Mental Health Matters The National Institute of Mental Health

A decade before the end of slavery, Washington D.C.'s St. Elizabeths Hospital began treating Black patients for mental illnesses. As the nation's first integrated, federally funded mental health facility, the concept was groundbreaking, but as history shows us, inclusion did not mean equality. In this episode, we'll talk with Boston College Professor of History Dr. Martin Summers, author of "Madness in the City of Magnificent Intentions." We'll discuss how ideas of false racial differences shaped the inequitable care of the hospital's Black patients and learn how those ideas evolved over time.

Electroconvulsive therapy, known as ECT, has long been mischaracterized in pop culture, but in truth, this is a safe and effective treatment that has provided a road to recovery for many people with hard-to-treat depression. In this episode, we'll talk with Dr. Sarah Hollingsworth “Holly” Lisanby, an internationally recognized innovator in ECT and other brain stimulation tools. We'll dispel misconceptions about brain stimulation, learn how seizure therapies can help with depression, and touch upon the future of this life-saving treatment.

Ketamine. For some people with treatment-resistant depression, this experimental therapy proved to be more than just life-changing—it was lifesaving. But how did a drug once used as a battlefield anesthetic evolve into esketamine, a treatment for major depressive illnesses? In this episode, we'll talk with Dr. Carlos Zarate Jr., who helped lay the groundwork for esketamine for treatment-resistant depression. We'll learn the history behind the development of esketamine, how it can help with depression, and what the future holds for this innovative line of clinical research.

In 2020, suicide was the 12th leading cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of over 45,000 people. Suicide doesn't discriminate—it impacts people of different ages, races, and genders. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Arielle Sheftall, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. We learn about who is at increased risk for suicide, how it's impacting the nation's youth, and most importantly, what we're doing about this tragic and preventable issue.