Mental Health

NPR's health reporters followed the emerging science on what keeps our brains and our minds healthy. Here are highlights of the studies that piqued our readers' interest the most.

The hospital will stop admitting new psychiatry patients in mid-January, and will lay off nearly 50 staff members after January 31.

Three separate homicides around Vermont this fall involved young men accused of killing members of their family. Law enforcement officials say these unusually violent incidents highlight a long-standing gap between the criminal justice and mental health systems. Mental health experts disagree.

One third of Vermont’s high school students say they’re struggling with mental health issues, and nearly a quarter say they've engaged in acts of self-harm.

The hospital system has said dialysis clinics in St. Albans, Rutland and Newport will remain open as they look for alternative providers. At Central Vermont Medical Center, hospital leaders plan to close the in-patient psych unit, and they'll consolidate several community clinics.

The program is meant to prevent people from needing hospital care by providing short-term support.

The health network announced a range of planned cuts, including closing an inpatient psychiatric unit, ending operation of kidney dialysis centers, and admitting fewer patients for overnight hospital care.

The Catamount Counseling Collaborative for Rural Schools aims to train and place 52 mental health workers in rural schools over the next five years.

The new walk-in clinic for people experiencing a mental health crisis will open on Oct. 28. Social service providers hope it will reduce pressure on hospital emergency departments.

The center, which will open Oct. 28, is meant as an alternative to the emergency room for people who are having a mental health crisis, but don’t need acute medical or inpatient psychiatric care.