Cognitive behavior therapy reduces crime and violence over 10 years: Experimental evidence

Several small, short-term, or non-experimental studies show that cognitive behavioral-informed interventions reduce antisocial behaviors over 1–2 years, but there is little research on persistence. We followed 999 high-risk men in Liberia 10 years after randomization into: 8 weeks of low-cost, nonspecialist-led therapy; $200 cash; both; or neither. A decade later, antisocial behaviors (such as robbery and drug-selling) fell 0.2 standard deviations from therapy alone—significantly greater than the 1-year impacts. Meanwhile, men who received therapy plus cash were 0.25 standard deviations less antisocial—similar to their 1-year results. In both cases, impacts were concentrated in men exhibiting highest baseline risk.National Science FoundationWellspring Philanthropic Fun

Venezuelan migrants in Colombia: COVID-19 and mental health

Venezuelan migrants in Colombia are experiencing psychological stressors stemming from political turmoil, poverty, displacement, exploitation, and the COVID-19 pandemic.1 More than 5 million people have departed Venezuela since 2015.2 The largest subgroup, more than 1·8 million individuals, continues to move into Colombia, often trekking on foot and dispersing nationwide. Two million pendular migrants cross into Colombia cyclically, seeking food, clothing, medicines, health care, and education. The mental health of Venezuelan migrants is compounded by the extreme hardships inside Venezuela, the resulting exodus, and the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Exposure to trauma, loss, and life changing events throughout all phases of migration increases the risk of developing psychiatric disorders.3, 4, 5 We discuss these risks while describing the migration journe

Mental health in Colombia

A hallmark of Colombia is population-wide exposure to violence. To understand the realities of mental health in Colombia requires attention to the historical context of 60 years of unrelenting armed conflict overlaid upon high rates of homicide, gang activity and prevalent gender-based and intra-familial violence. The number of patients affected by trauma is extremely large, and the population burden of alcohol misuse and illicit drug use is significant. These patterns have brought the subspecialties of trauma and addiction psychiatry to the forefront, and highlight the need for novel treatments that integrate psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological modalities

Mental health law in Colombia

Mental health law in Colombia has evolved over the past 50 years, in concert with worldwide recognition and prioritisation of mental healthcare. Laws and policies have become increasingly sophisticated to accommodate the ongoing transformations throughout Colombia's healthcare system and improvements in mental health screening, treatment and supportive care. Mental health law and policy development have been informed by epidemiological data on patterns of mental disorders in Colombia. Colombia is distinguished by the fact that its mental health laws and policies have been formulated during a 60-year period of continuous armed conflict. The mental health of Colombian citizens has been affected by population-wide exposure to violence and, accordingly, the mental health laws that have been enacted reflect this feature of the Colombian experience

Internally displaced "victims of armed conflict" in Colombia: the trajectory and trauma signature of forced migration.

While conflict-induced forced migration is a global phenomenon, the situation in Colombia, South America, is distinctive. Colombia has ranked either first or second in the number of internally displaced persons for 10 years, a consequence of decades of armed conflict compounded by high prevalence of drug trafficking. The displacement trajectory for displaced persons in Colombia proceeds through a sequence of stages: (1) pre-expulsion threats and vulnerability, (2) expulsion, (3) migration, (4) initial adaptation to relocation, (5) protracted resettlement (the end point for most forced migrants), and, rarely, (6) return to the community of origin. Trauma signature analysis, an evidence-based method that elucidates the physical and psychological consequences associated with exposures to harm and loss during disasters and complex emergencies, was used to identify the psychological risk factors and potentially traumatic events experienced by conflict-displaced persons in Colombia, stratified across the phases of displacement. Trauma and loss are experienced differentially throughout the pathway of displacement