Psychologists reject Gay 'Therapy'
The American Psychological Association (APA) declared that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments. The association issued its most comprehensive repudiation of so-called reparative therapy, a concept espoused by a small but persistent group of therapists, often allied with religious conservatives, who maintain that gay men and lesbians can change. Associated Press in The New York Times
August 2009

Chinese-American children sent to live with kin abroad face a tough return
A long separation from their parents makes children suffering, when they are reunioned with their parents, reports New York Times. The shuttling of babies first caught public attention in New York a decade ago, when women workers from Fujian Province, deep in debt to the "snakeheads" who had smuggled them into the country, had little choice but to send their infants back to their extended families. Nina Bernstein in The New York Times
August 2009

Russia: probe official role in rights defender' s murder
President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia should ensure that the investigation into the murder of the human rights defender Natalia Estemirova fully examines the possibility of official involvement. Human Rights Watch
August 2009

Post-trauma stress lingers in NYC 9/11 survivors
APA online reports about a study on the consequences of 9/11. People who were heavily exposed to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center had elevated risks of developing post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms even five years later about four times that of the general public, according to a study. APA online, Psychology in the News
August 2009

Iran judiciary looks to calm prison abuse outrage
An Article of the Associated Press describes the situation of detainees in Iran. Police and judiciary officials sought to calm public outrage in Iran over the deaths of detained protesters in prison, acknowledging abuses and calling for those responsible to be punished.  Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press Writer
August 2009

Greece's refugee problem
New York Times gives insight into the Greece refugee problem and discusses critically the Greek solution. Bill Frelick, Op-Ed Contributor New York Times
July 2009

Mentally ill immigrants have little hope for care when detained
APA online reports about the poor access to mental health services for migrants in the US, when they are detained. There are no rules or guidelines defining mental healths competence and access for migrants to services. The Dallas Morning News
July 2009

The military's war on stigma
APA online points out the stigma of mental health problems within soldiers. Fearing for their careers, many service members keep quiet about their mental health problems-and their silent suffering is taking a toll on our military readiness. In response, the Defense Department has begun fighting stigma on several fronts. Sadie F. Dingfelder in Monitor on Psychology, Volume 40, No. 6
June 2009

Aftershocks disrupt rescue efforts in Italy as search for survivors continues
Aftershocks hampered the efforts of rescue workers in central Italy as they continued to search for survivors amid the rubble of the earthquake. Meanwhile, the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, created fresh controversy after declaring that people made homeless by the earthquake should think of themselves as being on a "camping weekend". John Hooper in Bazzano and agencies report in The Guardian
April 2009

Bush's willing torturers
The newly-published Bush administration memos show a chilling, Orwellian abuse of language to justify torture. "Those methods, read on a bright, sunny, safe day in April 2009, appear graphic and disturbing." So Dennis Blair, President Obama's director of national intelligence, stated. David Cole in The Guardian
April 2009

Zimbabwe's hellish prisons exposed by documentary
A horrifying investigative film, shot undercover in Zimbabwe, has exposed how prisons under Robert Mugabe have become death camps for thousands of inmates who are deprived of food and medical care. The documentary, shown on South Africa's state broadcaster SABC, documented the "living hell" for prisoners across 55 state institutions. The result, Hell Hole, is a grim account of a crisis in which dozens of inmates die each day. Jonathan Clayton, Johannesburg, reports in the Australian
April 2009

Eritrea: The world's biggest prison
Eritrea is a small country whose government inflicts extraordinary horror on its people. A report from Human Rights Watch, describing this 21st-century African form of fascism, deserves quoting at length. Can the world do anything to end Eritrea's misery? Editorial in The Guardian
April 2009

Sexpflicht im Gesetz; Frauen in Afghanistan
Weltweites Entsetzen: Kurz vor den Wahlen in Afghanistan hat Regierungschef Hamid Karsai ein Gesetz unterzeichnet, das Frauenrechte auf einen Stand zurückschraubt, der selbst den Taliban gefällt. sueddeutsche.de
April 2009

Recession anxiety seeps into everyday lives
With economic damage expected to last months or years, anxiety, depression and stress are troubling people everywhere, many not suffering significant economic losses, but worrying they will or simply reacting to pervasive uncertainty. Pam Belluck in The New York Times [for subscribers only, subscription free]
April 2009

I.Q. Harmed by Epilepsy Drug in Utero
Pregnant women who took a popular epilepsy drug, also widely used to treat migraines, pain and psychiatric disorders, had children whose I.Q. scores were significantly lower than those whose mothers took a different antiseizure medication, a new study has found. Roni Caryn Rabin in The New York Times [for subscribers only, subscription free]
April 2009

New Treatment Strategy for PTSD
In a recent issue of Biological Psychiatry, a group of basic scientists shed new light on the biology of stress effects upon memory formation. In so doing, they suggest new approaches to the treatment of the distress related to traumatic memories.
Their work is based on the study of a drug, RU38486, that blocks the effects of the stress hormone cortisol by using an animal model of traumatic memory. The scientists promise a short treatment with long lasting effects. Rick Nauert, Ph.D. senior news editor in Psych Central
March 2009

Haiti's Despair, Continued
The Department of Homeland Security has decided to continue an ill-advised Bush administration policy of deporting illegal Haitian immigrants. The New York Times comments on the Haitian Diaspora in relation to this Bush-administration policy. Editorial in The New York Times [for subscribers only, subscription free]
March 2009

UN told Israel's Gaza attack a 'war crime'
THE US said UN expert Richard Falk was "biased" in calling for an investigation of Israel's January offensive in the Gaza Strip. In a report presented at the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, Mr Falk, the UN expert on the Palestinian territories, called for a probe to assess if the Israeli forces could differentiate between civilian and military targets in Gaza. "If it is not possible to do so, then launching the attacks is inherently unlawful, and would seem to constitute a war crime of the greatest magnitude under international law," Mr Falk said in the report. Correspondents in Washington and Jerusalem in The Australian
March 2009

Soldaten schockieren mit Zeugenaussagen
Erschütternde Berichte von Soldaten: Während des Gaza-Kriegs sollen israelische Militär-Angehörige palästinensische Zivilisten getötet haben - willkürlich und mit voller Absicht.
[The German Paper Süddeutsche quotes soldiers witnessing human rights violations during the January military attack in Gaza stripe.] sueddeutsche.de
March 2009

Immigration Agency is criticized on health care
The New York Times reports on immigration: Immigration authorities routinely delay, deny or botch medical care for detained immigrants in poorly equipped facilities nationwide, according to separate reports released Tuesday by two advocacy groups. The Associated Press in The New York Times [for subscribers only, subscription free]
March 2009

Depression tests urged for teenagers
New York Times reports about the results of an task force on American teenagers suffering from depression. An estimated 6 percent of American teenagers are clinically depressed. Evidence shows that detailed but simple questionnaires can accurately diagnose depression in primary-care settings like a pediatrician's office. The task force said that when followed by treatment, including psychotherapy, screening can help improve symptoms and help children cope. The Associated Press, Chigago in The New York Times [for subscribers only, subscription free]
March 2009

Suffering Differently
After the 2004 tsunami in Asia, many mental-health experts agreed that a "second tsunami" of mental illness in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder would strike the region. Like doctors rushing to the outbreak of an epidemic, American counselors and trauma researchers soon arrived on the scene hoping to pass on useful knowledge about PTSD. A few years on, however, their efforts have raised a troublesome question: Were they bringing the wrong treatment to the wrong people? Ethan Watters in The New York Times [for subscribers only, subscription free]
August 2007