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Susan Brink

Senior Writer
U.S. News & World Report
Washington, D.C.

Topic: The medical and cultural impact of managed care phasing out long-term psychotherapy

Published Work:

I'm So Fat, I Just Want to Die
Obesity rates in adolescents are going up, but when it comes to weight and suicide, the number on the scale may not matter as much as the teen's self-image.

State of Our Minds
What is the state of our mental health? That's the question that University of Michigan and Harvard researchers, supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, attempted to answer in a $ 20 million survey of 9,282 Americans ages 18 and over.

America's Wounded Soldiers: The Mental Toll
As an Army Ranger, Steve battled al Qaeda operatives along the Afghan-Pakistani border, faced down Afghan warlords, and braved the extreme conditions of the western Iraqi desert.

The Price of Booze
Lynn Cooper knew it as she stood in the glow of the refrigerator light against the early evening darkness. She knew it as the warmth of her house penetrated her winter coat and hat, knew it as she reached for the wine bottle in her still-gloved, trembling hand. She knew--as she greedily poured the first of the evening's multiple glasses of wine--that she had a serious drinking problem.

Nora Volkow, Obsessed with Obsessions
Gamblers, new mothers, over-eaters, and substance abusers. One might say they're all obsessed, making them a lot like psychiatric researcher Nora Volkow. Her particular obsession is figuring out why people become obsessed. "It's a pleasure for me to try to understand things that are not obvious. It's a drive," says Volkow, now 44, and a year ago, the youngest person to be appointed associate laboratory director for life sciences at Long Island's Brookhaven National Laboratory.

For Severe Mental Illness, a Higher Profile and New Hope
It was 1970. The conspiracy trial of Abbie Hoffman and the Chicago Seven was ending. Rock stars Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin had just died of drug overdoses. And Christy James's sister, for the first time, lost her grip on reality. "People were doing drugs. All kinds of strange things were going on," says James. So a little bizarre behavior by her 19-year-old sister--dropping out of a top-tier college, alienating devoted parents--went practically unnoticed.

Drug and alcohol abuse sets people on a path toward heart disease, cancer, and other chronic illnesses. A study in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment reports that hospital costs for this medical fallout can be substantial -- and could be avoided with more drug and alcohol treatment.

Booster Shots: Easing ADHD is a Walk in the Park (link no longer available) 
As many as 2 million American children have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a condition that makes it hard for children to control their behavior or pay attention.

In the largest analysis of gender differences in response to antidepressant treatment, researchers found that women are more likely to benefit from treatment with common antidepressants than are men.

In schools across America, as many as 1 million children line up every day for a glass of water and a little yellow pill called Ritalin. Doctors prescribe it, parents hesitantly agree to it, and school nurses supervise the ritual of handing it out because they believe the pill will calm children down and stop them from clowning around or goofing off. The ultimate reward, they hope, will be an academic and social success.

Sleepless Society (link no longer available)  Americans are loath to say goodnight to responsibilities and fun. Job and family beckon. Late-night television entices. The Internet seduces. Supermarkets and megastores lure shoppers well into the wee hours. By the millions, Americans succumb to the temptations of the night.

Your Brain on Alcohol (link no longer available) 
Once excessive drinking begins, the new research shows, alcohol begins resculpting the brain regardless of family history. "In even nonsusceptible individuals, chronic use may create addiction," says psychiatrist Raymond Anton, scientific director of the Charleston Alcohol Research Center at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Finding Lost Minds
Though there's no cure, brain scans may detect Alzheimer's in time to ease some suffering.It's frustrating, almost cruel, to tell people they're sick and then say there's nothing anyone can do. That has been the case for Alzheimer's disease, but the grim picture may be changing.

Hormones and Emotions
Archie Bunker called it "mental pause," his malapropism in sync with myth and folklore: Women of a certain age turn into shrieking hags or sobbing wimps. Mark Helmke--once press secretary for Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana and former president of a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm with a staff of 300--found himself in bed, in a fetal position, unable to return phone calls or even get up. Larry Gellerstedt, the master builder behind Atlanta's Olympic stadium, dropped to his knees in his walk-in closet and couldn't stop sobbing. Heinz Prechter turned $11 into a multimillion-dollar business, employed 5,300 people, hobnobbed with presidents, and then hanged himself one morning after breakfast.

LOVE'S first rush is a private madness between two people, all-consuming and, if mutually felt, endlessly wonderful.

The MORE [Virginia Tech students] can talk about what they've lived through, the more that they can be encouraged to emote . . . that gives them some security and insulation against burying those feelings and then having them surprise them later in life.

In industries where pink slips are being passed out with abandon, the still-employed survivors are getting pretty bummed out.

AS MORE people watch their home equity erode, put off retirement because their nest eggs are taking a dive, and bike or bus to work to save gas money, many are thanking their lucky stars that they still have a job to commute to.

Denny Crane calls it "mad cow," but viewers of "Boston Legal" know William Shatner's character is in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Another character on the show, Jerry Espenson (played by Christian Clemenson), has strange tics, can't keep his hands off his thighs, but, despite having obsessive-compulsive disorder, makes his living as a lawyer.

Americans more than just believe the health information they get from fictional television shows. Spurred by what they see on shows like "ER" or "The Bold and the Beautiful," surveys suggest, they take action. They go to the doctor. They tell a friend to have that cough checked. They ask a lover to use a condom.


Terry Davis didn't know he was having a stroke, much less that, as an African-American male, he had a three to four times greater risk of suffering one than a white man.


Mel Gibson's relapse was a public humiliation. Robin Williams, who "found himself drinking again" after 20 years of sobriety, according to a statement released last week, had a private one. Both are back in treatment as some of their legion of followers "tsk-tsk," shake their heads and conclude that two more stars have failed.