Archive for the ‘Schizophrenia’ Category

I Wish My Brother Had Been Diagnosed With Schizophrenia Before He Turned 18

Do you ever walk past a person on the streets exhibiting mental health issues and wonder what happened to their family? I have a brother—or at least, I used to. I worry about where he is and hope he is safe. He hasn’t taken my call since 2014. When I was 13, I had a very bad day. I was...

We’re in a Mental Health Crisis. Why Do We Refuse to Help People with Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia?

90% of our country believes we are facing a mental health crisis.1 And whenever there is a tragic incident in New York City, our City and State say that yet another person with schizophrenia has fallen through the cracks.2 We have a solution staring us in the face which can help alleviate...

Young Men at Highest Risk of Schizophrenia Linked with Cannabis Use Disorder

Young men with cannabis (marijuana) use disorder have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia, according to a study led by researchers at the Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Denmark and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health. The...

Outcome of Schizophrenia in Later Life: Conceptual Changes and Implications for Treatment and Policy

In tandem with the greying of the general population, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of older adults with schizophrenia (OAS). Since 2000, there has been a doubling of persons aged 55 and over with schizophrenia and they now comprise about one-fourth of all persons with...

OnTrackNY: An Early Intervention Program to Interrupt Psychosis

A year ago, 21-year-old Christine* started hearing voices saying terrible things about her. She wondered “why doesn’t anyone around me admit to hearing them?” And now people have started to spy on her, through her phone. Her parents were upset that she wasn’t able to contribute to the...

The NYSPA Report: Mental Health and the Geriatric Population

I am pleased to share with you an interview we conducted with Dilip Jeste, MD, Professor, Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. He is also a past President of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Scientific...

Treating Psychosis Patients Early and Comprehensively Has Resulted in Improved Outcomes

An interview with Patrick McGorry, MD, PhD, FRCP, FRANCZP, Professor of Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Australia; Executive Director, Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health; 2015 Lieber Prizewinner; 1998 Distinguished Investigator Anew approach to...

Testing a Simple Strategy to Prevent Schizophrenia via Dietary Supplements

An interview with Robert Freedman, MD, Chair of Psychiatry, University of Colorado; Editor-in-Chief, The American Journal of Psychiatry, and Member of the Foundation’s Scientific Council; 2015 Lieber Prize for Outstanding Schizophrenia Research; 2006, 1999 Distinguished Investigator At what...

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation: A Personal Perspective

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) is unraveling the many mysteries of mental illness, autism spectrum disorders, and many other diseases and disorders of the brain. I would like to thank Dr. Jeffery Borenstein and his team at BBRF for their help in bringing our salute to their...

Ascent into Love: Surviving Schizophrenia

Every person needs to be touched, supported and nurtured by the environment in which they live in order to grow. The earth’s immense force of gravity, whether physical or psychological, is too much for us to bear alone. Each of us takes a turn at holding each other’s weight, much like the spine...