From categorical diagnoses to dimensions: The promise and limits of HiTOP

Posted on August 25, 2025 by Jack Buss

In psychology and psychiatry, mental health diagnoses are the starting point for guiding treatment decisions. For decades, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has been the most important tool for making mental health diagnoses in the US.¹ However, the manual’s use has generated considerable debate.² Critics argue that the DSM-5 oversimplifies mental health by organizing symptoms into rigid boxes: you either have a diagnosis or you do not. One big problem with this strict approach is that many people end up with more than one diagnosis. Having multiple diagnoses makes mental illness harder to understand and treat because providers have to choose how to prioritize which mental illness to treat, given that many mental disorders require different treatments. Further, there’s growing debate about whether these rigid mental health diagnoses accurately reflect the true nature of mental illness.

A patient is sitting in a chair across from a psychologist and being assessed by the psychologist, who is holding a paper assessment on a clipboard. Between the patient and the psychologist is a table with a glass of water and glasses sitting on it. — A patient is being assessed by a psychologist using a paper assessment

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Climate change… on Venus?

Posted on February 17, 2025 by Janelle C. Wittmer

The most active searches for otherworldly life in our solar system are centered around Mars, Earth’s cold planetary neighbor, and Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter. In fact, NASA just launched the Europa Clipper on October 14, 2024 with the primary goal of searching for life. And in recent years, many people have floated the idea of sending astronauts to Mars. It was for missions like these that, in 2023, NASA postponed the would-be next exploratory trip to Venus — VERITAS — by allocating its funding to other exploratory programs which were exceeding their budgets.

Two side by side pictures of Venus from space. On the left, Venus looks like a round and pale gassy planet wrapped in cloud wisps traveling up and to the right, with a smudge of light orange near the equator, and brown near the south pole. On the right is the same picture but enhanced to show clearer cloud patterns and brighter oranges and browns. — **False color composite image of Venus** from NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974. On the right, the image is contrast enhanced for detail. The composite was created by combining orange and ultraviolet spectral filters on the spacecraft’s imaging camera. Image processed in 2020 from archived Mariner 10 data by JPL engineer Kevin M. Gill. *Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.*

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Beyond the surface: Understanding paranoia through racial disparities and systemic influences (Part 2)

Posted on February 3, 2025 by J Wolny

Part 2: Systemic Biases and Moving Toward Culturally Informed Assessments

In Part 1, I explored how systemic racism and racial disparities shape paranoia, particularly among Black Americans. If you missed it, I highly recommend giving it a read—it lays the foundation for what I’ll discuss here. In this second installment, I’ll focus on how systemic biases influence the diagnosis of paranoia and mental health, and why culturally informed assessments are essential for delivering care that’s not just accurate, but empathetic and effectively attuned to reality for people of color.

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Beyond the surface: Understanding paranoia through racial disparities and systemic influences (Part 1)

Posted on January 20, 2025 by J Wolny

Part 1: Understanding Paranoia Through the Lens of Systemic Racism

Paranoia often conjures images of extreme beliefs: people out to get you, conspiring against you, or plotting harm. However, paranoia isn’t always that extreme—it exists on a spectrum, ranging from fleeting concerns about social judgment to full-blown persecutory delusions (fixed beliefs that you’re being targeted despite evidence to the contrary [Freeman et al., 2005]).

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AI: Revolutionizing the landscape of mental health treatment

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Guest Contributor

This post was written by guest contributor John Buss.

If you’ve been plugged into the news recently, you might have heard a thing or two about artificial intelligence (AI). Whether it conjures up talking robots or 1980s Arnold Schwarzenegger films, artificial intelligence has become an increasingly popular topic. But, you might be wondering, what exactly is AI? In a broad sense, artificial intelligence refers to the ability of machines to mimic human cognitive functions, such as learning and problem-solving. In the realm of mental health, AI is rapidly emerging as a game-changer, offering exciting possibilities for diagnosis, treatment, and overall accessibility of care. And yet, while AI has great potential to change the mental healthcare field, it will require a great deal of human intervention to guide its application. Regardless, AI’s potential to change mental healthcare is only beginning to be realized. Let’s dive in!

An AI generated image of an elderly man sitting on a couch with a humanoid looking robot. — *Image credit:* talkk.ai

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Perks of being a wallflower: Scratching the surface of PTSD

Posted on September 23, 2024 by Guest Contributor

This post was written by Undergraduate Student Chloe Eades.

I have always appreciated the depth and emotion portrayed within the film Perks of Being a Wallflower, which hits on uncomfortable issues in a beautifully cinematic way. While there are a multitude of scenes Icould analyze, I’d like to focus on a clip towards the very end of the movie, in which Charlie (the main character) experiences a flashback that, in my interpretation, can be attributed to post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Charlie Kelmeckis is a high schooler dealing with the usual interpersonal struggles of being a freshman, whilst battling the tumultuous symptoms of PTSD. Charlie has suffered multiple traumatic events; his Aunt Helen molested him as a child, which was followed by her sudden death in a car accident on his birthday, as well as the more recent trauma of his best friend’s suicide. It is important to acknowledge how his best friend’s death catalyzes the complete manifestation of his PTSD. Though his death is not emphasized throughout the film, it is what seems to stir the traumatic memories of Charlie’s youth back up to the forefront of his mind. Interestingly, even an event that is not directly related to one’s PTSD can serve as a trigger [1]. (more…)

Secret world of elephants

Posted on June 10, 2024 by sciutern

This post was written by ScIU Undergraduate Intern Jada Harris.

For millions of years, proboscideans — a group that includes mammoths, mastodons, and elephants — traversed diverse landscapes, shaping ecosystems as they went. However, around 11,700 years ago, human hunting and the waning ice age drastically reduced their numbers to just three species — the Asian elephant, the African forest elephant, and the African savanna elephant. These giants are now endangered, and the impact of losing them extends far beyond what meets the eye. The American Museum of Natural History in New York City has opened its doors to a fascinating exhibit that delves into the profound impact of these gentle giants on the environment and human culture. This immersive experience unveils the hidden wonders of elephants through cutting-edge science and captivating displays. Modern science reveals that elephants are not merely creatures of grandeur but vital ecosystem engineers.

An image of an African elephant’s skeleton and muscles are projected onto a life-size model in an exhibit that highlights new science on proboscideans. — Image Attribution: Alvaro Keding© AMNH

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The brain and moral decision making

Posted on May 27, 2024 by Guest Contributor

This post was written by guest contributor, Jillian Meyer.

Image of the brain with the lobes and cerebellum labeled. Damage to the frontal lobe causes changes in personality and moral decision making. — *Image Credit: “Frontal lobe” by Esvitrac is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.*

How do we separate right from wrong in moral decision making? Some moral decisions, like whether or not to commit murder, seem like easy and intuitive moral decisions. However, we are often caught in moral dilemmas in our lives where the “right” thing to do is not as clear. Neuroscience and cognitive psychology can provide insight into how we form our moral perspectives and what might affect our moral decisions. Antonio Damasio’s book, Descartes’ Error, focuses on the neuropsychology of rational thoughts and decision-making. He begins the book by discussing the well-known psychology case study of Phineas Gage. This story follows a middle-aged railroad worker who was pierced through the skull with an iron pipe during an explosion at work. After the accident, Gage seemingly had no issues with things like attention, memory, and language, but his entire personality had changed. His previous understanding of social conventions and ethical rules was suddenly gone, and his personality seemed to have been replaced with that of someone who did not uphold the same values. Damasio points out that this was an extremely significant case for the study of moral reasoning, as it demonstrated how previously understood ethical values could be erased with brain damage to the frontal cortex.

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Debunking myths about therapy

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Guest Contributor

This post was written by guest contributor José R. Chimelis-Santiago.

Embarking on the journey of mental health therapy can be a truly transformative experience. However, it’s not uncommon for misconceptions to cloud the path to healing. Despite the increasing demand for mental health treatment, persistent myths still predominate. But here’s a spoiler alert: Therapy isn’t merely about sitting on a couch (or lying down) and pouring your heart out. It’s a dynamic process that goes beyond stereotypes. So, let’s unravel some common misconceptions that might be deterring you from embracing the valuable support you deserve on your path to well-being. (more…)

Philosophy and moral decision making

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Guest Contributor

This post was written by guest contributor, Jillian Meyer.

Should you cheat on your exam to get a good final grade in your class? When is it okay to lie? If your child is going for an internship at your company, is it morally permissible to give them a leg up over other applicants? We make moral decisions every day, forming a moral personality from the choices we make about right and wrong. Our moral foundations come from many different sources, such as our religions, the legal system, and even our personal past experiences. The brain plays a big role in moral decision making, and damage to certain areas can completely change our morality. To articulate the impact the brain can have on morality, moral psychologists often turn to the philosophical roots of moral perspectives. Ancient philosophy continues to define our moral decisions today, so knowledge of different philosophical theories is imperative and detailed below.

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