Anxiety Related Content

On March 21, 2024, McLean Hospital hosted Anxiety and OCD in Kids and Teens, a course aimed at health care professionals, educators, and parents. Experts Lisa W. Coyne, PhD , Fairlee C. Fabrett, PhD , and Jeff Szymanski, PhD , weighed in on topics including the fundamentals of anxiety and OCD, how...

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented exposure to stressors driven by fears of a novel and deadly disease, intense uncertainty, and resulting isolation measures, which in turn resulted in increases in anxiety for many. According to new research, however, individuals who were in...

As some reports suggest that anxiety disorders may have more than doubled during the pandemic, the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program (MAMP) has been at the vanguard of treating children and adolescents who struggle with a wide range of disorders, including social anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia...

With a $15,973,571, five-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), investigators from McLean Hospital and four other institutions will further their studies into the brain mechanisms behind depression and anxiety. Under the title “Novel Treatment Targets for Affective Disorders...

Maria Fraire, PhD , has known she wanted to be a therapist since she was eight years old. “People told me, ‘Oh, you’ll change,’ but honestly, I’m a bit tenacious,” said the incoming program director of McLean’s Child and Adolescent OCD Institute (OCDI Jr.). Fraire has been particularly interested in...

More than 20 years ago, McLean Hospital launched a unique residential program focused on helping patients get a clearer picture of their mental health. This self-pay service, The Pavilion , continues to provide unparalleled diagnostic care today. When its doors were opened in November 1999, The...

Alexander Spier wanted to leave the world a better place than he found it. As a philanthropist , he gave generously, and despite his wealth, he lived simply. Now his family foundation is funding a first-of-its-kind study investigating the use of cannabis in quelling anxiety and agitation in patients...

Fight or flight. It’s a basic response to a perceived threat in all animals, from the fly to the human. In complex vertebrates, including mammals, it is controlled by an almond-shaped cluster of neurons in the brain called the amygdala. This cluster regulates both pleasure and fear. Scientists have...

The following story features Vaidehi , a participant in our Deconstructing Stigma: Changing Attitudes About Mental Health public awareness campaign. Told through the eyes of its participants, this campaign boldly challenges the misconceptions of what those with mental illness look like and is...

Shyanne had more or less stopped talking—a disorder called selective mutism. She was depressed and anxious , had stopped going to school, and couldn’t stand to be touched. Her grandmother was doing her best to homeschool her but admits the 12-year-old was learning very little. Then someone told her...

The following story features Ivy , a participant in our Deconstructing Stigma: A Change in Thought Can Change a Life mental health public awareness campaign. Told through the eyes of its participants, this campaign boldly challenges the misconceptions of what those with mental illness look like and...

The increase in anxiety in today’s students takes a toll not only on the youngsters, but also on the education professionals who work to help them through their days. A collaboration between the Falmouth, Massachusetts, public school system and the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program is paying dividends...

Growing up has never been easy. Multiply the normal angst of the teenage years by the deluge of smartphones, texts, tweets, Instagram photos, and Snapchat snaps. Then add the realities of post-9/11 societal stress, poverty, homelessness, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, and you have a new...

Ten years ago, then 27-year-old Mike Muccio thought he was having a heart attack or a stroke. His heart raced, he was dizzy, off-balance, and felt like he was dying—and it kept happening. With his parents at his side, Mike spent the next nine months in and out of physician’s offices with no concrete...

They are teens, preteens, and even elementary school students who avoid school and rack up absences. They grapple with severe depression, anxiety , and eating disorders , and sometimes it gets so bad they need to be hospitalized. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and the number of kids who are...

With new discoveries by McLean Hospital researchers, a fast and effective treatment for PTSD, anxiety, and addiction disorders could be close at hand. Literally. Right now, work is underway to develop a handheld inhaler containing xenon gas that could be used to block traumatic memories as soon as...

Kerry J. Ressler, MD, PhD , arrived at McLean in August as Chief Scientific Officer and the inaugural chief of McLean’s new Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders. He also holds the James and Patricia Poitras Endowed Chair in Psychiatry , thanks to a generous gift from longtime donors Patricia...

The children and adolescents who attend the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program (MAMP) often have lives that have gone painfully off-track: the high school senior whose perfectionism crowded out everything else in her life; the boy whose fear of germs rendered him unable to attend school for months; the...

Established in 2013, the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program (MAMP) is one of only a handful of programs in the country to provide intensive and evidence-based treatment for anxious youth. The program offers treatment for children and adolescents, ages 9 to 18, who struggle with social anxiety disorder...

As a liaison between child and adolescent research and clinical care, Randy Auerbach, PhD, is instrumental in forging collaborative relationships that benefit McLean Hospital patients. Through his role as Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research Liaison to the Nancy and Richard Simches...