MFP/ANA e-Newsletter: November 7, 2025

MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE USE, AND NURSING ARTICLES

U.S. lawmakers press Big Tech for internal research on kids' mental health (opens new window)

Four Republican U.S. lawmakers requested on Tuesday that Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google turn over any studies they have done on how their services affect children's mental health. The request follows a joint hearing last week of two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees at which the companies' chief executives discussed their content moderation practices in the wake of the siege on the Capitol in January. Read more (opens new window) 

You May Have Missed This Good News About the Youth Mental Health Crisis (opens new window)

Everyone knows about the mental health crisis affecting teens and young adults. There’s less awareness of the early signs it’s starting to turn around. If there’s one settled fact about life online, it’s that negativity gets more attention than positivity. As one study of more than 100,000 headlines found, negative stories receive far more interest than positive ones. Which is why you probably haven’t yet heard the good news about the youth mental health crisis. Read more (opens new window)

We’re Missing the Good News About Youth Mental Health (opens new window)

Let’s play a word-association game. If I say “youth mental health,” what’s the next word that comes to mind? It’s probably “crisis.” For over a decade, researchers, policymakers, teachers, parents, and the media have been raising the alarm about the rising prevalence of anxiety, depression, and emotional distress among young people. Most alarmingly, the suicide rate among people aged 10–24 jumped 62% from 2007 through 2021, after remaining stable for a half-decade before that. Read more (opens new window)

New Report Outlines Steps Policymakers Can Take to Protect Medicaid Coverage for People with Mental Health Conditions (opens new window)

As federal Medicaid work reporting requirements set to take effect in 2027 move closer to implementation, a new report urges policymakers to act now to protect people with mental health conditions from losing essential health coverage. Developed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Legal Action Center (LAC), Work Reporting Requirements and Mental Health: Recommendations to Protect Individuals with Mental Health Conditions from Losing Medicaid offers a detailed roadmap for strengthening safeguards, reducing administrative barriers, and ensuring continuity of care. Read more (opens new window)  (opens new window)

Green spaces are protecting mental health worldwide (opens new window)

Plant more trees, cut more hospital stays. That’s the core message of a large study led by a team of international researchers that stitched together 11.4 million psychiatric hospital admissions from 6,842 places across seven countries over two decades. The experts found that the more green space surrounds you, the lower your odds of ending up in the hospital for a mental health condition. These benefits keep stacking up as greenness increases. There isn’t some magic threshold you have to cross. It’s a steady, graded relationship, which is exactly the kind of dose-response you want to see if you’re thinking about policy. Read more (opens new window) 

Should Teenagers Take Psychedelics for Mental Health? (opens new window)

Plenty of teens have tripped on psychedelics. At a party, a friend may slip them a pill or a tab and suddenly they tumble into the bizarro world of mind-altering drugs, the boundaries of the self dissolving into ecstatic visions. These trips do not always end well. Some teens end up in the emergency room for psychological distress or dangerous behavior, suffer persistent hallucinations and perceptual disorders, develop symptoms of schizophrenia, or have other cognitive and social troubles. Read more (opens new window)

What Is Your Brain Doing on Psychedelics? (opens new window)

I had just defended my Ph.D. in neuroscience, and my partner and I had flown west to celebrate and exhale. It was early March 2020, and we were hoping to quiet our minds in the desert. I was also hoping to change mine. I had been curious about psychedelics for years, but it wasn’t until I read How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan about the new science of psychedelics, that I felt ready. The book made a compelling case that psychedelics provided a fascinating introspective experience. Still, I was nervous. Read more (opens new window)

The shortcomings of AI responses to mental health crises (opens new window)

Can you imagine someone in a mental health crisis—instead of calling a helpline—typing their desperate thoughts into an app window? This is happening more and more often in a world dominated by artificial intelligence. For many young people, a chatbot becomes the first confidant of emotions that can lead to tragedy. The question is: can artificial intelligence respond appropriately at all? Researchers from Wroclaw Medical University decided to find out. They tested 29 popular apps that advertise themselves as mental health support. The results are alarming—not a single chatbot met the criteria for an adequate response to escalating suicidal risk. Read more (opens new window)

Governor Hochul announces first-ever New York State report on maternal mental health (opens new window)

Governor Hochul has announced the release of New York State’s first-ever maternal mental health report, offering a roadmap to improve mental health care for pregnant and postpartum women. According to the release, the milestone report, created by the Maternal Mental Health Workgroup led by the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), details key challenges affecting nearly one in five pregnant women statewide and includes recommendations to strengthen screening, treatment, and support services. Read more (opens new window)  (opens new window)

Weather Chat | How Weather Impacts Mental Health (opens new window)

As we get closer to the winter months, you’ll notice shorter daylight hours. Meteorologist Brittany Ward sits down with Tony Roberson, an Associate Professor at George Washington University School of Nursing, who explains the mental toll this change could have on you and your family, and how to spot the symptoms of seasonal depression. Read more (opens new window) 

Cigna, Magic Johnson team up to address mental health through music (opens new window)

Cigna is joining forces with basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson to support mental health using the power of music. The insurer and Johnson will release a collaborative album later this month titled "Magic Sounds," which includes multiple tracks that lean on techniques like binaural beats and autonomous sensory meridian response to support relaxation, focus and stress management. The first song, "Bounce," is designed for a gym playlist, with high-energy beats that aim to boost mood and help people amp up their workouts to relieve stress. The song is available now, and the full album will be released on Nov. 14. Read more (opens new window)

Black Mental Health Village (opens new window)

Mental health matters—and for Black communities, it’s time to rewrite the story. Black Mental Health Village is working to break the stigma surrounding mental health by building trust and creating spaces where healing is rooted in culture, connection and care. On this episode of Urban Outlook, host April Eaton is joined by Benaias Esayeas, Executive Director and Health Equity leader, and Esarrah Hopkins, Operations and Health Equity Manager from Black Mental Health Village to discuss their mission and how you can help. 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)