Special Report

The Future of Mental Health

Smithsonian magazine brings you stories about the latest advancements in treatments and understanding of mental illness

Ketamine and esketamine are the only psychedelics currently being used clinically with eating disorder patients.

Are Psychedelics the Future of Eating Disorder Treatment?

Many new digital psychiatry solutions have attracted funding in recent years, and experts have questions about how helpful or harmful they will be.

Can Digital Psychiatry Really Fill the Mental Health Care Gap?

Participants in a Heroes’ Harvests hunt in Idaho stop and call to distant male turkeys, or toms, to locate them.

Why Nature-Based Therapy Is Gaining Traction Among Veterans

More Stories

MDMA, also called molly or ecstasy.

MDMA Moves Closer to Approval for PTSD Treatment After New Clinical Trial

Margaret Osborne

Because the newly approved pill can be taken at home and starts working within just a few days, it may be a better treatment option for some new moms.

New Moms Can Soon Take a Pill for Postpartum Depression

Some psychologists argue that certain people with psychopathic traits such as meanness can excel in business and other areas where boldness is an asset.

Can Psychopathic Tendencies Help You Achieve Success?

David Adam, Knowable Magazine

Rats make a high-pitched sound similar to laughter when they're being tickled.

Tickling Rats Reveals a Brain Region Linked to Laughter and Play

Many new digital psychiatry solutions have attracted funding in recent years, and experts have questions about how helpful or harmful they will be.

Can Digital Psychiatry Really Fill the Mental Health Care Gap?

Bhav Jain and Simar Bajaj

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, about half of all American adults reported experiencing loneliness.

An 'Epidemic' of Loneliness Threatens Health of Americans, Surgeon General Says

Margaret Osborne

Participants in a Heroes’ Harvests hunt in Idaho stop and call to distant male turkeys, or toms, to locate them.

Why Nature-Based Therapy Is Gaining Traction Among Veterans

This functional connectivity map, a kind of “fingerprint” of the brain, displays how different regions interact with each other in 12-year-olds. The map was constructed from resting-state MRIs, where participants were lying down and not completing a task. Larger red circles denote brain “nodes” with more connections.

Can a ‘Fingerprint’ of Your Brain Help Predict Disorders?

Roughly 4 percent of adults in the United States have chronic nightmares.

Can a Musical Reminder Banish Bad Dreams?