Special Report

The Future of Mental Health

As the isolation and anxiety caused by the pandemic put a renewed focus on our brain's ability to cope with trauma, Smithsonian magazine brings you stories about the latest advancements in treatments and understanding of mental illness

Made Possible Through the Support of

A patient uses the gameChange virtual reality program.

Inside the Effort to Expand Virtual Reality Treatments for Mental Health

Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms (pictured here), has been designated by the FDA as a breakthrough therapy for treatment resistant depression.

Why Psychedelic Drugs May Become a Key Treatment for PTSD and Depression

High social media use may simply be a coping mechanism, rather than a cause, of adolescents' mental health challenges.

Negative Effects of Social Media May Impact Adolescent Girls and Boys at Different Ages

More Stories

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released draft recommendation statements for anxiety, depression and suicide risk in kids earlier this week.

Kids as Young as Eight Years Old Should Be Screened for Anxiety, Task Force Says

Margaret Osborne

High social media use may simply be a coping mechanism, rather than a cause, of adolescents' mental health challenges.

Negative Effects of Social Media May Impact Adolescent Girls and Boys at Different Ages

Most people who had only mild Covid-19 infections are not at higher risk for persistent mental health challenges.

Lasting Depression and Anxiety Can Follow Severe Covid-19 Cases

Runners in Hawaii exercise at sunset. Exercise has profound effects on brain structure and provides more subtle mental health benefits as well.

How Exercise Boosts the Brain and Improves Mental Health

Bob Holmes, Knowable

Eating disorders affect hundreds of millions around the world and are dominated by negative thoughts and behaviors around food, eating, weight and body shape. Current research reveals the best evidence-based psychological therapies and some new avenues for treatments.

The Search for a Better Treatment for Eating Disorders

Kendall Powell, Knowable

The CDC added mental health disorders to the list of primarily physical conditions that increase the risk of Covid-19 hospitalization or death.

The CDC Adds Mental Health Conditions to High-Risk Covid-19 List

A woman with anorexia gets ready to weigh herself.

How Patients With Eating Disorders Have Been Affected by the Pandemic

Kate Mishkin

Soldiers take a psychological test (the exact type of examination is unclear) in Camp Lee in Virginia in November 1917, the year the United States entered World War I and Woodworth first developed his test.

The First Personality Test Was Developed During World War I

This brain is just one of many making up the Indiana Medical History Museum's extensive collection.

How One Museum Is Giving a Voice to Former Mental Health Patients

Jennifer Nalewicki