Blog

The human mind is one of the most complex structures in the universe. Even in early infancy, it is capable of taking in a wide variety of inputs. Still, in our early years, we’ve only unlocked a small portion of its potential. Our brains actually continue to develop into our twenties . Accordingly, the U.S. Government embraces a definition of youth that continues until we turn 25. Nurturing the development of young minds to stay healthy through adulthood is a primary goal of SAMHSA’s Project...

New research has discovered that a damaging chemical imbalance in the brain may contribute to schizophrenia . Using a new kind of MRI measurement, neuroscientists reported higher levels of oxidative stress in patients with schizophrenia, when compared both to healthy individuals and those with bipolar disorder. “Intensive energy demands on brain cells leads to accumulation of highly reactive oxygen species, such as free radicals and hydrogen peroxide,” said the study’s lead investigator, Dr.

The Flatlands Family Residence is a shelter for homeless families that sits near the end of a subway line in Brooklyn next to a truck depot and across the street from an industrial air-conditioning business. Drawings made by the children who live there are are taped on the walls of a hallway that extends past a metal detector manned by security guards. Those children include Diana Duncan’s four kids, who sleep on bunk beds and often do their homework at a small table in the kitchen. The...

Recently, the topic of corporal punishment in schools has come up again. This time, the topic has bubbled up thanks to a letter sent on November 22 by U.S. Education Secretary John B. King Jr. . In his letter, Secretary King urged state officials to end the use of corporal punishment, like spanking, in schools. While King’s letter may be recent, this discussion is not. Almost 15 years ago, our Board of Directors adopted a resolution calling for the banning of corporal punishment in schools.

Clarence Barnham is a soft-spoken 53-year-old man with a wheezy voice and bright, twinkling eyes. He’s struggled with drug addiction and mental illness for over a decade, and has a long arrest record because of it. Nearly all of his fourteen convictions have been for drug charges; he’s never been accused of a violent crime and only missed a court date once. It’s not the kind of a criminal history that would seem to indicate that Barnham, who’s lived in West Baltimore his whole life, would be...

We’ve long understood that there’s something fundamentally broken about the United States’ modern economy, from the uneven distribution of net household wealth to the growing disparities in incomes between the 1 percent and everyone else. But new research from three top economists paints an even grimmer picture, by putting to bed one of the biggest myths about one of the most advanced economies on the planet: The American Dream of hard work and equal opportunity is long gone. Research...

People from across sectors filled the conference room on Wilmington University’s Dover Campus, Wednesday, December 7, to hear the findings of the Delaware Household Health Survey Data, which included ACEs data from across Delaware. Dr. Leslie Brower, who chairs Trauma Matters Delaware, opened the briefing by welcoming attendees and thanking partner organizations and funders. DPHI Executive Director Francine Axler and Laurel Jones, DPHI project assistant, presented the findings which included...

As the holidays approach, we often forget there are so many youth who are detained, in placement or simply away from their families. There were 50,821 youth in some type of facility in 2014, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency and Prevention reported. Even though some young people can't be home during the holiday season, they should never feel alone. Many youth-serving agencies provide a celebration and recognition of the holidays in December, due to compassion for all youth and...

“Sometimes he would choke me until I passed out,” -- 16-year-old Alina said

Ten tiny shoes sat in a pile outside the room, and the laughter of children burst through the door as Brianna Schiavoni and her class of children struck a dead bug pose on a Sunday afternoon last month. Some had spent their young lives battling depression, dyslexia and bipolar disorder. But as they contorted their bodies and quieted their minds, their symptoms subsided. In Schiavoni’s eyes, yoga has the power to heal. Through her business, Yoga 4 Youth, the 34-year-old renaissance woman —...

In 2014, 55 U.S. military service members died fighting in Afghanistan. Today, an average of 20 veterans lose their lives every day to suicide, according to a recent report by the Department of Veteran Affairs. We do a spectacular job of providing our citizens with resources they need to keep our country safe. But the moment these brave men and women come home, there is a profound opportunity to better support their adjustment back to civilian life. A recent Morning Consult survey from the...

The U.S. Army’s efforts to come to grips with a dramatic upsurge in war-related behavioral conditions over the past 13 years holds valuable lessons for bringing precision mental health care to the civilian world. Virtually everyone realizes that precision medicine, which aims to tailor care to the individual patient’s needs, is essential. Yet in attempts to bring patient-centered, outcomes-based approaches to health care in recent years, mental health has taken a back seat to other areas of...