Experts expressed concern that an emphasis on overprescribing, specifically, is somewhat unbalanced given the population of people who lack access to care for serious mental health conditions.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last weekend directing the FDA and other federal agencies to speed research and loosen restrictions on psychedelics, a class of hallucinogenic drugs which remain illegal under federal law.

Jess Michaels and Jena-Lisa Jones, survivors of abuse by late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, said that while Epstein survivors are still far from getting justice, they hope the increased attention on the Epstein Files — and the stories of survivors – will help others stand up to abuse happening in their own communities.

Since 2023, Roseland Community Hospital has received at least four immediate jeopardy citations. That warning is the most serious deficiency a health care facility can be cited for, according to federal guidelines.

Despite little to no daylight — plus months of frigid temperatures — people who live in northern Europe and above the Arctic Circle have learned how to cope mentally and physically with the annual onset of the winter blues.

Centro Sanar began five years ago as a grassroots initiative launched by local mental health providers. It focuses on helping people break through their complex traumas using different techniques.

The Out of the Darkness Chicagoland Walk, hosted by the Illinois Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Montrose Harbor.

A study of how three popular AI chatbots respond to queries about suicide found they generally avoid answering questions that pose the highest risk to the user, such as for specific how-to guidance. But they are inconsistent in their replies to less extreme prompts that could still harm people.

Two of the most closely followed measures aim to protect the drinking water of a wide swath of central Illinois and boost the pension benefits for first responders in Chicago.

The bill requires all school districts to offer mental health screenings to students enrolled in grades 3-12, at least once a year, beginning with the 2027-2028 school year.

In Illinois, the 988 hotline’s LGBTQ+ youth specialized services program supports more than 1,600 calls and 600 chats or texts per month, according to a news release.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) said the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline will close its specialized services program for LGBTQ+ youth on July 17.

“We are in the middle of a mental health crisis, particularly with our young people,” said Cook County Commissioner Tara Stamps, who represents parts of the West Side. “Our children are both imploding and exploding at the same time.”

Nearly half of U.S. teens say social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age — and almost the same proportion say they’re cutting back on social media use, according to a Pew Research Center report.

ER boarding is a symptom of the U.S. health care system’s struggles, including shrinking points of entry for patients seeking care outside of ERs and hospitals prioritizing beds for procedures insurance companies often pay more for.

The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services says one of its goals is to empower the next generation of young women.