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Joanne Silberner

National Public Radio
Washington, D.C.

Topic: Produce radio stories on the treatment of mental illnesses in developing countries.

Published Work:

While it's been widely known that some mothers suffer from postpartum depression, a series of studies over the years have suggested that new fathers may become depressed after childbirth

About three-quarters of people with mental illness in low-income countries don't have access to treatments for their conditions, according to the World Health Organization. And even among those who do get care, treatment may not be enough, says Tina Ntulo, who manages the Uganda chapter of a charity called BasicNeeds

In 1987, a Memphis, Tenn., police officer shot and killed a mentally ill man who was cutting himself and threatening others. The incident inspired training programs to help police handle these tricky situations. Those programs are catching on.

Bad behavior in childhood is associated with chronic pain in adult life, according to the findings of a study following people from birth in 1958 to the present day. In the study, children with severe behavior disturbances had approximately double the risk of chronic widespread pain by the time they reached the age of 45 than children who did not have behavior problems.

The scientific leap from the wild hallucinations and delusions that mark schizophrenia to changes in the brain at the molecular level is a huge one. Researchers who've been working to define the connection are pretty sure of one thing, though.

When stacked up against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other fast-moving, deadly diseases, mental illnesses don't score as high with governments and philanthropies. One reason: the perception that tackling mental illness is too complicated and too costly.

Although millions of Americans take antidepressant drugs, little is known about if and when it's safe to stop.

Part of raising a child is helping him or her define boundaries. It's a balancing act that requires knowing when to let a child take risks in safe environments versus taking risks in a situation where they could endanger themselves or others.

Ask family members of someone with Alzheimer's or another dementia: Trying to talk with a loved one who doesn't even remember exactly who they are can be very frustrating.

At a small health clinic in western Uganda, it is medication day for psychiatric drugs, an event that happens every month or so. A clerk sits near an unscreened window, counting out pills for the long line of patients.

Today, in "Your Health," we have two reports on chronic fatigue syndrome. We'll hear about possible treatments in a moment. First, we'll ask some questions about the cause. Researchers still are not sure why people suffer pain, exhaustion, anxiety, insomnia and other symptoms, sometimes for years. They have suspected viruses, but have not proven which one. Joanne Silberner reports on what that uncertainty means for people living with the disease.

When Heidi Koss picks up her daughter Bronwen from middle school in a Seattle suburb, it's completely routine: They chat about kickball and whether Bronwen ate the muffin her mother packed for a snack.