Brochure | Psychiatry | Mental Health | Psychology

Spaceflight exposes astronauts to hidden threats in their gut

2025-07-03 - 2025-07

As humanity prepares for Mars, new research reveals that safeguarding astronaut mental health means targeting the gut, where the battle for resilience in space truly begins.In a recent review in the journal Experimental & Molecular Medicine, researchers collate and discuss more than 150 publications that draw parallels between human terrestrial gut-brain axis interactions and their equivalent in astronauts in space. The review emphasises that while changes in the astronaut gut microbiome are consistently observed, the magnitude, persistence, and individual-specific nature of these shifts remain areas of ongoing research. It elucidates the challenges and extreme environments to which astronauts are exposed, as well as the cascading impact on their gut–brain communication, cognition, mood, and immunity.This review synthesizes astronaut-derived data and terrestrial stress studies examining the effects of radiation and circadian disruptions on microbial composition, immune function, and blood-brain barrier integrity. In a society eagerly reaching for Mars, it cautions us of the medical demands of long-duration space missions while providing recommendations (e.g., microbiome monitoring, personalized probiotic and prebiotic supplements) to support astronaut mental health on these extended missions. However, it also highlights that these recommendations are promising but require further validation before routine adoption.

Towards teleconsultations in the metaverse: design and preliminary study of an immersive teleclinic for neuro-psychological assessment

2025-07-02 - 2025-07

Virtual Reality (VR) and Metaverse technologies open new avenues for telemedicine, particularly for teleconsultations. Our goal is to explore how these remote medical interactions can take place within immersive teleclinics. Neuropsychological testing in VR is especially promising for diagnosing and monitoring cognitive disorders. This study presents our overall approach to immersive teleclinics and the development of a social VR platform for conducting such assessments. The application enables clinicians to perform remote testing sessions that begin in a virtual waiting room and continue with a combination of clinician-guided desk-based tasks and independent test activities. Clinicians can monitor patient performance in real time through dedicated dashboards. We evaluated the system with healthy participants (pseudo-patients) and clinicians using standard measures of usability (SUS), presence (MPS), and acceptability (UTAUTQ). Initial results indicated good usability, a strong sense of presence, and high acceptability among pseudo-patients. Clinicians were more hesitant, citing usability issues, uncertainty about the clinical validity of VR-based tests, and concerns about avatar quality for psychological interviews. We discuss our design choices, the potential of our prototype for remote cognitive assessment, and broader lessons learned for teleclinics in the Metaverse. While challenges remain, our work highlights the promise of such immersive teleclinics for future medical practice.

Mental Health America awards Amazon the highest level of recognition for workplace mental health and well-being.

2025-07-01 - 2025-07

Key takeaways
Amazon earns Mental Health America's Platinum Bell Seal recognition for third consecutive year.
Mental health benefits include 24/7 support through multiple channels for employees and families.
Mental health training has reached more than 130,000 employees and 33,000 managers globally.
Amazon continues to expand its comprehensive mental health benefits for employees, their families, and their households, building on a long-standing commitment to employee well-being. In 2025, Amazon was honored for the third consecutive year by Mental Health America with the Platinum Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health, the organization's highest level of recognition. This milestone underscores Amazon's investment in global mental health support, including expanded counseling access, digital tools, and strategic community partnerships in over 60 countries.
The platinum-level designation comes with standout scores across all evaluated categories, including workplace culture, benefits that support mental health, and holistic wellness at work, with a total score of 96%, more than double the national employer average.
The Bell Seal honor highlights Amazon's continued efforts to embed mental health into every aspect of the employee experience, from equipping leaders with training and tools to delivering accessible and clinically excellent care for employees and their families worldwide. This recognition stems from Amazon's numerous mental health-related benefits, the suite of mental health training and resources provided to employees, and free counseling sessions. Employees can also access mental health care 24/7. Amazon has designed these mental health benefits with simplicity in mind, allowing employees and their families to easily access support through multiple channels—including phone, video, in-person appointments, and self-service digital tools—all without complex approval processes or long waiting periods.
"Receiving the Platinum Bell Seal from Mental Health America for the third year in a row reflects the intentional work we've done to embed mental health into the fabric of our culture," said Dr. Chris DeCou, a licensed clinical psychologist and director of Amazon Health Benefits. "This recognition reinforces that we're delivering the resources our employees need to thrive—and it motivates us to keep raising the bar in how we support them and their families every day."

Promoter of mental health among Catholic nuns in India

2025-06-30 - 2025-06

By Thomas Scaria

Mangaluru, June 29, 2025: Sister Sally John is an associate professor of psychiatry at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, in western India. The member of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist is engaged in clinical care, teaching and community psychiatry, directing projects such as child and adolescent outreach, along with geriatric and palliative care programs.

Sister John developed a holistic approach in psychiatry by integrating spirituality and faith aspects. She has treated mental health issues of several Catholic nuns and priests.

In 2024, she founded Treasure, a sister-led mental health network for women religious. Sister John coordinates a network of Catholic psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, social workers and tech aides to address mental health needs of nuns.

She will participate in Global Sisters Report’s health care forum on mental wellness July 1. Sister John shared with GSR her mission of promoting mental health among Catholic nuns in India.

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Spaceflight exposes astronauts to hidden threats in their gut

Towards teleconsultations in the metaverse: design and preliminary study of an immersive teleclinic for neuro-psychological assessment

Mental Health America awards Amazon the highest level of recognition for workplace mental health and well-being.

Promoter of mental health among Catholic nuns in India

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