The jails aren't overflowing in San Antonio anymore. People with serious mental illnesses have a place to go for treatment and the city has saved $10 million a year on. How did it happen? "You know Brad Pitt in the movie Moneyball?" asks Gilbert...
On Tuesday, I posted syllabi for the two undergraduate anthropology classes I will teach this fall: Evolutionary Perspectives on Gender and Primate Behavior. As the academic year at my college nears its start, I can't help but reflect on the extra...
Back in June, Seattle resident Oscar Perez Giron committed the most minor of crimes, and ended up dead. When fare enforcement officers approached 23-year-old Giron and his two companions on the light rail and asked for proof of fare payment,...
Prisons are filled with people facing mental health challenges, struggles with addiction, a history of trauma, or memories of childhood abuse. The rate of such challenges among prisoners is much higher than in the general population, providing strong...
This 5-minute video, narrated by NCJFCJ President Judge Peggy Walker, depicts a call to action for the legal community to learn as much as possible about brain science to make sure our law and policy are aligned with the focus on the latest...
One of Dawn Schneider’s sons was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation by the time he was four years old. When he reached the age of eight, his condition worsened until its impact created a full-blown family crisis. Even now,...
Devon Sanford’s mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when he was in the eighth grade. After barely finishing at Henry Clay Middle School in South Los Angeles, he never enrolled in high school. He spent what should have been his freshman...
Kentucky recently became the sixth state (joining Arkansas, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Tennessee) to allow pastoral counselors to become licensed mental health counselors. As of now, Kentucky only has 20 licensed pastoral counselors. But...
Chronic, toxic stress such as poverty, neglect and physical abuse can have a lasting impact, according to a study just completed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. One of the co-authors of the study, Sarah Romens, says early childhood stress can...
Sandra G. Hassink, MD, FAAP 2014 President Elect, is giving an address now that is all about ACES, poverty, and toxic stress and the pediatricians role!!! It is all over twitter. I am so excited.
In contrast to evidence that the amygdala stimulates stress responses in adults, researchers at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University have found that the amygdala has an inhibitory effect on stress hormones during the early...
Teenagers who don't get enough sleep may wake up to worse consequences than nodding off during chemistry class. According to new research, risk of being obese by age 21 was 20 percent higher among 16-year-olds who got less than six hours of sleep a...
The report adds to a growing body of evidence of disturbing practices at Rikers Island, the country's second-largest jail complex with 12,000 inmates. The report, which is to be released on Wednesday, comes as the City Council is expected to approve...
...Gun violence is not only the second leading cause of death for American children, behind car accidents, but the leading cause of death for black American children. Black children and teens are twice as likely to be killed by guns as by cars, the...
Rachel Swinehart has commandeered her family's living room in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It's filled with large plastic tubs containing stuff like pink bedding and a coffee maker. Rachel, 18, is about to head off to Shenandoah College, a small arts school in...