HBO Documentary Highlights An Innovation In College Mental Health
Poster for HBO documentary
According to a 2025 report by Statista, almost 10% of college students receiving mental health care were hospitalized from 2023 to 2024. Hospitalizations are, sometimes, a necessary component of college mental health. For example, an hour-long therapy session, once a week at a campus counseling center, is likely not enough to treat students with intense thoughts/gestures about suicide. However, there're unique considerations when a traditional-aged college student is admitted into a standard inpatient treatment program. The young adult might be required to attend groups with significantly older members who have vastly different life experiences, the student will likely disconnect from school and may not have academic support, and some students/families have a negative stigma about hospitalizations and doubt that it can be helpful.
Last year, HBO premiered a two-part documentary titled 'One South: Portrait of A Psych Unit,' to provide an intimate look at how a hospital addresses these concerns. The subject of the documentary was Northwell's Zucker Hillside Hospital, and it's one of the only inpatient psychiatric units in America dedicated to treating college students. Lindsey Megrue and Alexandra Shiva were the filmmakers who produced and directed the documentary. They reported wanting to complete a project on inpatient care because it's often misunderstood and stigmatized. Megrue stated, 'Through our research, we discovered One South and found what they were doing to be unique and groundbreaking by specializing in the treatment of college students.'
Background Of The Inpatient Unit
Dr. Laura Braider is a clinical psychologist and the associate vice president of behavioral health at Northwell Health. She's a featured therapist in the documentary and explained why the hospital opened a psychiatric unit dedicated to college students. She stated, 'When admitted to general psychiatric units, college students often felt out of place, surrounded by much older adults or individuals experiencing the long-term effects of severe mental illness…We saw two common reactions. Students either minimized their symptoms to get discharged quickly, or they feared that what they were seeing represented their own future. Both responses undermined treatment and recovery.'
Braider's comments are supported by the concept of universality in mental health treatment. A 2011 report on Psychology Today exemplified how universality results in a homogeneous group being easier to treat because of share experiences, connection, and hope. Braider shared how universality is a vital aspect to the treatment at the hospital. She stated, 'Since opening our college-focused unit, the impact has been immediate and powerful. Students feel seen. They're surrounded by peers, cared for by staff trained in emerging adult mental health, and immersed in a culture of healing that feels relatable.'
Braider also explained how the hospital works with a collection of schools through Northwell's Behavioral Health College Partnership. According to the psychologist, 'We now collaborate with over 100 colleges and universities, offering coordinated navigation protocols and psychiatric services, including emergency transport, inpatient care, post-acute outpatient treatment, and reintegration back to campus.'
Responses To The Documentary
When asked about reactions to the documentary, Braider commented, 'The response has been overwhelmingly positive, most often gratitude. Families who've known about the program for years told us they finally understood what we do. Even some of our own team members' families said they didn't grasp the full picture until they saw the film.'
Megrue and Shiva also discussed positive reactions from the patients in the film. According to the filmmakers, the number of patients who gave their consent to participate was higher than expected. Shiva commented, 'it was definitely a surprise for us." When asked if the patients' age appeared to be a factor in their willingness to participate, both Shiva and Megrue agreed and said that producing the film seemed to confirm the notion that current traditional-aged college students are more willing to discuss mental health issues as compared to previous generations.
The filmmaker also explained that this high motivation represented a challenge because it resulted in having limited time with each participant rather than telling their full story. However, Megrue said that participants were allowed to stop the cameras at any time and that most of them described their participation as healing. According to Megrue, 'pretty much every participant said that they wanted to help others.'
According to a 2024 report by Psychology Today, the documentary also impacted the field of counseling by providing widespread recognition for Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Braider described DBT as an important element to the treatment program. She commented, 'We needed a model that was proven to work. DBT is the gold standard for treating suicidality and emotional dysregulation. We trained and supervised our entire inpatient team in DBT, and it has been transformative. It created structure, consistency, and real results.'
Hopes For the Documentary
Shiva reported that her hope was to destigmatize inpatient treatment and to foster empathy for those seeking treatment. She said, 'If a person can talk about their challenges in such an open way, it really does have such an impact. It opens the door to more dialogue.' Megrue said that she hoped to encourage other treatment centers to replicate the program. According to Braider, a motivating factor for participating in the documentary was to encourage students and families who might be hesitant about seeking inpatient treatment. She commented, 'There is hope, and far more of it than most people realize. Many students who are hospitalized go on to live incredibly full, successful lives. It's just not a narrative we hear often, which is why I'm so grateful to the students and families in the documentary who had the courage to share theirs.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Medscape
22 minutes ago
- Medscape
Real-World Cases of Skin Cancer Management in Older Adults
Supporting Data and the Patient's Response to Imiquimod Supporting that decision-making process was a randomized controlled trial published in 2017 comparing surgery with imiquimod 5% cream for nodular and superficial BCC, showing that imiquimod was inferior to surgery but still provided sustained benefit, Patel said. The 5-year success rates (absence of recurrence) in that trial were 82.5% compared with 97.7% for surgery (relative risk of imiquimod success, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.77-0.91; P < .001) — rates that were comparable to previously reported 3-year success rates of 83.6% and 98.4% for imiquimod and surgery, respectively. Most recurrences occurred within the first year. The 'caveat,' Patel said, was that the trial looked only at low-risk locations such as the cheek and the trunk, and not the tip of the nose. Patients with superficial BCC received 6 weeks of imiquimod cream once daily, and those with nodular BCC received 12 weeks. Use of this therapy 'requires clear explanation to the patient and an understanding of the off-label and not-fully-evaluated potential application,' Patel said in an interview after the meeting. After 6 weeks of treatment, the patient had notable crusting of the nasal tip with surrounding erythema. At 12 weeks, the tip of her nose was 'smooth with no obvious residual carcinoma notable,' Patal said at the meeting. 'She tolerated the treatment well and had a great response.' There have been suggestions made among some Mohs surgeons that the Mohs surgery AUC for primary superficial BCCs should be reevaluated, Patel said, referring to a Viewpoint piece published in JAMA Dermatology in July 2018 that pointed out that they are indolent, penetrate minimally, and are often multifocal, making them amenable to nonsurgical treatments. The lower-risk nodular BCC subtype is also worthy of AUC reevaluation, he said. Decision-Making About a Second Lesion: Melanoma In Situ (MIS) During the follow-up period, the patient's daughter noticed a large 2 cm pigmented area on her mother's wrist, and a biopsy revealed MIS. NCCN guidelines for MIS recommend surgical excision with margins of 0.5-1 cm but contain a footnote that consideration of topical immunotherapy or radiation therapy is an option in select patients with MIS of the lentigo maligna (LM) subtype, Patel said. He pointed to a retrospective review published 10 years ago looking at 63 MIS/LM cases in which imiquimod 5% cream was used as either primary or adjuvant therapy. When used as primary therapy, with no surgery, 72.7% demonstrated clinical clearance at a mean follow-up of 39.7 (range, 8-95) months. And when used as adjuvant therapy, 94.4% demonstrated clearance at a mean follow-up of 43.1 (range, 4-106) months. One could opt for primary therapy, knowing that 3 out of 4 patients might have clearance lasting over the course of several-plus years. Or, in the case of adjuvant therapy, 'you could do a partial resection or narrow margin resection, and if you have positive margins, go back and have an even higher success rate with adjuvant imiquimod cream,' Patel said. For his 88-year-old patient, 'surgery for a 2 cm tumor on the wrist, with skin that's fragile, is not easy to accomplish, certainly not easy to close up,' he said. The question was, 'could we cause more harm than good?' The patient decided on every-other-day treatment with 5% imiquimod cream for 6 weeks and responded with some clearing. She continued for another 6 weeks but on follow-up was noted to have some areas of progression. 'She ultimately needed an excision as the lesion was progressing in one area, and rebiopsy showed minimal invasion of the MIS, but she was now happy to do so as she felt it was necessary and declared by the disease,' Patel said after the meeting. She was able to undergo an excision with clear margins, and a complex layered closure with a partial skin graft was performed, which she tolerated well. A Patient With SCC In Situ (SCCis) Another patient recently referred to Patel for discussion of Mohs surgery was an 89-year-old man who had multiple rough, scaly patches on his bald scalp, a history of prostate cancer, hypertension managed with hydrochlorothiazide, and no family history of melanoma or keratinocyte carcinomas. Biopsies on two areas of the scalp vertex within 1 cm of each other and one on the neck revealed an SCC in situ on the scalp with an adjacent actinic keratosis (AK). In addition, a biopsy on the neck revealed 'AK with focal SCCis,' Patel said at the meeting. 'We'd agree this patient does not need Mohs. But [in this case] we posed a question that was [examined] in a recent study: Does SCC in situ need treatment at all?' Patel said, referring to a single-center cohort study published in 2024 in which 411 consecutive SCCis tumors with a clinically resolved biopsy site were managed with watchful waiting. Of the 411 tumors, 17 recurred locally (4% recurrence rate), and there were no instances of nodal metastases, distant metastases, or disease-specific death. The highest risk for local recurrence was conferred by a history of solid-organ transplantation (hazard ratio [HR], 9.979; 95% CI, 2.249-39.69), and additional risk factors predicting local recurrence were location of the tumor on the vermillion lip or ear (HR, 9.744; 95% CI, 1.420-69.28) and on the head and neck (HR, 6.687; 95% CI, 1.583-36.15). The size of the lesion was also predictive of recurrence, with biopsies showing tumor extension to the deep edge being associated with a sixfold increased risk (HR, 6.562; 95% CI, 1.367-39.04). 'In typical, run-of-the-mill smaller SCCis, the vast majority of these lesions after biopsy did not recur,' Patel said. Many experts have proposed the consideration of topical therapy as a first-line treatment for SCCis, but 'the question sometimes comes up of whether we can identify patients' at a higher risk for recurrence, he said. A study published this year of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 5% cream for SCCis found that shorter treatment duration (particularly under 2 weeks) and larger lesion size (> 2 cm) were associated with a higher risk for treatment failure. Beyond that, there was no [impact] of immunosuppression or anatomic location, including hair-bearing locations, on the risk of recurrence, Patel said. The patient decided to pursue 2 weeks of therapy with 5-FU to help mitigate potential side effects, Patel said after the meeting. 'He did well….and we decided to monitor after the shortened treatment course.' Is Intralesional Treatment Coming? In the future, intralesional treatment may make skin cancer therapy 'even easier' for older patients, Patel said at the meeting. In a case report published in 2024, a 98-year-old wheelchair-bound 80-pound woman with frailty — and a 3.5-cm rapidly growing crusted nodule on her left proximal-lateral arm was treated with intralesional 5-FU — weekly for 4 weeks — after a shave biopsy revealed an invasive, well-differentiated SCC. There was no sign of recurrence at 3 months, and the patient died 6 months later of primary cardiac arrest, Patel said, noting that this was a case 'of doing no harm and limiting the morbidity associated with this tumor rather than approaching it from an aggressive standpoint.' A phase 3 trial of intralesional cemiplimab in patients with early-stage cutaneous SCC, newly underway at GW and multiple other sites, will look at how well the immune checkpoint inhibitor works when injected into the lesion, compared with surgery. The goal is to provide cutting-edge immunotherapy while potentially avoiding systemic toxicity, thus making this a viable nonsurgical option for older patients or those with surgical fatigue, Patel said after the meeting. Patel disclosed that he had received consulting honoraria from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharma, Almirall, and Palvella Therapeutics, as well as research support from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. He had served on the speaker's bureau with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharma, and Almirall, and was the cofounder of the Skin Cancer Outcomes Consortium. Lead image: Moment/Getty Images Image 1: GWU Department of Dermatology
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Klotho Neurosciences Moves Forward with Manufacturing Gene Therapy for the Treatment of ALS
NEW YORK, June 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Klotho Neurosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: KLTO) today announced that it is moving forward with manufacturing and process development work in preparation for clinical trials of KLTO-202, its investigational gene therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A unique RNA splice variant of the human gene called alpha-Klotho has been licensed by the Company from the Autonomous University of Barcelona ("UAB") including patents, patent applications, research, knowhow and other intellectual properties for use in the development of advanced gene and gene-engineered cell therapies. The human alpha-Klotho gene is located in cells found throughout the human body. It is a five exon gene that produces two protein isoforms: a full-length protein found mainly in cells of the kidney called membrane-bound Klotho (or m-KL), which controls phosphate homeostasis, and a much smaller protein isoform called secreted alpha-Klotho (or s-KL). The s-KL RNA splice variant is found mainly in the brain and spinal cord neurons; the variant protein is neuroprotective by minimizing both oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Animal studies supported by the Company over the past two years in mouse and non-human primate models of rapid aging, in models of human Alzheimer's disease, and in models of ALS have shown that over-expression and amplification of the tissue levels of s-KL using a gene therapy approach result in highly favorable therapeutic outcomes in every model tested. These results have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and now support the transition of KLTO-202 into the clinical development stage. The Company expects that it will take approximately eight months to complete process development and manufacturing of KLTO-202, and about four to six months to conduct meetings with FDA, complete all FDA-mandated animal safety studies, file an investigational new drug application (IND), train and prepare clinical sites where the Phase I/II studies can be conducted, and then begin the single-dose gene therapy studies in ALS patients by the third quarter of next year. The Company will work with contract research organizations (CROs) to facilitate all activities including manufacturing and clinical trials without the need to hire several dozen staff members, which would significantly increase our operating overhead. Dr. Joseph Sinkule, the Company's CEO and founder commented: "With our recent fundraising success, we're moving forward with manufacturing the s-KL transgene DNA for KLTO-202. We've identified a more efficient method of producing the AAV vector to deliver the s-KL gene directly to motor neurons—the cells most affected by ALS. Our goal is to increase local s-KL protein levels to protect these neurons from the damage that leads to voluntary and involuntary muscle paralysis and ultimately death." ALS typically progresses rapidly, with most patients losing mobility, respiratory function, and life within just 2–3 years of diagnosis. About Klotho Neurosciences, Inc. Klotho Neurosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: KLTO), is a biogenetics company focused on the development of innovative, disease-modifying cell and gene therapies using a protein derived from a patented form of the "anti-aging" human Klotho gene (s-KL), and its novel delivery systems to transform and improve the treatment of neurodegenerative and age-related disorders such as ALS, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease. The Company's current portfolio consists of its proprietary cell and gene therapy programs using DNA and RNA as therapeutics and genomics-based diagnostic assays. The Company is managed by a team of individuals and advisors who are highly experienced in biopharmaceutical product development and commercialization. Investor Contact and Corporate Communications - Jeffrey LeBlanc, CFOir@ Website: Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," and similar expressions. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the forward-looking statements in this press release include descriptions of the Company's future commercial operations. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, such as the Company's inability to implement its business plans, identify and realize additional opportunities, or meet or exceed its financial projections and changes in the regulatory or competitive environment in which the Company operates. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the documents filed or to be filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") from time to time, which could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. All information provided herein is as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. SOURCE Klotho Neurosciences, Inc. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Medscape
an hour ago
- Medscape
Tool Predicts if Seniors with Cancer Can Stay Home Post Op
TOPLINE: A novel predictive model named STAYHOME effectively estimated the risk of losing the ability to live at home among older adults after cancer surgery, demonstrating good calibration with minimal deviation from observed risks. The model predicted a 2.4% and 3.4% risk for admission to a nursing home at 6 months and 12 months, respectively. METHODOLOGY: Older adults prioritize long-term functional independence, and the ability to return and stay at home after cancer surgery remains a key concern. However, current prognostic tools focus on short-term outcomes, lacking individualized long-term risk estimates. To estimate the risk of losing the ability to live at home post-surgery, researchers developed and internally validated a risk prediction model, named STAYHOME, among 97,353 community-dwelling older adults (median age, 76 years) who underwent cancer surgery between 2007 and 2019. The predictive model included preoperative variables such as age, sex, rural residence, previous cancer diagnosis, surgery type, frailty, receipt of home care support, receipt of neoadjuvant therapy, cancer site, and cancer stage. The primary outcome was the inability to stay at home after cancer surgery, defined as the time to admission to a nursing home, and was measured at 6 months and 12 months. TAKEAWAY: Overall, 2658 patients (2.7%) at 6 months and 3746 (3.8%) at 12 months were admitted to a nursing home post-surgery. The mean predicted risk of not staying home was 2.4% at 6 months and 3.4% at 12 months. The STAYHOME tool demonstrated a strong predictive capability, with areas under the curve of 0.76 and 0.75 for 6- and 12-month predictions, respectively. The tool also demonstrated minimal deviation from the observed risk for 6-month (0.33 percentage point on average; calibration slope, 1.27) and 12-month (0.46 percentage point on average; calibration slope, 1.17) predictions. The model's calibration was excellent for most predictors at 6 months and 12 months, with a deviation of < 0.8 percentage points from the observed probability; only age older than 85 years (1.13%), preoperative frailty (1.16%), and receipt of preoperative home care support (1.25%) exceeded the deviation of 1 percentage point at 12 months. Across risk deciles, deviations between predicted and observed probabilities were 0.1%-1.5% at 6 months and 0.1%-1.9% at 12 months, reflecting good calibration. The deviation for the slight overestimation at or above the seventh decile remained under 2% for both timepoints. IN PRACTICE: 'The STAYHOME tool demonstrated good discrimination and was well calibrated. Thus, it may be a useful tool to identify a specific group of individuals at risk of not remaining home,' the authors wrote. '[The tool] used information readily available to patients, care partners, and healthcare professionals and may be implemented to provide them with individualized risk estimates and improve surgical oncology care delivery and experience for older adults,' they concluded. SOURCE: This study, led by Julie Hallet, MD, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was published online in JAMA Surgery. LIMITATIONS: The STAYHOME tool showed slightly reduced discrimination for predictor levels of preoperative frailty, preoperative home care use, receipt of neoadjuvant therapy, and having stage IV disease. The model was also less well calibrated at the extremes of the risk distribution, with a slight overestimation in higher-risk categories. DISCLOSURES: This study was funded by operating grants from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Ontario Cancer Research Institute, and ICES. One author reported receiving speaker fees from Ipsen, outside the submitted work. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
