Every day, Dora Dantzler-Wright and her colleagues distribute overdose reversal drugs on the streets of Chicago. They hold training sessions on using them and help people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction return to their jobs and families. They work closely with the federal government through an agency that monitors their productivity, connects them…
Daylight is adding up, about three minutes more each day as March progresses, give or take. Tomorrow, we bank a full hour at once: Change your clocks, change your smoke detector batteries, start planning menus around tender lettuces. Spring hasn’t arrived yet, but her plane’s definitely left the ground. I call this time of year…
The Food and Drug Administration has taken a crucial step toward expanding access to the antipsychotic medication clozapine, the only drug approved for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, among the most devastating of mental illnesses. The agency announced on Monday that it was eliminating a requirement that patients submit blood tests before their prescriptions can be filled. Clozapine,…
The nation’s largest association of psychologists this month warned federal regulators that A.I. chatbots “masquerading” as therapists, but programmed to reinforce, rather than to challenge, a user’s thinking, could drive vulnerable people to harm themselves or others. In a presentation to a Federal Trade Commission panel, Arthur C. Evans Jr., the chief executive of the…
Decades ago, John Glover, a lawyer then in his early 30s with a wife and two children, found himself standing in a bank lobby trying to figure out how he could stretch what little remained in his account to cover his expenses. Foreclosure loomed. He wanted to float a check, write it and worry about…
A couple months ago, a friend of mine lost her phone. The next day, another friend lost his wallet. These things weren’t just misplaced; they didn’t surface the next day. They hadn’t slid out of a pocket and down between the couch cushions only to be found while tidying the house. The phone and wallet…
After more than three decades of planning and a $250 million investment, Lykos Therapeutics’ application for the first psychedelic drug to reach federal regulators was expected to be a shoo-in. Lykos, the corporate arm of a nonprofit dedicated to winning mainstream acceptance of psychedelics, had submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration showing that…
The number of Americans receiving psychotherapy increased by 30 percent during the pandemic, as virtual sessions replaced in-person appointments — but new research dampens the hope that technology will make mental health care more available to the neediest populations. In fact, the researchers found, the shift to teletherapy has exacerbated existing disparities. The increase in…
Barrie Miskin was newly pregnant when she noticed her appearance was changing. Dark patches bloomed on her skin like watercolor ink. A “thicket” of hairs sprouted on her upper lip and chin. The outside world was changing, too: In her neighborhood of Astoria, Queens, bright lights enveloped objects in a halo, blurring her vision. Co-workers…
Aleksandr had only two weeks of training in Russia before being sent to the front lines in Ukraine in the summer of 2023. About a month later, he became an amputee. Learning to live without his right leg is taking much longer than two weeks. “There was a lot of pain at the beginning,” said…