Mental Health and Illness

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Many diseases, injuries, and maladies are associated with psychological or physical impairment that affect mental health. RAND research covers a broad range of mental health and illness topics, including autism spectrum disorders, teen depression, disparities in mental health care, and post-traumatic stress (PTSD) among military veterans and survivors of natural disasters.

  • Essay

    Mental Health First Aid: Training People to Help Others

    An innovative program trains and empowers people to not look away from those experiencing mental illness, but to listen to them, reassure them, and encourage them to get help. Most trainees of the program in New York City were still using what they had learned five years later.

    May 3, 2023

  • Commentary

    Intelligence Work Is Exciting. And Traumatizing

    The intelligence community needs to communicate to its workforce about the varied forms of trauma, how it affects individuals, and what resources exist to help. Protecting the intelligence workforce can help protect us all.

    Nov 30, 2022

Explore Mental Health and Illness

  • Man at a barber shop getting a haircut

    Announcement

    Community Partners in Care Receives Accolade

    Community Partners in Care, a partnership that uses a unique approach to improve depression care in under-resourced communities, has received the 2015 Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Award.

    Jun 10, 2015

  • Man wearing camouflage using a laptop

    Commentary

    Social Media as a Tool for Reaching Veterans in Need of Mental Health Care

    Reaching veterans to learn more about their mental health care seeking poses a conundrum. They are typically recruited for studies in clinical settings, so those who are not seeking care are not represented. Facebook may be a viable method to reach them.

    Jun 9, 2015

  • The Midnight Mission shelter on skid row before a Veterans Day observance for homeless veterans in Los Angeles, California, November 11, 2013

    Commentary

    Veterans Battle Mental Health Issues After Iraq and Afghanistan

    Researchers have made great progress capturing the consequences of coping with injuries sustained in the theater of war, but the emerging picture is shadowed in grays. A series of recent findings presents a bleak portrait of the cost of modern war to service members, their families, and their health care providers.

    Jun 4, 2015

  • News Release

    News Release

    Prop. 63 Suicide Prevention Investment Will Save Lives and Dollars; California Suicide Prevention Programs Have Broad ...

    A mass media campaign intended to help prevent suicides in California is reaching a majority of the state's adults and appears to be increasing their confidence about how to intervene with those at risk. In addition, an assessment of a companion suicide prevention program finds that the long-term impact could be the prevention of at least 140 deaths and 3,600 suicide attempts per year over the next three decades.

    May 18, 2015

  • Soldiers from the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment catch a few winks before jumping over North Carolina during a training exercise

    Commentary

    U.S. Soldiers Denied Sleep Suffer Major Health Effects

    More than 60 percent of service members don't get the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep per night. About a third get by on five hours or less. The military, and society at large, needs to recognize the importance of sleep as a crucial link to physical and mental well-being.

    May 11, 2015

  • News Release

    News Release

    Online Training Can Teach Psychotherapists Evidence-Based Treatments

    Psychotherapy treatments can lag years behind what research has shown to be effective because there simply are not enough clinicians trained in new methods. But online training programs can be as successful as in-person instruction for teaching psychotherapists how to use newer evidence-based treatments.

    May 5, 2015

  • San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland signals a first down after an interception against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, November 16, 2014

    Commentary

    Traumatic Brain Injury Isn't Just an NFL Problem

    Chris Borland retired early out of concern for his long-term mental and emotional health as a result of football's well-documented link to traumatic brain injury. Hopefully, his bold move will lead to better prevention and treatment of brain trauma in football, but it is also an issue for young athletes, military veterans, and others.

    Apr 30, 2015

  • News Release

    News Release

    Most California Residents Facing Psychological Distress Do Not See the Public as Supportive and Report Discrimination

    In a survey of California residents facing psychological distress, only 41 percent believe that people are caring and sympathetic to those with mental illnesses, and 81 percent believe that people with mental illness experience high levels of prejudice and discrimination, both in personal relationships and in public realms such as the workplace.

    Apr 23, 2015

  • News Release

    News Release

    Sleep Problems Prevalent for Military Members Post-Deployment

    Improving the quality and quantity of U.S. military members' sleep following deployment could help reduce other health problems, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, a lack of consistent and transparent sleep-related policies may impede efforts to promote sleep health among service members.

    Apr 6, 2015

  • An Imam recites verses from the Koran through a megaphone in an effort to 'heal' patients with mental health problems in Mogadishu, Somalia

    Commentary

    Mental Health Care in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

    Depression is the leading cause of disability throughout the world and is especially prevalent among low-income African countries, where 75 percent of the people who suffer from mental illness do not have easy access to the mental health care they need.

    Mar 10, 2015

  • Kayla Williams, outside the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington, Virginia

    Q&A

    From Combat to Caregiving: Q&A with Kayla Williams

    Kayla Williams talks about being a female soldier and the spouse of a wounded warrior, why veterans aren't broken and caregivers aren't saints, and more.

    Mar 6, 2015

  • News Release

    News Release

    California Mental Health Prevention Effort Is Showing Positive Early Results

    An effort to improve mental health prevention and early intervention in California is showing positive early results for programs targeted at reducing stigma and discrimination, educating the public about suicide prevention, and improving the mental health of students.

    Feb 24, 2015

  • Couple getting counseling

    Commentary

    Putting UK Mental Health Services on the Road to Recovery

    If mental health problems are the most significant barrier preventing people on benefits from taking up employment, then why not transform how the system supports them? Policymakers could redirect some of the resources available to the benefit system towards improving mental health outcomes, and put more evidence-based interventions in place. The savings to the benefit system should logically pay for this investment.

    Feb 20, 2015

  • News Release

    News Release

    Options and Issues Regarding Marijuana Legalization in Vermont

    If Vermont chooses to remove its prohibition on producing and selling marijuana, lawmakers will have many choices to make about who will supply it, who can buy it, if and how it will be taxed, and how it will be regulated. There are pros and cons to all policy options as well as uncertainty about how different forms of legalization will affect public health and safety.

    Jan 16, 2015

  • A physical therapist greeting a patient in a hospital rehab gym

    Commentary

    Military Turns to Collaborative Care to Treat PTSD, Depression

    Collaborative care has been an important part of Army efforts to reach out to those struggling with PTSD and depression. It has brought a science-based solution to an essential military problem and has helped thousands of men and women in uniform in ways that also nudge the larger mental health system toward greater effectiveness for all Americans.

    Nov 19, 2014

  • News Release

    News Release

    Community-Based Mental Health Providers Need More Preparation to Better Care for Veterans

    Most community-based mental health providers are not well prepared to take care of the special needs of military veterans and their families. A national survey of mental health providers found that few providers met criteria for military cultural competency or used evidence-based approaches to treat problems commonly seen among veterans.

    Nov 12, 2014

  • Two U.S. soldiers with sunglasses

    Commentary

    Compromised Confidentiality in the Military Is Harmful

    Mental health stigma exists across American society, but the problem in the military is fundamentally different. It boils down to the jarring and institutionalized military failure to place adequate boundaries between the workplace and the therapist's office.

    Oct 27, 2014

  • News Release

    News Release

    U.S. Military Making Progress on Reducing Stigma Associated with Seeking Help For Mental Illness

    Despite efforts of both the U.S. Department of Defense and the Veterans Health Administration to enhance mental health services, many service members still do not seek needed care. Defense officials have made a concerted effort to promote treatment as a way to reduce stigma.

    Sep 30, 2014

  • News Release

    News Release

    Type of Therapy Kids Receive for ADHD Depends on Where They Live

    Less than a quarter of commercially-insured U.S. children prescribed ADHD drugs received any talk therapy in the same year they received medication, and the percentage is far lower in many parts of the country.

    Sep 22, 2014

  • News Release

    News Release

    Private Effort to Address Veterans' Mental Health Needs Could Aid VA Health Care Reform

    A unique partnership to support private efforts to provide mental health services to veterans and their families could provide a model for similar efforts should federal officials decide to expand privately provided health care as part of reform of the VA health system.

    Sep 18, 2014