Mental Health

EDC recognizes that mental health and well-being are the foundation for a productive, satisfying life. Our projects assist schools, health care professionals, and communities in addressing this issue, and stretch across the continuum from prevention to treatment. EDC also researches the relationship between mental health and other risk behaviors, such as substance abuse, violence, and suicide. Among our mental health programs is the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) which provides prevention support, training, and resources to assist organizations and individuals in developing suicide prevention programs, interventions, and policies to advance the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.

With a Little Help from Our Friends

EDC is using social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to share information about health promotion and disease prevention.

Risky Connections: Dangers of Cyberspace

A large-scale EDC study shows that cyberbullying is associated with psychological distress and poorer school performance.

Memorializing Suicide

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center at EDC offers advice on how to memorialize people who have committed suicide.

EDC Finds Cyberbullying and School Bullying Linked to Mental Distress, Lower School Performance

High school students who are victims of cyberbullying and school bullying are more likely to report elevated mental distress and lower school performance, according to a study conducted by EDC researchers to be published online November 17 by the American Journal of Public Health.

Boston Globe Highlights EDC Cyberbullying Study

EDC researcher Shari Kessel discusses the findings of a new study that compares cyberbullying and school bullying and their associations with psychological distress among high school students in MetroWest Boston (read the EDC press release). The study, funded by the MetroWest Health Foundation, is published in the January issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

EDC Research Links “Sexting” to Psychological Distress

Shari Kessel Schneider discusses EDC research on the sending of explicit text messages (“sexting”) by teens who took part in the MetroWest (MA) Adolescent Health Survey. The biannual survey is funded by the MetroWest Health Foundation.

EDC Research Examines “Sexting”

Improving Mental Health Assessment and Service Delivery

EDC is facilitating a policy development project to promote mental health assessments and improve access to mental health services for youth suspended or expelled from California schools. After an analysis of current school district policies on suspension and expulsion from data and focus groups, EDC will determine policy and program recommendations that enable students to receive necessary mental health services in an effort to reduce dropout rates and disparities in access to services.

EDC to Create PTSD Training Materials

EDC will develop a range of educational and communication materials to address posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries under a five-year contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Center for PTSD.

National Suicide Prevention Resource Center

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) enhances the nation’s mental health infrastructure by providing states, government agencies, private organizations, colleges and universities, and suicide survivor and mental health consumer groups with access to the science and experience that can support their efforts to develop programs, implement interventions, and promote policies to prevent suicide.