MFP/ANA e-Newsletter: October 24, 2025

MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE USE, AND NURSING ARTICLES

Private Medicare, Medicaid plans exaggerate in-network mental health options, watchdogs say (opens new window)

Companies running private Medicare and Medicaid insurance plans inaccurately list many mental health professionals as being available to treat the plans’ members, a new federal watchdog report says. The investigators allege that some insurers effectively set up “ghost networks” of psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals who purportedly have agreed to treat patients covered by the publicly financed Medicare and Medicaid plans. In fact, many of those professionals do not have contracts with the plans, do not work at the locations listed, or are retired, the investigators said. Read more (opens new window) 

Mental health professionals should oversee AI, not face sanctions for doing so (opens new window)

The stories about bad advice from artificial intelligence keep on coming. One eating disorder treatment chatbot gave weight loss tips. Another AI offered teenagers advice on self-harm. A third, during testing, told a person with a substance use disorder to do methamphetamine. As capable as AI systems have become, they remain deeply imperfect givers of advice and sometimes put their users in danger. In that light, it’s not surprising that psychological professionals and policymakers would try to act. So far, however, some of the laws appear likely to have effects opposite the laudable safety-related goals their authors profess. Read more (opens new window)

Rapper Gucci Mane diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (opens new window)

Gucci Mane is sharing his experience after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. In his book “Episodes: The Diary of a Recovering Mad Man,” the 45-year-old rapper reveals the diagnoses and gets candid about the mental health struggles he’s dealt with. The “King Snipe” artist and his wife, Keyshia Ka’oir, opened up on “The Breakfast Club” Monday about managing his mental health conditions over the years. “I have a system. I take his apps off his phone,” Ka’oir said. “First thing I do, I delete Instagram. I delete everything. Even if I gotta change his password, I’m changing it because I don’t need the public to know he’s having an episode.” Read more (opens new window)

Op-Ed: What Gucci Mane’s Vulnerability About His Mental Health Teaches Us About Healing In Hip Hop (opens new window)

For years, hip hop star Gucci Mane’s life played out like a series of unfortunate events. We watched him rise through the Atlanta trap scene, lose himself to substance abuse, be incarcerated, and fight through chaos that could have easily ended his career—and his life. But recently, he publicly displayed vulnerability and humility in a revolutionary way. The rapper, alongside his wife, Keyshia Ka’oir, was interviewed by the hosts of The Breakfast Club and discussed being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Let that sink in: A Black man, world-famous rapper, husband, and father from the South displayed a deep level of openness to millions of listeners on the radio, as his wife showed support and protection for her spouse, who has struggled in the public eye for quite some time now. Read more (opens new window)  (opens new window)

The effects of antidepressants on cardiometabolic and other physiological parameters: a systematic review and network meta-analysis (opens new window)

Up to 17% of the adult population in Europe and North America are prescribed antidepressants. Although they are effective treatments, antidepressants can induce various physiological alterations, including weight gain, blood pressure disturbance, hyponatraemia, and QT prolongation. These side-effects have wide-reaching consequences, including discontinuation of treatment and thus poorer psychiatric outcomes. Professional bodies recommend that discussions about side-effects are central to antidepressant prescribing decisions. However, evidence syntheses on which to base these discussions are scarce, and the relative degree to which physiological alterations occur during acute treatment with different antidepressants is unclear. Read more (opens new window) 

Living well? The unintended consequences of highly popular commercial fitness apps through social listening using Machine-Assisted Topic Analysis: Evidence from X (opens new window)

Digital health apps present substantial opportunities to support people to live well, allowing remote intervention delivery, self-monitoring or self-administered interventions (Patel et al., 2021; Philippe et al., 2022), and the potential for greater cost-effectiveness compared with traditional face-to-face formats (Gentili et al., 2022). However, many apps do not appear to use evidence- or theory-based approaches for supporting health behaviour change (Mangone et al., 2016; Portenhauser et al., 2021; Tofighi et al., 2019; Tucker et al., 2021; Zhou et al., 2024). While evidence- and theory-based apps do exist, they may be associated with a higher price point (Cowan et al., 2013) and are no more likely to be used than other apps on the market (Tucker et al., 2021). Read more (opens new window)

Baek Se-hee, author of I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, dies aged 35 (opens new window)

Baek Se-hee, the author of the hit self-help memoir I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, has died at the age of 35. According to the Korean organ donation agency, Baek saved five lives through the donation of her heart, lungs, liver and both kidneys. “But her readers will know she touched yet millions of lives more with her writing”, said Anton Hur, who translated her works into English. I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, published in 2018 in Korea and 2022 in the UK by Bloomsbury, follows Baek’s conversations with her psychiatrist about her dysthymia, which is persistent depression, and includes mini essays. Read more (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)