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It's been three years since a gunman forced his way into a Newtown, Conn., elementary school and killed 20 young children and six staff members before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life as police responded to the scene. The shootings were a catalyst for discussions that continue today about schools' responsibility to keep students safe. For many educators, those discussions have led to a broader understanding of what safety means for students—both physically and...

There are very few things considered more taboo in the world of mental health than the suggestion that problematic family dynamics can lead to a child developing a psychotic disorder. And yet, when we look honestly at the history and research of psychosis and the broader concept of “mental illness,” it becomes apparent that there are few subjects in the mental health field that are more important. I’d like to invite you, then, to join me on a journey into this taboo...

Michael was not in New York on September 11, 2001. But for years afterwards, when an elevator opened at work, he would imagine people on fire rushing out, their screams filling the lobby. When he closed his eyes, he would sometimes see limbs trapped in rubble, unattended by their bodies. He was plagued by moments of violence and destruction that he had not witnessed. On sleepless nights, he would wander the streets of his neighborhood, trying to exorcise other people’s demons. Michael,...

In response to rising rates of depression among students and increased demand for therapy, many American universities have been ramping up their mental-health services . These colleges surely want to take care of their students, but it has other benefits too: Mental-health disorders can hinder educational outcomes, lowering grades, delaying students’ graduations, and causing students to drop out. So, as with a lot of other things involving higher education, some colleges are finding...

If one of my children were a drug addict, what would I want for him? I would want what any parent would: for his addiction to be treated as a health problem, not a criminal matter, and for him to have every kind of help possible to get him off drugs. Until that happened, I would want him to be able to manage his addiction and live a normal life by taking methadone or another substitute opioid. And until that happened, for him to stay as safe as possible from overdosing, developing H.I.V., or...

California is overhauling its substance abuse treatment system for low-income people, embarking on a massive experiment to create a smoother path for addicts from detox through recovery. The state is the first to receive federal permission to revamp drug and alcohol treatment for beneficiaries of Medicaid, known as Medi-Cal in California. Through what's known as a drug waiver, state officials will have new spending flexibility as they try to help people get sober and reduce social and...

Welcome to RWJF's Pioneering Ideaspodcasta podcast for people interested in exploring cutting-edge ideas and emerging trends. We seek to inspire new thinking, spark aha! moments and cultivate rich, ongoing conversations. Join us each episode as we talk with visionary thinkers in and outside of health care and discover together new ways to build a Culture of Health. [For more go tohttp://www.rwjf.org/en/library/collections/pioneering-ideas-podcast.html]

America’s middle class has been steadily shrinking since 1971, and now this segment of the U.S. population is around the same size as the layers above and below it combined, a new analysis by Pew Research Center finds. It’s “a demographic shift that could signal a tipping point,” Pew says. Pew Research Center In 2015, middle-income Americans (adults in a three-person household with annual income between $42,000 and $126,000) made up about half of the U.S.

After a year of news stories that produced photos that can often be difficult or disturbing to view, I thought I’d take the time to compose an essay of uplifting images from the past year. The following are images of volunteers at work, expressions of love and compassion, families and friends at play, and assistance being given to those in need. Alternate titles considered were “The Good Side of 2015,” “The Better Angels of Our Nature,” or simply “News...

Well, it’s that time of year again. The most difficult period for you if you belong to an emotionally neglectful family. So what is Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN)? And now that you’re an adult, how can you tell if your family has it? Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN): When parents fail to respond sufficiently to the child’s emotional needs. CEN can be extremely invisible, subtle and unmemorable when it happens to you as a child. You may not remember it...

Three days before his release from the Barnstable County Correctional Facility, Ryan Lonergan received a powerful injection, intended to change his life. He took the shot willingly, because he knew that for 28 days afterward, the drug, Vivitrol, would make it impossible to get high on the Percocet that had been his life’s downfall. Now, Lonergan would not have to decide each day whether to use drugs. Vivitrol made the decision for him, and cleared a path to recovery. [For more of this...

As a publication that wonders why people do what they do, we write a lot about self-control here at Pacific Standard.Here's what we know: Self-control is greatly influenced by emotions ; conservatives may have more of it; and reminding kids about goals can help them learn it . Now, researchers have found a new piece to the self-control puzzle: According to a forthcoming study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, humility—the ability to tolerate failures without...