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

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More than 10,000 mental health apps are available, according to one estimate. In order to pick the most reliable ones, researchers say you should consider their privacy policies, effectiveness, and costs.

Can a Mental Health App Help You Deal With Anxiety?

Later this summer, people will be able to call, text or online chat the number 988 to connect with mental health counselors.

Beginning in Mid-July, Dial 988 for the Mental Health Hotline

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The Future of Mental Health: How Precision Medicine in Neuropsychiatry Will End “One-Size-Fits-All” Approaches

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Researchers at Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College will study how the four-day workweek affects workplace productivity, employee wellbeing, gender equality and the environment.

The U.K. Is Launching the World’s Largest Four-Day Workweek Experiment

A new study shows that children who play individual sports, like tennis, may have more mental health issues than those that play team sports or don’t participate in sports at all.

Should Parents Worry About New Research Linking Kids’ Mental Health and Individual Sports?

School children protest climate change outside the Scottish Parliament in 2019 as part of a worldwide demonstration.

Your Crushing Anxiety About the Climate Crisis Is Normal

Antonia Mufarech

Many Americans struggle with risk assessment when making decisions during the pandemic.

Why It’s So Hard to Make Risk Decisions in the Pandemic

A patient uses the gameChange virtual reality program.

Inside the Effort to Expand Virtual Reality Treatments for Mental Health

Raleigh McElvery

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

Emma Yasinski

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