Category Archives: Mental Health

Blending Psychology and Dance

Posted on May 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

Many of our graduating seniors can likely relate to the difficulties of choosing a career path, let along having to make difficult decisions between pursuing a research passion versus one of a more personal nature. This choice was once faced by the new president-elect of the American Psychological Association, Nadine Kaslow, an Emory professor and chief psychologist of Grady Health System who is also the psychologist for the Atlanta Ballet. Dr. Kaslow has been able to incorporate her two passions through these joint appointments. To learn more about the motivations underlying her career and lifestyle paths, please visit http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/10/health/lifeswork-nadine-kaslow/.

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Posted in Arts, Exercise, Mental Health, Psychology/Psychiatry, Research

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It’s Finals Week! Watch This Video to Keep Calm and Carry On

Posted on May 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

Keep Calm and Breathe On

Finals week is challenging for everyone, and this week students affiliated with the Center for the Study of Human Health provided an opportunity for their peers to decompress through yoga, meditation, and art therapy. The promotional video (follow the link above) was created by Taylor Werkema as part of his final project for a class on Empowerment, Life Balance, and Stress Relief offered through the Center. More than 30 students turned up for the event, and many others joined in as word spread across the library!

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Posted in Behavior change, Events, Exercise, Mental Health, Undergraduate Education

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An evolutionary view of depression

Posted on March 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EADhvebhPS8]

Researchers Andrew Miller, MD and William P. Timmie, PhD of Emory University, and Charles Raison, MD, previously at Emory University and now at the University of Arizona, are taking an evolutionary approach to studying the relationships between depression and immune system function.

Due to findings that much of the genetic variation observed in depression is related to changes in immune system function, specifically in inflammation, they propose that this would have offered an evolutionary benefit in terms of being able to fight infections.  For example, there are numerous behavioral factors related to depressions that may have been adaptive in terms of restricting or containing infection, including social avoidance and fatigue/inactivity.

To read more about their recent publication, visit the Emory News Center website.  Part two of the video above is available through the Emory University You Tube Channel.

 

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Posted in Inflammation, Mental Health

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Emory University Partners with Michelle Obama’s Joining Forces Initiative

Posted on January 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

Emory University School of Medicine has joined Michelle Obama’s Joining Forces Initiative, serving with other member organizations such as the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), to serve the health care needs of veterans through research, education, and patient care.  Veterans have unique health needs, including traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Just a few of the ways Emory University provides unique care to veterans includes:

  • Virtual reality therapy to combat phobias through the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program
  • A National Institutes of Health-funded phase III clinical trial to treat TBI with progesterone
  • A hand transplant protocol that uses advanced immune suppressant drugs that are less toxic
  • The BraveHeart: Welcome Back Veterans Southeast Initiative, a joint effort between Emory University and the Atlanta Braves that provides Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with access to mental health and counseling services.

More information about Emory University’s involvement in the Joining Forces Initiative is available in this press release.  Full details are available on the Initiative’s website.

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Posted in Medical School, Mental Health, Nutrition, Research

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