Individuals of all ages can be anxious about needles, although this fear is particularly prevalent among children. Distraction tools, such as toys, can help reduce feelings of anxiety and pain among infants undergoing needle-based procedures. And now, new research finds that virtual reality (VR) devices may be an even more effective distraction aid, leading to greater positive outcomes.

Nevada ranks 51st in access to mental healthcare in the U.S. Despite this grim statistic, Rochelle Hines, who holds a PhD in neuroscience — as does her partner Dustin Hines — sees promise in the state’s burgeoning institutions, such as the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Clark County Children’s Mental Health Consortium, and UNLV. “It’s just figuring out how we can better support these institutions and connect them even more with our communities… and also remove barriers to access,” Rochelle says. “If a patient really wants to try an innovative therapy, you have to look at the barriers that might be preventing them from being able to access that.”

Nevada ranks 51st in access to mental healthcare in the U.S. Despite this grim statistic, Rochelle Hines, who holds a PhD in neuroscience — as does her partner Dustin Hines — sees promise in the state’s burgeoning institutions, such as the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Clark County Children’s Mental Health Consortium, and UNLV. “It’s just figuring out how we can better support these institutions and connect them even more with our communities… and also remove barriers to access,” Rochelle says. “If a patient really wants to try an innovative therapy, you have to look at the barriers that might be preventing them from being able to access that.”

“It started in sixth grade: First, it was a stomachache. Then it was problems with other kids.” That’s how a New York City mom (who requested anonymity) recalls the start of her daughter’s descent in what’s known among mental health professionals as “school refusal” — or “anxiety-based school absenteeism,” according to the country’s pioneering expert in the field, psychologist Christopher Kearney.

Depression is a mental thief that can steal joy, hope, motivation and, in worst-case scenarios, the will to live. For decades, doctors and pharmaceutical companies have implicated serotonin deficiency as depression's primary cause, pushing serotonin-modulating medications as a first-line treatment. And yet the evidence in support of the so-called serotonin hypothesis—or the efficacy of serotonin-modulating drugs—is paltry, at best.

A mental health resource born in the pandemic is on a mission to help those with what's believed to be an undiagnosed disorder.

It remains to be seen whether U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose divorce from Perry Greene was finalized in December, plans to keep the last name she's become so closely associated with.

Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the United States, Brad Donohue, BA, Ph.D., has been appointed to the British & Irish Boxing Authority (BIBA) Medical Advisory Board.

Some people say their thought takes place in images, some in words. But our mental processes are more mysterious than we realize.

Psychosocial stress is different from other forms of stress, such as physiological stress, because it arises from our interactions with others. This form of stress results from an imbalance between threatening experiences in our daily lives and our ability to handle them emotionally.

Stress. Anxiety. Depression. Consider them the least-wanted gifts of the holiday season. For some unfortunate revelers, they arrive with the Christmas season as surely as carolers, jammed stores and growing credit card balances. However, area therapists say there are a few strategies that can help stem the sometimes negative emotional effects of the period from Christmas to New Year’s.

Have you ever come home from dropping your child at school, and realize that their room is a mess—even though you just asked them to clean up? If your children are like mine, they might simply say they "forgot." Children certainly remember to eat their dessert or play on their tablet—but what about clearing their plates into the trash or plugging their devices back in for the night?