Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As More Treatment Centers Close, Mich. Kids In Crisis Sent Out Of State
Bridge Michigan: Michigan Kids In Mental Health Crisis Sent Out Of State As Facilities Close
Eleanor Middlin was 15 when her family sent her to a Missouri boarding school, an 11-hour drive from her mid-Michigan home. It was the worst thing that ever happened to her. It also saved her life. “I’m alive because of it, and I will never be able to forget it,” Middlin, now 20, told Bridge Michigan. Her experience leaving Michigan for long-term care represents an emerging trend for the state’s youth in severe mental health crises. (Newman and Hermani, 4/6)
The New York Times: Idaho Cut Services For People With Schizophrenia. Then The Deaths Began.
Eliminating outreach to people with severe mental illness set off such a cascade of bad outcomes that Idaho has scrambled to reverse the cuts. (Barry, 4/7)
AP: Single-Session Therapy Can Help Address Gaps In Mental Health Care
Just before the holidays in 2025, Julie Hart felt stuck. A nagging problem she had struggled with for years left her ruminating all day and questioning nearly everything she had ever said, done or could do. She was considering traditional therapy but decided instead to try single-session counseling. Rather than committing to weekly therapy sessions, she would get only 60 minutes to tackle the problem. It worked. “It helped me get unstuck, is how I would describe it, in a very positive, meaningful and effective way,” said Hart, of Springfield, Virginia. (Stumm, 4/5)
NPR: AI Marches Right Into The Mental Health Field, Despite Some Calls For Caution
Artificial intelligence has arrived in the field of mental health. Large health systems and independent therapists alike have begun to adopt different AI tools to manage the delivery of mental health treatment. The speed of the adoption — alongside disturbing incidents of individuals using general-use AI chatbots with catastrophic consequences — is causing some concern among practitioners and researchers. (Chatterjee, 4/7)
EL PAÍS English: How The Loneliness Of Working From Home Can Affect Mental Health: ‘The Lab Coat Mentality Is Dangerous’
If the office is the place where friendships most often arise, people who work remotely, especially freelancers, are the most vulnerable to isolation, with all that this implies for their wellbeing. (Rey, 4/4)
The Guardian: Scientists Identify ‘Neural Fingerprint’ Of Psychedelic Drugs In The Brain
Scientists have identified a hallmark signature produced by psychedelic drugs in the human brain when users experience their mind-altering effects. The “neural fingerprint” of the psychedelic trip was spotted among hundreds of brain scans of people on LSD, psilocybin, DMT, mescaline and ayahuasca, pointing to a shared impact on the brain’s behaviour. (Sample, 4/6)
CNN: ‘Passive’ Screen Time May Raise Dementia Risk. How To Protect Your Brain
It’s not just how much time you spend sitting, but what you’re doing while sitting that may affect your health. Watching television and other “mentally passive” sedentary behaviors are linked to a higher risk of developing dementia, while more mentally engaging activities such as crossword puzzles appear to offer some protection, according to a new study. (Hetter, 4/6)
