Let’s face it; we just don’t like the word “tax”, do we? Such a brouhaha, such a fuss. But let’s just take a break from the group hysteria to look at the carbon tax from a few different points of view…
Better understanding of sibling risk will lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment.
Flickr/kmakice
A study published overnight in the journal Paediatrics shows the siblings of autistic children have a much higher risk of autism than previously thought. Nicole Rinehart, clinical psychologist and Associate…
Since the 1960s, the number of hospital beds for treating people with mental illnesses has declined dramatically in most OECD countries. Australia has been among the most assiduous in implementing reform…
Young men whose partners experienced abortion or miscarriage were twice as likely to have depression than men who reported their partner had never been pregnant.
Flickr/Jason Pier in DC
Young men whose partners have had an abortion or miscarriage are twice as likely to develop depression than those whose partners have never been pregnant, a new study has found. While previous studies…
Women who are raped, sexually assaulted, bashed by a partner or stalked are much more likely to develop mental health problems than women who do not experience gender-based violence, a study has found…
The Commonwealth Ombudsman yesterday launched an investigation into rising rates of self-harm among detainees of Australia’s immigration detention centres, after it emerged that 50 instances of cutting…
Brain function in people with schizophrenia improves after 20 minutes of being subjected to very mild, painless electrical current to the brain through electrodes on the scalp, a study found.
Flickr/lessherger
Around 20 minutes of tiny electric shocks to the scalp may improve brain function in schizophrenia patients, a study has found. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) involves passing a mild, painless…
Trauma and adversity during early development can embed neuro-vulnerability in children.
apdk/Flickr
The last Federal Government budget announcement revealed funds dedicated to “early intervention” mental health services for youth. But whether this intervention takes place in a timely manner for optimal…
Convicted killer Arthur Freeman is led away from the Supreme Court in Melbourne.
AAP
Arthur Freeman’s involvement in an altercation in Victoria’s Barwon prison this week has again highlighted the fraught issue of how we deal with offenders who commit crimes that many of us assume could…
Almost a third of professional musicians regularly take medication to manage their performance anxiety.
Flickr/kronik
“One of the most exhilarating experiences I know of is performing in public, especially when there is a magnificent piano under my fingers, great music in my head, and the feeling that there are no technical…
Research on mice has found that long-term exposure to air pollution can lead to physical changes in the brain, depression…
More studies are needed to conclude that early treatment provides long term benefits for sufferers of psychosis, a major literature review has found.
Flickr/Arturo Sotillo
Early intervention mental health policies may be gaining favour in Australia, Europe and the U.S. but there is limited evidence to show they help sufferers of psychosis in the longer term, a major literature…
Sadly, there’s no magic button to stop excessive gambling.
Mick Tsikas/AAPimage
GAMBLING IN AUSTRALIA – Why do some people develop gambling addictions while others can dabble for years at the pokies or the track without issue? The Productivity Commission’s 2010 report on gambling…
Premature or low birth weight babies are more likely to suffer from anxiety and mood disorders later in life, according to…
By observing how the brain lights up in stressful situations, scientists have found city-dwellers are more sensitive to stress than their country cousins.
Flickr
As if any further proof were needed that traffic jams and overcrowding make us anxious, scientists have concluded that city-dwellers are more sensitive to stress than country folk. Urban environments have…
There is an association between poor mental health and health risk factors for diabetes such as physical inactivity, poor diet, smoking and obesity, the report said.
Flickr
More than 40% of Australian adult diabetics also experience mental health problems, according to a report released by the government’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). More than 800,000…
Australia needs to reassess where it stands on mental health.
Flickr/knicolai
Even a cursory glance at Australia’s mental health system indicates shortcomings in the provision of a range of services to people with mental impairments. Since 1993, when the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity…
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary