MFP/ANA e-Newsletter: September 19, 2025

MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE USE, AND NURSING ARTICLES

Pain and suicide risk: a blind spot in psychiatric assessment (opens new window)

Chronic pain is an independent risk factor for suicide that, although supported by extensive literature, has not yet been broadly incorporated into formal suicide risk prediction models. Widely used suicide risk tools—such as the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, which assesses suicidality directly, and the Beck Scale, which focuses on depressive symptoms—do not include chronic pain among their evaluation items, reflecting their narrower scope rather than a deficiency. However, this omission leaves open the question of whether broader risk models might benefit from including pain-related metrics. Evaluating the potential inclusion of pain metrics in suicide risk tools could offer a meaningful step toward improving the identification of individuals at high-risk of suicide, especially if supported by empirical validation. Read more (opens new window)

Treating Opioid Addiction in Jails May Cut Overdose Deaths Later On (opens new window)

Use of medication for opioid use disorder (OUD) in jail was strongly associated with lower risks for overdose, death, and re-incarceration after release into the community, an observational study of county correctional facilities in Massachusetts found. Among 6,400 individuals with probable OUD, those who opted to take medication for it had a 52% lower risk of fatal overdose after release (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.48, 95% CI 0.36-0.64) and a 56% lower risk for death from any cause (aHR 0.44, 95% CI 0.35-0.56) compared with those who went untreated, reported Peter Friedmann, MD, MPH, of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School-Baystate in Springfield, and colleagues. Read more (opens new window)

Insomnia Raises Dementia Risk in Healthy Older Adults (opens new window)

Insomnia raised the risk of cognitive impairment and brain aging in cognitively healthy people, a large prospective study showed. Older adults with chronic insomnia -- defined as difficulty sleeping at least 3 days a week for 3 months or longer -- had a 40% higher risk of developing mild cognitive impairment or dementia compared with those who didn't have chronic insomnia (HR 1.4, 95% CI 1.07-1.85, P=0.015), reported Diego Carvalho, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues. Read more (opens new window)

Youth mental health org asks AI developers to slow down, weigh safety risks for teens (opens new window)

A youth-focused mental health organization penned an open letter to technology companies that are building artificial intelligence chatbots, urging them to slow down and weigh safety risks for teenagers before releasing their systems to the public. The Jed Foundation (JED) warned that AI is not designed to act as a therapist or crisis counselor, but young people are using it that way. “We're trying to come from a place of helping,” youth mental health expert Katie Hurley said of JED’s open letter. Read more (opens new window)  (opens new window)

ODU professor says college students substitute therapy visits for ChatGPT mental health advice (opens new window)

AI-assisted mental health care is gaining major momentum, as ChatGPT is beginning to outpace the work of human therapists, and it comes as young people are opting out of scheduling appointments and seeking real time advice at their disposal. Dr. David Spiegel with Old Dominion University said the artificial intelligence platform has both pros and cons when it comes to mental health support. ChatGPT, for instance, is available seven days a week, 24 hours per day and comes at no cost. Read more (opens new window)

San Ramon Students Organize Wellness Days, Website For Teen Mental Health (opens new window)

School can be stressful, and sometimes, a day to decompress can go a long way. A group of San Ramon students have started a project to help schools organize wellness days, days dedicated to promoting student wellbeing through activities like arts, music, stretching, meditation, mental health education, skill building, sports, interactive workshops, and more. “We decided to focus on mental health in schools because we noticed that in our community there is a strong belief that success only comes through academic achievement,” said Mridhula Senthil Kumar, a student at Dougherty Valley High School who started the Teen Mental Health & Wellness Hub with her friends Joshika Mathew and Tara Menon as part of her Girl Scout Silver Award Project. Read more (opens new window)

Mind the gap: Women spend over 50% more than men on mental health prescriptions (opens new window)

Women face steeper out-of-pocket costs for mental health care than men. New data from GoodRx, a platform for medication savings, shows that women consistently spend over 50% more out of pocket on medications to treat their mental health. This spending gap is driven by higher healthcare utilization and higher rates of chronic stress among women due to a multitude of factors. Women disproportionately shoulder caregiving and household responsibilities, face economic inequalities and higher rates of poverty, and are more often subject to traumatic events like sexual or domestic violence — all of which may elevate stress and psychological strain. Read more (opens new window)

After Sister's Suicide, NFL Player Fights to Save Lives and His Own Mental Health (opens new window)

Solomon Thomas was devastated when his sister, Ella, died by suicide in 2018 at the age of 24. The NFL player had suicidal thoughts in the aftermath of her death and co-founded The Defensive Line, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing youth suicide, especially in communities of color. Thomas, 30, tells TODAY.com about struggling with his own mental health and how he got help. My sister, Ella, was always my protector taking care of me. We were siblings, but also best friends. She was my biggest fan, always cheering for me. Read more (opens new window)  (opens new window)

HOTLINE RESOURCES

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (opens new window) or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) 

The Substance and Mental Health Services Administration (opens new window) provides COVID-19 guidance and resources to assist individuals, providers, communities and sates across the country. The website is updated daily.

The National CLAS Standards

The National CLAS Standards are a set of 15 action steps intended to advance health equity, improve quality, and help eliminate health care disparities by providing a blueprint for individuals and health and health care organizations to implement culturally and linguistically appropriate services. View the standards here (opens new window)