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Mental health disorders are rampant in America’s correctional facilities — in many cases, our prisons and jails are the main providers of mental health treatment in their municipalities. Furthermore, prisons and jails routinely subject people with mental illness to environments that radically exacerbate their condition, often to the point of suicide or self-harm. Why do so...
The Aspen Challenge presents three high school teams from Louisville and one team from Dallas who developed innovative solutions to issues that have chronically impacted their communities. See these young change-makers take to the stage to prove that entrepreneurial community solutions can be created at any age. Learn how Justin F. Kimball and Central High School Magnet Ca...
The lane for healthcare is widening. Well-capitalized retail and technology companies are pushing services out of the clinic and into big-box stores, corner shops, and private homes. While they are out purchasing computers and clothing, shoppers can also schedule their check-ups, dental care, mental health counseling, and X-rays. Meanwhile, tech companies are reaching clie...
More than 14 million Americans live with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, yet the availability of urgently needed treatment is completely inadequate. In Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health, author Thomas Insel offers a pathway towards wellness built around what he calls the three Ps—people, place, and purpose. A psychi...
Lisa Damour is a clinical psychologist, author, and a senior advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University. We caught up with her about how psychologists understand mental health and solicited her advice on how parents can encourage healthy social media use for their teens.
Meet Patience Lee, a 2023 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellow who’s building cultural awareness into mental health support services for unaccompanied refugee children in the United States.
NBA star Kevin Love gets real about depression and mental health during the coronavirus pandemic.
In America, millions of people struggle with mental health including depression, anxiety, and more — all further exacerbated by living through a pandemic. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that one in five adults experience mental illness each year, but despite how common it is, mental health is still surrounded by stigma and shame. Our experts are candid abo...
There’s a mental health crisis plaguing America’s youth. The last decade saw major increases in adolescents who reported having a depressive episode, and “serious loneliness” affected a majority of young adults—and the global pandemic has likely worsened these conditions. The stats are staggering, but we need to do more than just talk about them, and come together as paren...
Earlier this year, two gifted NBA stars, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers and DeMar DeRozan of the San Antonio Spurs, each publicly discussed their challenges with mental and emotional well-being. Their honesty started a national conversation about breaking through the stigma and fear of openly discussing mental health issues in professional sports. In this very perso...
As the nation’s top doctor, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy helps to advance the health and well-being of all Americans. He has described the growing youth mental health crisis in America as the “defining public health crisis of our time” and warned that social media carries a “profound risk of harm to the mental health of children and adolescents.” Murthy has also highlig...
Mental-health and substance-use disorders — arguably more prevalent than ever during the pandemic — are a leading cause of disability globally. So it’s no wonder the clinical use of psychedelic drugs to help treat psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD, is fueling a research renaissance. Even Wall Street is taking notice: Three psychedelic drug dev...
Watch select daily livestreams and join the virtual #AspenIdeasHealth conversation from June 21-24!
US Surgeon General Jerome Adams on national health crises, gun violence, and mental health.
Our children are in crisis. Globally, one in seven children, ages 10-19, has some kind of mental illness, notably depression, anxiety, or behavioral disorders. Horrifically, almost 19% of US high school students have given serious thought to suicide and an astonishing 9% have actually tried to kill themselves. To turn back that kind of despair, we need to listen to young p...
The trauma associated with natural disasters, refugee flight, teenage bullying, or gun violence can endure for a lifetime if appropriate mental health services are not provided. Just as we don’t wait for a wound to become infected before providing treatment, so too we must act quickly to curb emotional damage before it festers. Models of mental health first aid training sh...
Today’s kids are facing a mental health crisis unlike any before them, with rates of severe loneliness, anxiety, and depressive episodes reaching new heights. It’s an urgent concern with far-reaching impacts, especially for those in historically marginalized communities who too often do not have access to the help they need. How can organizations leverage their scale to ma...
What does the latest in neuroscience tell us about human health and consciousness? Aspen Ideas Festival speakers explore how biology is being integrated with technology in unprecedented ways; the science of creativity; nervous system hacks for better living; and tips for navigating mental health when our minds work against us.
Health workers often face grueling working conditions. They regularly confront trauma, work long hours, are exposed to physical danger, and must keep pace with the demands of a rapidly-evolving health care system. The COVID-19 pandemic has only magnified these challenges, leaving many workers burnt out. Learn how we can we better support those who care for us, from trainin...