Mental health
VA secretary says agency will cooperate with investigation into veterans crisis line
WASHINGTON — Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough sought to defend the veterans crisis line Wednesday in a letter to the Kansas senator who has raised concerns with how some veterans are treated after calling it. McDonough wrote in the three-page letter to Republican U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran that the VA “takes any allegations […]
VA veterans crisis line to face new investigation by congressional watchdog agency
WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office plans to investigate multiple whistleblower allegations of “gross mismanagement” at the Department of Veterans Affairs veterans crisis line, following a request from Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, States Newsroom has learned. Moran, ranking member on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, sent a letter to the VA secretary this week […]
Insurers often shortchange mental health care coverage, despite a federal law
If you or someone you know is in need of help, dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free and confidential support or text HELLO to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line. When she tried to find help for her daughter’s depression, Michelle Romero was frantic, panicked and heartbroken. She searched and searched for […]
Laws banning gender-affirming treatments can block trans youth from receiving other care
In some states, new laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth are dissuading health care providers from offering mental health services and other medical care that isn’t explicitly banned by those laws. In the first few weeks after Mississippi’s law went into effect in February, nurse practitioner Stacie Pace said she was fielding calls and […]
Arkansas’ Boozman urges Senate committee action on new veteran suicide prevention bill
Arkansas U.S. Sen. John Boozman pushed for a more holistic approach to addressing veteran suicide during a Veterans Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday. “I believe that the issue is more complex than just viewing it from a clinical perspective,” the Republican senator told Dr. Matthew Miller, director of the Suicide Prevention Program in the VA Office […]
Understanding epigenetics: how trauma is passed on through our family members
I am a proud Daughter of the Revolution. Growing up in a family of warriors, I saw firsthand how the trauma of active combat impacts individuals. Modern research suggests the trauma our ancestors experienced doesn’t affect them alone — some studies indicate that trauma can be passed down to future generations through genetics. With each […]
Echoing history, reliance upon travel rises for abortion care post-Dobbs
Editor’s note: This report is part of a special States Newsroom series on abortion access one year after the U.S. Supreme Court decision struck down the federal right to abortion. When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Dobbs decision one year ago, people of childbearing age in states across the country suddenly faced what seemed […]
Social media, trauma, hate speech add to youth mental health crisis, U.S. Senate panel told
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators agreed during a hearing Thursday the country’s children are going through a youth mental health crisis, though some of the committee’s members disagreed about what role Congress has to play. Senators detailed a complicated patchwork of issues that contribute to youth mental health challenges, including violence and trauma within schools and […]