Support Our Work

Please donate so we can continue our work to reduce the stigma of psychiatric illness, encourage research, and support educational activities for behavioral health professionals and the public. Ways you can donate and help are on our Support and Donations page. Thank you!

More Info

Latest News Around the Web

Survivors Of Disasters, Violent Events May Develop Mental Health Problems Years Later, Review Finds

HealthDay (2/26, Thompson) reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of 71 studies found that “disasters and violent events echo in the minds of people for years afterward, contributing to mental illness that can surface as much as a decade later.” According to researchers, “more than 1 in 5 survivors (22%) will develop a mental health problem after living through their ordeal.” The illnesses “tend to occur in two peaks – one within the first few months of a disaster and another about a decade later, researchers found. The results contradict the general view that survivors can be expected to leave the past behind as they grow older.” Researchers noted that “depression was the most common mental health problem linked to disasters, affecting about 30% of survivors.” The review was published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Disasters Can Affect Mental Health A Decade Later, Review Finds,”HealthDay, Dennis Thompson, February 26, 2026

Middle-Aged People Who Eat A Healthy Diet Have Lower Risk Of Brain Decline In Old Age, Study Finds

HealthDay (2/25, Thompson) reports, “Middle-aged people who eat healthy have a lower risk of brain decline in old age, researchers” found. Investigators found that “the heart-healthy Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet provided the best protection for brain health, but results showed that eating patterns aimed at lowering blood sugar or inflammation also lowered risk of cognitive decline.” The findingswere published in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Eating Healthy In Middle Age Can Lower Risk of Brain Decline, Study Finds,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, February 25, 2026

Study Highlights Serious Complications Arising From Increasing Nonmedical Use Of Ketamine

Psychiatric News (2/25) reports a study found that “increasing nonmedical use of ketamine has brought with it a dramatic increase in patient complications, including ketamine use disorders, uropathy, and rare but life-threatening infection of the bile ducts.” For the study, “researchers identified 411 ketamine-related complications reported by health care professionals in France to the French Addictovigilance Network from 2019 through 2023.” They observed that “ketamine-related complications increased 16-fold, from 13 cases in 2019 to 214 in 2023. The most frequent complications were substance use disorders (33% of cases), psychiatric disorders (30%), and neurological disorders (23%), such as seizures, abnormal movements, or paresthesia.” In addition, “about 9% of patients experienced urinary tract or kidney disorders caused by ketamine use, and several required surgical treatments, including cystectomy and bladder reconstruction; 2% had biliary disorders.” The study was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

Related Links:

— “With Rise of Nonmedical Ketamine Use, Serious Complications Follow, Psychiatric News, February 25, 2026

Survey shows parents underestimate their teenagers’ use of AI chatbots

The Hill (2/24, Davis) reports a new Pew Research Center survey found that 64% of U.S. teens “indicated they use AI chatbots,” with about 3 in 10 saying they use the services daily. Meanwhile, “parents of these polled teenagers underestimated such usage in the survey, with only 51% of parents saying that their child uses AI chatbots. Over a quarter said they were “unsure,” 18% said their teen did not use these chatbots and 4% said they had not heard about AI chatbots. Additionally, only 4 out of 10 parents said they have talked with their child about using these services.” Other survey results indicate that most teens “said that they use these chatbots to search for information and to assist with homework assignments. A small portion of respondents, 12%, said that they rely on AI for emotional support or advice.”

Related Links:

— “Parents are underestimating their teens’ use of AI chatbots: Survey,”Sarah Davis , The Hill , February 24, 2026

Starting Semaglutide For Diabetes Or Weight Loss Not Tied To Depressive Symptoms In Patients With HIV, Study Finds

MedPage Today (2/24, Rudd) reports a study presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections 2026 found that “people with HIV didn’t have a significant rise in depressive symptoms after starting semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) for diabetes or weight loss.” Researchers observed that “after a median 9.4 months of follow-up, the mean change in depressive symptom scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was -0.1 after participants initiated the drug.” They noted that “scores on the PHQ-9 increased 1.2 for those with no or minimal depression symptoms at baseline and declined by 4.7 points among those with moderately severe to severe symptoms.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Foundation News

The Foundation Talks About Job Loss and Anxiety in These Trying Times

Losing your job can feel like losing a part of yourself. The financial and emotional strain can be very painful. The Foundation covers the current job loss in the federal workforce and economic instability in their latest Public Service Announcement.

Loss of EmploymentLoss of Employment, MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Latest Foundation Radio PSA Examine How Extreme Weather Changes Affect Mental Health

Hotter summers and more severe storms can seriously affect people with psychiatric disorders. Medicines prodded can make one more prone to heat stroke, and each degree rise in temperature has been shown to cause significant rises in hospitalizations for mental disorders. The Foundation covers this and more in their latest Public Service Announcement.

How Extreme Weather Changes Affect Mental HealthHow Extreme Weather Changes Affect Mental Health, MP3, 1.0MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller to Receive MFP Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

The 2024 Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Prize will be awarded to Maryland Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller for her Personal Interview on May 23, 2023 with WBAL News.
Lt. Gov. Miller was very helpful, conveying to the public in a very personal way the impact of her father’s mental illness – not only on him, but on their family. Her experience also demonstrated that one can live through this kind of experience and still become very successful adults. She also made an important point that mental illness isn’t a moral failing, but is a chronic health condition.

The Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award will be formally presented at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting on April 18.

The Foundation established this annual prize for a worthy media piece, preferably local or regional, that accomplishes one or more of the following:

  • Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or simply in the community.
  • Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
  • Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

Click here for information about past winners.

PSA Examines Anxiety from Political and Social Media

The Foundation has re-released a Public Service Announcement to local Maryland radio stations that examines anxiety caused by political and social media. People experience a wide variety of feelings after a particularly divisive political campaign or a significant event getting 24 hour coverage across networks and online. Those feelings can include alienation from family and friends, anger at a system or event out of their control, and grief or helplessness at what may come. There are things that can be done to help, ranging from breaks from Facebook and TikTok and similar sites to seeking actual help from professionals.

Listen to the PSA on our home page or from our PSA collection, where you can listen to or download other advice given in past PSAs.

Call for Nominations for Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry presents an annual award to recognize a worthy piece published in a major newspaper or on public media that accomplishes one or more of the following:

· Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or in the community.
· Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
· Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

The article should be published or produced during the period from January 15, 2023 to January 9, 2024. A Maryland author and/or newspaper or major media outlet is preferred. Click here for past winners and published articles.

The award carries a $500 prize, which is given at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting in April. Please send nominations to mfp@mdpsych.org by January 10, 2024.