NSA mass collection system center stage for Senate Intelligence Committee

30 September 2013 UPI.com
WASHINGTON – National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander again defended the agency’s extensive metadata program that has collected phone records of countless Americans Thursday, telling the Senate Intelligence Committee that NSA analysts are as concerned about privacy and civil liberties issues as other Americans. The committee appeared likely to recommend limits on the program. Chairwoman ...

Spirituality and mental health: Looking for the link

30 August 2013 Medill
Spirituality and mental health: Looking for the link
After his son committed suicide, Chicago attorney Steve Moore began volunteering with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and became a facilitator for a survivor support group, Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide. “It gives hope (facilitating the support group) in the sense of living with having lost someone,” Moore said. Suicidologist Kal Kaplan has ...

Northwestern student manages schizoaffective disorder with study innovations and horses

30 August 2013 Medill
Northwestern student manages schizoaffective disorder with study innovations and horses from Megan Pauly on Vimeo. The future seemed ominous when Katie Sanford was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder the summer before her senior year of high school. Now, she’s ready to graduate from Northwestern University with a degree in psychology and plans to pursue a Ph.D. ...

Mental Health Movement calls for Mayor Emanuel to ‘heal Chicago’

30 August 2013 Medill
Mental Health Movement calls for Mayor Emanuel to ‘heal Chicago’
Chicago health officials defended mental health care in Chicago after demonstrators Tuesday demanded the reopening of six mental health clinics in response to their claims of poor care and destroyed lives. The Mental Health Movement plans to continue advocating for the reopenings. However, no other rallies have been planned so far, said Mateo Ginsberg-Jaeckle, who ...

Hallucinations: Managing them and sharing the story

30 August 2013 Medill
While neuroscientists are discovering more and more about the inner workings of the human brain, many mysteries remain. One is the nature of hallucinations, whether they manifest themselves as comforting or scary, as audio, vusual or tactile sensations. Northwestern University psychology major Katie Sanford, graduating this year, has been managing hallucinations and her schizoaffective disorder with medication and self-awareness since ...

Defining dangerous: Navigating mental illness and mental health courts

30 August 2013 Medill
Chicago lawyer Mark Epstein says that a lot of our mental health is getting criminalized, and it’s hard to disagree. Lack of early intervention, silent suffering, stigma and a lack of funding for clinics and care head up the list of suspects that make it likelier untreated mental illness will lead to a crime. As ...

Crisis response heals the invisible wounds of trauma

30 August 2013 Medill
Crisis response heals the invisible wounds of trauma
Crises ranging in severity from bank robberies to national tragedies such as the Boston Marathon bombings are the province of a new breed of healers such as Crisis Care Network. The network responds to some of our worst nightmares and continues working with clients in Boston and throughout the country, offering psychological support to crisis. ...

Climate change leaves Chicago area in deep water

30 August 2013 Medill
Climate change leaves Chicago area in deep water
It wasn’t a hurricane, but nearly five inches of rain fell in the Chicago area Thursday. “This is a new kind of storm associated with climate change,” said Tom LaPorte, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Water Management. “It’s been around for five or six years. Other storms are rather local, but in this case ...

Art exhibit delves deep into the struggles of mental illness

30 August 2013 Medill
Art exhibit delves deep into the struggles of mental illness
San Antonio artist Michael Nye practiced law for 10 years before switching gears to pursue his love of photography full time. He brings a personal face to sweeping social issues that confront all of our communities. His photography and audio exhibitions, “Children of Children” (stories of teenage pregnancy) and “A Fine Line: Mental Health/Mental Illness,” have ...