From the Editor
There are more COVID-19 cases in the community – and in our hospitals and ICUs. What does it mean for mental health?
This week, we have three selections.
In the first, published in JAMA, Dr. Naomi M. Simon (of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine) and her co-authors write about the pandemic and the implications for mental health. They argue that there will be a second wave of mental health problems. “The magnitude of this second wave is likely to overwhelm the already frayed mental health system, leading to access problems, particularly for the most vulnerable persons.” Are they right – and what’s to be done?
In the second selection, we look at a research letter from The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Paula Conforti (of the University of Toronto) and her co-authors consider a CBT intervention for school-age children to reduce suicidality and increase wellbeing. There’s a twist in the plot: the intervention is based on a Harry Potter novel. “This study found that a teacher-delivered, literature-based CBT skills curriculum was feasible and associated with reduced suicidality (ideation and behavior) in middle school-aged youth.”
Finally, in our third selection, we consider an essay by Andrea Bennett. In this Walrus essay, the writer discusses the possible link between bipolar and creativity. The essay is deeply personal. “I don’t dream about not being bipolar, because I don’t know where my self ends and where the illness begins – and if there is even really a difference.”
DG
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