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1 week ago | 
manhattan.institute | Robert VerBruggen |Stephen Eide |Carolyn D. Gorman |Tim Rosenberger
Good morning:
The Manhattan Institute announced Wednesday that Paul Singer is stepping down as its Chairman of the Board after a distinguished 21-year tenure as a trustee, including 17 years as Chair. We are also proud to announce that former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was unanimously elected to succeed him as Chair.
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Jan 2, 2025 | 
city-journal.org | Carolyn D. Gorman
The incoming Trump administration wants to improve public safety, push back on progressive cultural politics, and cut wasteful federal spending. One way to do all three? Abolish the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the federal mental-health agency. SAMHSA was created in 1992 to “reduce the impact of . . . mental illness on America’s communities” and to target services to people “most in need.” The agency has failed on both counts.
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Nov 21, 2024 | 
city-journal.org | Carolyn D. Gorman
The word “trauma” has proliferated in American life in recent years. Policymakers have embraced the term and introduced the concept into law. Americans seem increasingly willing to describe themselves as traumatized by negative experiences, or even by mere arguments that make them uncomfortable. Such expansive usage is distorting the meaning of the word, and it’s having an impact on mental-illness policy, too. Trauma is best understood as a normal human response to potential physical harm.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
nypost.com | Carolyn D. Gorman |Stephen Eide
Ramon Rivera appears for his arraignment in New York Criminal Court in New York City, U.S., November 19, 2024.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
manhattan.institute | Carolyn D. Gorman |Stephen Eide
Monday morning, after nearly two weeks of buzz about how the recent election heralded a new era in American politics, New Yorkers were treated to a painful reminder of how much life here hasn’t changed. Three people were stabbed to death in separate incidents across Manhattan. The perpetrator was a total stranger to each victim and the attacks unprovoked. The man who has reportedly confessed to the murders is named Ramon Rivera, a resident of the Bellevue Men’s Shelter.
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Nov 7, 2024 | 
city-journal.org | Carolyn D. Gorman |Stephen Eide
Yesterday, California passed Proposition 36, the “Drug and Theft Crime Penalties and Treatment-Mandated Felonies Initiative.” The measure, which rolls back some of Proposition 47’s soft-on-crime provisions, represents decisive progress toward a less dystopian Golden State.
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Oct 10, 2024 | 
city-journal.org | Carolyn D. Gorman |Robert VerBruggen
In criminal-justice reform, reducing crime without incarceration—and rehabilitating the already-incarcerated so they don’t return to prison—is something like the Holy Grail. Our new Manhattan Institute brief takes a hard look at one oft-touted intervention: cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. CBT is a way of teaching individuals to change problematic thinking patterns, specifically those that might lead to unchecked actions and reactions.
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Aug 11, 2024 | 
manhattan.institute | Carolyn D. Gorman
The federal agency for mental illness, SAMHSA, published the results of a annual survey last week, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It estimated one in three adolescents received medical and professional services for treating mental disorders last year. SAMHSA officials consider this increase a positive development from efforts to normalise and destigmatise seeking out mental health treatment. Unfortunately, though, it is not.
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May 29, 2024 | 
manhattan.institute | Carolyn D. Gorman
With May, the month of Mental Health Awareness, coming to a close, it may be time to rethink whether “emotional awareness,” the superficial approach to U.S. mental health policy over the past decade, is actually effective. “It’s okay to not be okay” and acknowledge it, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, the federal agency on mental illness. But this public-health style attempt to prevent mental illness by promoting “wellness” for all .
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Apr 1, 2024 | 
theaquilareport.com | Carolyn D. Gorman
For the vast majority of children, mental-health treatment will not be necessary. Kids are resilient. Just as a smoker who quits will immediately boost his life expectancy, kids who spend less time and attention on platforms designed to be addictive and anxiety-inducing have a chance to bounce back. Haidt’s proposals can help give them that chance.
