Substance abuse in the US is a public health problem that affects many people, including Latinos. Yet, Latinos are less likely than their White peers to get treatment they need. There is a new investigational treatment for substance abuse —the use of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive procedure that uses magnetic pulses to temporarily stimulate areas of the brain. Fortunately, you can make a difference by representing Latinos in the Stimulus Research Study, a clinical trial at UT Health San Antonio and other sites that will help researchers learn if the use of rTMS can help people reduce or stop their cocaine or methamphetamine use. “The rTMS clinical trial and others like it hope to develop and apply new treatments that work for Latinos ...
Children exposed to violence, crime, or abuse still go to school the next day. They may be forced to skip homework, sleep, and breakfast. They may carry the burden of toxic stress that can interfere with their behavior and grades. However, schools are not aware. Fortunately, the “Handle With Care” program enables police to notify school districts when they encounter a child at a traumatic scene, so school personnel and mental health partners can provide appropriate trauma-sensitive interventions. Let’s use #SaludTues on May 3, 2022, to tweet about steps schools, communities, and healthcare professionals can start a Handle With Care program and take steps to become more trauma-sensitive. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “How Schools and Police Can Partner to Support ...
By Jim Morris
Public Health Watch While still jarringly high, U.S. suicide rates fell in 2019 and again in 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month. The year-over-year rate declined by 3 percent overall, falling by 8 percent among women and 2 percent among men. But there were some stark outliers. Notably, suicides among Latino men increased by nearly 6 percent.
What’s Going On?
Plenty, it turns out. Problems that existed before COVID-19 got even worse during the pandemic, health advocates and providers say, including substance abuse, job loss, poor access to care and the stigma of mental illness in the Latino community. “[Latino men] weren’t getting much help to begin with,” said Fredrick Sandoval, executive director of the New ...
To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we honor Dr. Martha Bernal, the first Latina to receive a PhD in psychology in the U.S. Bernal contributed greatly to the field of ethnic minority psychology and inspired many generations to follow her. “Dr. Martha Bernal demonstrated outstanding initiative and dedication to promoting the presence of ethnic minority psychologists in the profession. She provided guidance and inspiration to a wide range and large number of psychologists of color, men and women,” according to Society for the Psychology of Women. In addition to her contributions to the field, Bernal was a fierce advocate for justice and equity. “She was passionate about her ideas, she spoke out effectively against injustice, she maintained high standards of scholarship ...
A new method is emerging to help children heal from trauma – art therapy. More mental health clinics, like the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas, are beginning to use art to help children with the healing process. Mental health professionals hope that art therapy can help children process adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which is growing to be a public health crisis. “Art therapy helps one process emotions and feelings that one is struggling with, so that he or she can begin healing,” said art therapist Savita Jakhar Gandash, according to The Interview Portal. Read about what art therapy is and how Latino children can heal from ACEs and trauma.
What is Art Therapy?
Art therapy is a mental health service that utilizes creativity to help people resolve ...
Dr. Dorothy Long Parma hasn’t had the easiest career path. She’s struggled with depression throughout her time in medical school, residency, and her current work as an assistant professor at the Institute of Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio. Although her depression made it very difficult at times, Long Parma successfully completed her degree and is now an expert health disparities researcher focusing on risk factors for gastric cancer. “I really like working at IHPR. I've worked here as a student, and then as faculty and it's been a great supportive environment. Amelie [Ramirez, the director of IHPR] has always been very understanding about me working at the level that I can work,” Long Parma said.
From the Philippines to Texas for ...
2020 was a difficult year for many reasons. The combination of a deadly pandemic, a racial reckoning about police violence, and economic hardships have placed a heavy toll on many families. New research from America’s Promise Alliance and Research for Action shows how 2020 hurt high schoolers and their ability to thrive in school. They found that Latino youth were among the most impacted by the disruptions of 2020. “Young people are stressed and their mental health is suffering—with disproportionate impacts on young women and nonbinary youth, Latinx students, and youth experiencing food insecurity,” according to the report. Let’s examine how COVID-19 and the resurgence in racial justice activism have impacted high schoolers and the implications for Latino youth ...
Luz Garcini wants to help Latinos heal from the loss of a loved one. “One of the biggest needs that we see in the community right now is that there has been a lot of loss and grief, particularly associated to the loss of loved ones over the current [COVID-19] pandemic, that has not been addressed,” Garcini said. Garcini is a clinical psychologist and epidemiologist. She works as an assistant professor at the Center for Research to Advance Community Health (ReACH) at UT Health San Antonio. To further the study of loss and grief among Latino immigrants, Garcini and her team at ReACH created a monthly webinar series, “Paths: Building Strength in the Face of Loss,” to help Latinos understand grief and build coping skills and strength. She hopes the series will help Latinos ...
With over 30 years of working in mental health and disparities research, Margarita Alegría is what you might call an expert in the field. Alegría is the Chief of the Disparities Research Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor in Harvard Medical School’s departments of medicine and psychiatry. Last summer, she was named Harry G. Lehnert, Jr. and Lucille F. Cyr Lehnert Endowed MGH Research Institute Chair. Alegría has decades worth of experience in studying public health, mental health, substance abuse, and the social determinants of health. She’s conducted countless studies on how to improve the lives of ethnic and racial minority groups and people with disabilities. Now she wants to make her research more accessible to the general public. Alegría ...
