Resources:
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Just Keep Livin
The just keep livin Foundation was founded by Camila and Matthew McConaughey and is dedicated to empower high school students by providing them with the tools to lead active lives and make healthy choices for a better future. In our programs, we encourage students to make positive life choices that improve their physical and mental health through exercise, teamwork, gratitude, nutrition and community service. Drugwatch: Mental Illness Mental illnesses are medical conditions involving changes in behavior, thinking or emotions that interfere with a person’s ability to do daily tasks or care for themselves. Common mental health disorders include anxiety disorders and mood disorders such as depression, schizophrenia and ADHD. Other disorders include autism, borderline personality disorder, disassociate disorders, eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder, also known as OCD. Drugwatch: Depression Depression, also known as clinical depression or major depressive disorder, is a mood disorder that causes intense sadness lasting at least two weeks or more. It can interfere with a person’s ability to function and perform daily tasks. Treatment options include psychotherapy, medication and brain stimulation therapy. Viewpoint: Gun violence is a public health issue. It shouldn't be linked to mental illness. The author shares that gun violence is not a mental health issue, but rather a public health issue. Mental illness and reduction of gun violence and suicide: bringing epidemiological research to policy The article describes the linkage between gun violence and mental health issues and how useful policies can aid in preventing gun violence from mental health struggles. Blaming mass shootings on the nation's mental health crisis is 'harmful', advocates say An analysis of how mental health issues are not the only cause of gun violence, but other factors like pervasive access to firearms. Rather than a mental health issue, the public health crisis leads to gun violence. The article suggests it's inappropriate to link mental health to gun violence, as anybody with mental illness doesn't mean they would be a perpetrator of any crime. The article explains that the U.S. has more gun violence than other countries. Later, the article shares statistics on how the pandemic caused more mass shootings, the pandemic's impact on mental health, and what can be done about the issue. 
Social-emotional learning can help prevent school shootings
The article suggests that through social and emotional learning initiatives, students can develop empathy, anger management, impulse control, and problem-solving that can effectively confront and resolve emotional turmoil. Providing social and emotional learning programs in schools to all students to teach them mental health tools that can reduce aggression and improve emotional regulation and academic outcomes to prevent violence. Guns and Mental Illnesses Don't 'Cause' Mass Shootings. Poor Access to Care Does The article shows that there is too much emphasis on serious mental illnesses and not enough attention paid to how less severe mental health issues contribute to gun violence when they go undetected and untreated. Working With Victims of Gun Violence The PDF indicates that some demographic groups are disproportionately victimized by gun violence and that many victims never receive needed services.And while people typically think of gun violence victims as victims of homicide, the PDF writers were reminded that there are many more victims who survive their injuries, often with long term physical and psychological disabilities. Addressing the needs of secondary victims, including children and adults who witness violence, is another challenge for practitioners, and one that the PDF writers are just beginning to address systematically in the victim assistance and compensation fields.This bulletin not only outlines the many challenges before people but also describes some promising practices in communities across our Nation to serve victims and stop the violence. Association of Neighborhood Gun Violence With Mental Health–Related Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization The journal concludes that exposure to neighborhood gun violence is associated with an increase in children’s acute mental health symptoms. City health departments and pediatric health care systems should work together to provide community-based support for children and families exposed to violence and trauma-informed care for the subset of these children who subsequently present to the ED. Policies aimed at reducing children’s exposure to neighborhood gun violence and mitigating the mental symptoms associated with gun violence exposure must be a public health priority. Gun Violence Restraining Orders: Alternative or Adjunct to Mental Health-Based Restrictions on Firearms? This article describes the GVRO and the rationale behind the concept, considers case examples to assess the potential impact of the GVRO as a strategy for preventing gun violence, and reviews the content of the California law. Gun violence and serious mental illness. The journal focuses on the relationship between mental illness and perpetration of violence toward others and summarizes the current research evidence regarding this complex relationship. 
The Association Between Serious Mental Health Problems and Violence: Some Common Assumptions and Misconceptions
For policy makers and legislators, this article points out that most psychiatric disorders are not related to violence, with some exceptions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and often only in conjunction with substance use. The article shows that the attributable risk of mental illness to explain violence in general is low. The article also emphasizes that conduct disorder in late childhood or adolescence is a better predictor of violence than is mental illness at a later age. Empirically based screening methods to identify individuals with mental health problems who are prone to violence appear to have limited utility. Implications are discussed for clinicians and practitioners working in the justice system, researchers, and policy makers. Surviving a school shooting: Impacts on the mental health, education, and earnings of American youth The article's main points are- More than 100,000 American children attended a school at which a shooting took place in 2018 and 2019; research indicates a higher rate of antidepressant use among those exposed to a school shooting in the years following the gun violence; school shootings lead to drops in student enrollment and a decline in average test scores; school shootings also lead to an increase in student absenteeism and the likelihood of needing to repeat a grade in the two following years; and students exposed to shootings at their schools are less likely to graduate high school, go to college, and graduate college, and they are less likely to be employed and have lower earnings in their mid-20s. The Direct and Indirect Associations between Childhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Adolescent Gun Violence This study found that early socioeconomic disadvantage was directly and indirectly related to adolescent gun violence. Results suggest that interventions that aim to reduce conduct problems and deviant peer group affiliation in childhood might be important windows of opportunity for reducing gun violence in impoverished neighborhoods. College in the Crosshairs: An Administrative Perspective on Prevention of Gun Violence This book provides leaders in higher education – and particularly those in student affairs – with data about past incidents, an analysis of trends, and background on the national debate about gun policies and how they impact colleges, state by state. It importantly raises issues about student psychological development, mental health, and the prevalence of alcohol and substance abuse on campus, to better inform discussion about allowing guns on campus and concealed carry. It concludes by sharing strategies for averting gun-related tragedies, and offering models for responding when they occur, based on lessons learned and best practices. The book addresses concealed carry legislation and its impact on campus policies by state, examining the concerns of administrators as they discharge their duty of care to students and comply with legal and regulatory frameworks. Asking “Are our students developmentally ready to make a morally sophisticated, life-changing decision to use firearms in response to a real or perceived threat?”, it offers important perspectives and scientific data, so far absent from the debate, to shape the ongoing conversation with lawmakers and the public about what it takes to keep college communities safe. The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Trauma in Victims of Gun Violence: a Pilot Study The journal examined the effects of an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program on traumatized individuals as a direct consequence of gun violence. The journal concludes that the present findings should be interpreted with caution because they were derived from an uncontrolled, non-randomized trial. However, said findings suggest that MBSR may reduce trauma and improve overall well-being in gun violence victims. |
Dr. Lisa Strohman: Mental Health Redefined
In my heart (and mind) I think of myself as that shy little girl that grew up in a very challenged life, surviving bouts of homelessness, abuse and neglect that today is constantly trying to balance how to be a professional, mom, wife, and supportive friend while I work tirelessly to inspire people to be good humans online. Perhaps it was the challenges that created my personality or maybe it was destined to be, but for as long as I can remember I have always spoken my mind and I have always been teased about not having a filter. Amongst friends it was accepted as a quirky personality trait and ignored by those that loved me most. Through it all I learned that speaking my mind, from my heart, sharing both facts and feelings, was safe with those in my trusted circle. Is Mental Illness a Risk Factor for Gun Violence? Violence can be seen among people with mental health issues. Yet, these people act as a small part of the cause of mass violence. Not only do people with mental health issues are victims of self-inflicted violence, but they are not formally diagnosed. Linking their mental health problems to violence becomes difficult, especially if they die after committing the crime. Mitigating the Effects of Gun Violence on Children and Youth The article shares the research regarding the mental effects of gun violence on children. It provides a framework of what school administration and parents can do to alleviate these effects- by increasing parental monitoring, targeting services to youth at risk of violent activity, and developing therapeutic interventions to help traumatized adolescents. The impact of exposure to gun violence fatality on mental health outcomes in four urban U.S. settings Findings suggest that vicarious exposure to gun violence fatality is widespread, disproportionately experienced by racial/ethnic minorities, and related to a higher prevalence of mental health symptoms. Implications of these findings are that clinicians should attend to the mental health needs of people vicariously exposed to gun violence fatality, and that gun violence reduction interventions may positively impact community-level mental health. Given that Blacks and Latinxs are disproportionately exposed to gun violence, a more extensive examination of exposure to gun violence fatality as a social determinant of mental health is warranted using longitudinal and nationally representative data. Gun violence in Australia, 2002–2016: a cohort study The journal concludes Rates of self-harm with firearms are higher for older people, men, and residents in outer regional and rural/remote areas, while those for assault-related injuries are higher for younger people, men, and residents of major cities. Strategies for reducing injuries caused by self-harm and assault with firearms should focus on people at particular risk. Gun Violence Exposure and Trauma Among Rural Youth This study compared rural youth exposed to gun violence and rural youth not exposed to gun violence on a number of variables: anger, anxiety, dissociation, depression, post traumatic stress, total trauma, violent behavior, parental monitoring, and levels of violence in the home, school, and community. 
Mass Shootings, Mental Illness, and Gun Control
The journal concludes that mass shootings are indeed partially a mental health problem, albeit one poorly addressed by our current laws and policies. But the solution to mass shootings also needs to consider strategies that may reduce gun violence in general. Gun Violence and the Role of Health Care A Confusing State of Affairs This article outlines the progress to date and the setbacks health professionals face as they attempt to deal with continued gun violence and the resulting fatalities and injuries to innocent victims. The Scope of the Problem: Gun Violence in the USA (2020) The purpose of the journal is to update current understanding of the extent and impact of firearm violence in the USA. The journal summarizes that the scope of the US gun problem in 2019 is far greater than is indicated merely by medical costs and body counts. Mental Illness and Gun Violence: Research and Policy Options This article provides an overview of current knowledge about the relationship between mental illness, violence, homicides, and suicides, with a view towards crafting sensible public policy options for reducing gun violence towards self or others. With this knowledge as a backdrop, the limitations of the federal National Instant Background Check System (NICS) as both over inclusive and under-inclusive in identifying people with mental illness who pose potential risks are discussed. Finally, the article describes emerging approaches for identifying and removing firearms from persons who pose potential risks of gun violence towards self or others, including Extreme Risk Protection Orders (“Red Flag Laws”) and other options. Guns, Culture or Mental Health? Framing Mass Shootings as a Public Health Crisis The journal examined newspaper coverage of three mass shootings that took place over a 20-year period before and after the passage of this budget rider. Updated Evidence and Policy Developments on Reducing Gun Violence in America The book reviews the state of American gun violence by analyzing new data, research, and policy developments one year after Sandy Hook. Psychiatric Illness And Criminality This activity reviews psychiatric illness and criminality and the role of the interprofessional team in caring for afflicted patients. 
Gun Violence Prevention and Mental Health Policy
This journal addresses such questions broadly from a public health perspective, examining key federal and state regulatory approaches to preventing intentional firearm-related injury—particularly as these approaches intersect with mental health policy. The journal describes the nature and scope of the problem and the unique challenge that it poses in the American context, where mass shootings continue to shape popular views of mental illness and public safety goals collide with individual gun rights concerns. The journal summarizes empirical evidence for the effectiveness and shortcomings of mental-health-based gun restrictions at the point of sale. The journal describe a new generation of risk-based, non-criminalizing, time-limited, preemptive gun-removal laws as an important piece in the policy puzzle of gun violence and suicide prevention in the United States. Expert consensus recommendations on selected policies to reduce gun violence and suicide are discussed. Confronting Gun Violence in America This book critically examines the link between guns and violence. It weighs the value of guns for self-protection against the adverse effects of gun ownership and carrying. It also analyses the role of public opinion, the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, and the firearms industry and lobby in impeding efforts to prevent gun violence. Confronting Gun Violence in America explores solutions to the gun violence problem in America, a country where 90 people die from gunshot wounds every day. The wide-range of solutions assessed include: a national gun licensing system; universal background checks; a ban on military-style weapons; better regulatory oversight of the gun industry; the use of technologies, such as the personalization of weapons; child access prevention; repealing laws that encourage violence; changing violent norms; preventing retaliatory violence; and strategies to rebuild American communities. This accessible and incisive book will be of great interest to students and researchers in criminology and sociology, as well as practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in gun ownership and violence. Gun Policy and Serious Mental Illness: Priorities for Future Research and Policy The journal concludes that future studies should examine how gun restriction policies for serious mental illness affect suicide, how such policies are implemented by states, how persons with serious mental illness perceive policies that restrict their possession of guns, and how gun restriction policies influence mental health treatment seeking among persons with serious mental illness. Youth Exposure to Endemic Community Gun Violence: A Systematic Review This systematic review aimed to synthesize and critically assess the state of evidence on indirect exposure to community gun violence among low-income urban youth in the U.S. PubMed, Web of Science, ProQuest, and SCOPUS were searched for peer-reviewed articles exploring the scope, risk factors, and impacts of community gun violence exposure on this population. Of the 143 studies identified and screened, 13 studies were ultimately included. |
School Shootings and Student Mental Health: Role of the School Counselor in Mitigating Violence
The articles highlight the spread of gun violence in the U.S. It also discusses the need to talk about mental health in the school environment and how counselors can prevent gun-related violence from taking place in schools. 
Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Future of Psychiatric Research into American Gun Violence
This article outlines a four-part strategy for future research in mental health and complementary disciplines that will broaden understanding of mass shootings and multi-victim gun homicides. Another School Shooting: What Parents Can Do to Help Kids Cope Experts explain the mental health impact of school shootings and share advice on how to help your children feel safe at school following an act of gun violence. Gun Violence: Prediction, Prevention, and Policy The article is a research-based conclusion and recommendations on how to reduce the incidence of gun violence — whether by homicide, suicide, or mass shootings — nationwide. The article covers chapter-by-chapter highlights and short summaries of conclusions and recommendations of the report’s authors. The Impact of Gun Violence on Children, Families, & Communities The article focuses on the impact of gun violence on children, families and communities- mentioning topics like the gun violence effect on child development or discussing the mental health concerns after an exposure to gun violence. Gun Violence, Mental Illness, And Laws That Prohibit Gun Possession: Evidence From Two Florida Counties This article examines gun-related suicide and violent crime in people with serious mental illnesses, and whether legal restrictions on firearm sales to people with a history of mental health adjudication are effective in preventing gun violence. Among the study population in two large Florida counties, the article shows that 62 percent of violent gun crime arrests and 28 percent of gun suicides involved individuals not legally permitted to have a gun at the time. Suggested policy reforms include enacting risk-based gun removal laws and prohibiting guns from people involuntarily detained in short-term psychiatric hospitalizations. Dangerous weapons or dangerous people? The temporal associations between gun violence and mental health This study examines the temporal associations between gun violence (i.e., threatening someone with a gun and gun carrying) and mental health (i.e., anxiety, depression, stress, PTSD, hostility, impulsivity, and borderline personality disorder) as well the cross-sectional associations with gun access and gun ownership in a group of emerging adults. Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis The article presents compelling evidence that stronger purchasing laws and better enforcement of these laws result in lower gun violence. Gun violence in the United States in 2017 and the role of mental illness The journal focused on the role of mental illness and other possible causes of gun violence by analyzing a minimum of three media reports and online documents related to each incident in 2017. 
The role of health and mental health care providers in gun violence prevention
This article reviews developmental risk factors for involvement in youth gun violence, as well as evidence-based community programs to prevent gun violence. It then discusses ways in which health and mental health care providers can prevent youth gun violence and promote safety. Survivors of gun violence and the experience of recovery The journal concludes survivors of gun violence describe a disrupted sense of safety following their injury. As a result, they experience isolation, an increased need to carry a firearm, a normalization of gun violence, and barriers to mental health treatment. These maladaptive reactions suggest a mechanism for the violent recidivism seen among survivors of gun violence and offer potential targets to help this under-treated, high-risk population. News Media Framing of Serious Mental Illness and Gun Violence in the United States, 1997-2012 The journal is an analysis of the content of a 25% random sample of news stories on SMI and gun violence published in 14 national and regional news sources from 1997 to 2012. Across the study period, most news coverage occurred in the wake of mass shootings, and “dangerous people” with SMI were more likely than “dangerous weapons” to be mentioned as a cause of gun violence. Gun Violence and Mental Illness This book is an apolitical exploration of the misperceptions and realities that attend gun violence and mental illness. The authors frame both pressing social issues as public health problems subject to a variety of interventions on individual and collective levels, including utilization of a novel perspective: evidence-based interventions focusing on assessments and indicators of dangerousness, with or without indications of mental illness. Gun Violence and Children:Factors Related to Exposure and Trauma The study discussed in this article investigated the relationship between access to firearms and parental monitoring on rural youths' exposure to gun violence and examined the effect of gun violence exposure on the mental health of these youths. Redirecting the Mental Health and Gun Violence Conversation From Mass Shootings to Suicide (2018) The journal is divided into two components of how the "crazed mass shooter" story thwarts gun violence prevention and mental health promotion, and the redirection of mental health and gun violence conversation. What Should Be the Scope of Physicians’ Roles in Responding to Gun Violence? The journal argues that physicians do have important roles to play in the larger landscape of advocacy, public opinion, and reduction of gun violence, but that it is not ethically or legally appropriate for them to serve as gatekeepers of gun privileges by assessing competency. 
School Nurses Share Their Voices, Trauma, and Solutions by Sounding the Alarm on Gun Violence
The purpose of this review is to discuss the impact of gun violence within schools from the perspective of school nurses. The journal concludes that there is a critical need for research that guides the selection of evidence-based safety programs that consider the developmental and the mental health needs of school communities. School nurses are healthcare providers embedded in schools whose expertise and collaboration is critical to the design and implementation of these programs that keep students safe and ready to learn. The Gun Violence Database The article describe the Gun Violence Database (GVDB), a large and growing database of gun violence incidents in the United States. The GVDB is built from the detailed information found in local news reports about gun violence, and is constructed via a large-scale crowdsourced annotation effort through their website. The authors argue that centralized and publicly available data about gun violence can facilitate scientific, fact-based discussion about a topic that is often dominated by politics and emotion. The authors describe their efforts to automate the construction of the database using state-of-the-art natural language processing (NLP) technologies, eventually enabling a fully-automated, highly-scalable resource for research on this important public health problem. The Costs of Gun Violence against Children This article explores several methods for estimating the costs of gun violence. One method is to assess how much Americans would be willing to pay to reduce the risk of gun violence. The authors use this "willingness-to-pay" framework to estimate the total costs of gun violence. The authors note that in light of the substantial costs of gun violence, even modestly effective regulatory and other interventions may generate benefits to society that exceed costs. |