral Health Workforce Career Navigator, designed to help current and aspiring behavioral health...
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Behavioral Health Equity: Responding to the Needs of Our Nation’s Veterans
On Veterans Day, we take time to honor former service members for their willingness to make sacrifices for our nation. Support for all our nation’s Veterans is a prominent component of the wide-ranging services provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). An...
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Implantable Device Reverses Opioid Overdose in Animals
An implantable device detected opioid overdose and automatically administered naloxone, saving lives in rat and pig models. The device hasn’t yet been tested in people. If successful, it might also be adapted to treat other emergencies, such as life-threatening allergic...
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Gender Perspectives on Hazing: Understanding Mental Health Outcomes
The heartbreaking deaths of Tim Piazza and Kristin High underscore the deadly risks of fraternity and sorority hazing, revealing how gendered practices in hazing not only differ but also lead to distinct psychological and physical consequences. Nineteen-year-old Tim Piazza, a student at Penn State,...
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Beyond the Locker Room: Unmasking Hazing in the Military, Workplaces, and Sports Teams
Danny Chen's Story Danny Chen, a 19-year-old Army private from New York, died by suicide on October 3, 2011, while deployed in Afghanistan. His death followed hazing and racial bullying from fellow soldiers. Being of Chinese descent, Chen endured racial slurs like “gook" and “chink,” along...
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Integrating Behavioral Health into Primary Care: A Step Towards Holistic and Equitable Patient Care
Nearly 60 million U.S. adults live with a behavioral health condition that requires medical assistance, yet stigma, socioeconomic factors, and navigational challenges caused by a fragmented healthcare system are all barriers to care. However, there is a systemic change that could dynamically...
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Revolutionizing Behavioral Health Through Technology and AI: The Promise of Personalized Care
The behavioral health field is at a moment when old models of care, and associated delivery mechanisms, are insufficient at meeting the ever-increasing demand for services, especially as it concerns a need for more personalized care choices. At the same time, the field is undergoing remarkable...
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Future-Ready Social Work: Preparing the Workforce for Tomorrow’s Challenges
The mental and behavioral health fields are undergoing a massive change in how care is delivered, mainly due to technological advances like telehealth, AI/ML, wearables, and more sophisticated predictive modeling, to name a few. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, over 10,000 behavioral health apps have...
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Technology is Always Evolving – So Should Our Approach to Youth Mental Health
From smartphones and watches to social media platforms, the world we live in today is much different than the one from twenty or even ten years ago. Technology continues to grow at a rapid pace as do the impacts these new devices are having on our mental wellbeing. Specifically, we are...
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BI Before AI: CBC’s Journey to Develop a Comprehensive In-House Business Intelligence Platform From Which to Launch AI Projects
Integrated-whole-person care requires integrated-whole-person data, yet most healthcare data is scattered across disparate sources. Even when behavioral health organizations and Independent Practice Associations (IPAs) make large financial investments into data platforms and the IT resources to...
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Smart and Ethical Recovery: AI in Addiction Treatment
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can potentially revolutionize Addiction Treatment. This complimentary technology can aid clinicians and organizations by personalizing interventions and treatments, generating predictive analytics, aiding clinicians in optimizing workflows, and even reaching patients...
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AI in Health Insurance: Ensuring Accountability and Oversight in an Evolving Landscape
One might say Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a double-edged sword. It has already proven helpful in streamlining and automating repetitive tasks in many areas of daily life. Yet, AI is also full of risks and dangers when not appropriately balanced with human supervision. In October 2023,...
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How New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center Uses Data Analytics to Expand Access and Improve Behavioral Healthcare for Underserved Communities
The ongoing mental health crisis, exacerbated by widespread staff shortages across behavioral health providers, has highlighted the urgent need for accessible, high-quality mental health services, especially in underserved urban communities. In New York City, organizations like New York...
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Digital Technologies Hold Promise for Behavioral Health Service Providers and Recipients
Our healthcare and social welfare systems face grave challenges amid an unprecedented demand for services. The acute economic instability of recent years, environmental degradation attributable to global climate change, and chronic sociopolitical upheaval have compromised public health and...
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Empowering Patients through Accessible Electronic Health Records: Benefits and Challenges
The integration of digital technology in healthcare has ushered in a new era of patient empowerment, providing an unprecedented level of engagement and autonomy in managing one’s health by enabling easier access to electronic health records (EHRs). This transformation has significantly altered...
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AI’s Next Target: Clinician Burnout
Artificial intelligence threatens to disrupt work as we know it, displacing great swaths of the workforce with language models and artificial neural networks that perform least as well as humans. Although that frightens healthcare workers, many are burning out and looking for relief. AI might be...
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Using Big Data Analytics to Predict and Prevent Mental Health Crises
In recent years, mental health crises and suicide rates have surged across America. This concerning trend spans demographics, with 11.5% of youth (over 2.7 million people) reporting severe major depression and 20.78% of adults (over 50 million people) facing some form of mental illness. The...
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The Benefits of Robotics and AI for Children and Behavioral Health
As children grapple with increasing levels of anxiety and stress, teachers have struggled to cater to diverse learning needs in overcrowded classrooms, and clinicians are experiencing an overwhelming caseload. Robotics and artificial intelligence have the potential to transform child development in...
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How Artificial Intelligence Can Help Combat Addiction
Substance use disorder is a worldwide problem. A report by the Addiction Center shows that in the United States, more than 21 million people have a substance use disorder. Another report by the National Drug Control Budget highlights that the government spends more than $44.5 billion dollars...
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Using Technology to Personalize Behavioral Health Treatments
It’s no surprise that behavioral health providers are exploring how technology and artificial intelligence (AI) can improve patient care and support clinicians. Issues like burnout, the nationwide shortage of clinicians, and administrative burdens can be (at least) partially addressed by new...
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The Long-Term Psychological Effects of Hazing and How We Can Prevent Them
Danny Santulli, an 18-year-old college freshman, was a victim of a hazing incident in 2021. During a fraternity hazing ritual at the University of Missouri, he was forced to drink excessive amounts of alcohol, resulting in alcohol poisoning and brain damage. Danny was left unable to speak, walk, or...
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CDC Report: Why Schools Are Crucial for Youth Suicide Prevention
Our schools have the power to be one of the strongest allies in protecting the mental health of our youth. With growing concerns about suicide prevention, the latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report from the CDC underscores the urgent need for proactive measures. Schools...
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How to Allow Your Kids to Stay Connected and Protected: Strategies for Healthy Social Media Use in Schools and Homes
Over the last few years, as my boys became adolescents and entered high school (right smack in the middle of the COVID pandemic), as a parent and a psychiatrist, I have witnessed firsthand the impact of smartphones and social media. There has been a flurry of articles on this topic as well...
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Empowering Care: Leveraging AI in Helplines and Telehealth
“I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” (2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968) “I’m going to enjoy watching you die, Mr. Anderson.” (The Matrix, 1999) “I’ll be back!” (The Terminator, 1984) Our cultural imagination is packed with images of terrifying,...
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Breaking Down Barriers to Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment Through Digital Innovation
While the rise of the sober curious movement and the growing availability of non-alcoholic options signal a shift away from drinking, alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains prevalent. At the same time, substance use disorder (SUD) affects over 46 million people aged 12 and older, according to the 2021...
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The Importance of Real-Time Data in Tailored Patient Treatment and Integrating Traditional Wellness Practices in Modern Substance Abuse Therapy
In the ever-evolving field of mental health and substance abuse therapy, utilizing real-time data to tailor patient treatment is becoming increasingly crucial. Real-time data allows healthcare providers to monitor and adjust treatment plans promptly based on the latest information, leading to more...
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Enhancing Therapeutic Conversations with Sentiment Analysis in Natural Language Processing
Therapy can greatly enhance an individual’s ability to communicate effectively during challenging times. Therapeutic discussions are essential in mental health care. They play a crucial role in mental health treatment by enabling patients to delve into their emotions, past traumas, and life...
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Colorado Reforms Seek to Expand, Strengthen the Behavioral Health Safety Net
July of 2024 brought new laws impacting Colorado’s behavioral health system. While Colorado has continuously made some improvements and investments in behavioral health programs, the fundamental definitions of safety net services and providers were more than 60 years old. New Colorado reform laws...
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A Decade of Advancements in Behavioral Health Technology for Pennsylvania Students
The year was 2014, and Drexel University, where I was working at the time, partnered with Pennsylvania’s Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) in submitting and being awarded a 5-year, $736,000 annually Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) grant for youth suicide prevention. Our...
