Two Minds Blog

  America is experiencing a mental health crisis , with the most recent data (2022) showing a record high number of people who took their own lives. Drug overdose deaths also continue to rise, and are consistently related to problems with anxiety and depression. Worldwide, people report more "bad mental health" days and lower overall levels of happiness than they did 20 years ago, and the problem is particularly acute among young people . More people than ever are accessing psychotherapy , yet that hasn't fixed the problem. Standard approaches like cognitive-behavioral therapy, which encourage us to think our way out of our troubles, have not been successful against this challenge. Sources of Strength began as a statewide suicide-prevention program for teens in North Dakota, which in 1998 was seeing many young people die from suicide, along with overdoses and car crashes (two types of death that are also potentially related to suicidal feelings). In pooled results from ...

  College enrollment is not only declining in the U.S., but changing in substantial ways. Specifically, many fewer students are now interested in a humanities or liberal arts major, while many more are pursuing professional training in fields like health care or engineering. Record numbers of U.S. colleges are closing or dramatically cutting back their program offerings as a result. These nationwide trends relate to student concerns about employability, as well as employer demands for new hires with specific skill-based credentials rather than a broad-based undergraduate education. Badges and other micro-credentials (some offered by universities!) have emerged as a way to meet employers' and students' demands for specific content learning. What is lost when we don't have English and history majors available as a course of study? Some experts argue that these disciplines teach critical skills like problem-solving, communication, and discourse that are necessary across s...