Local 12: Gun violence and mental health
Two recent fatal shootings in the Cincinnati area have reportedly involved individuals struggling with mental health issues, highlighting the ongoing mental health crisis.
Maria Espinola, PsyD, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, told Local 12 News the pandemic has only made the mental health crisis worse due to a lack of access to care. Some waitlists have grown to more than 1,000 people with patients waiting months to be seen, she said.
“When someone has been dealing with mental health issues for a long time, not being able to access care can exacerbate their symptomatology,” Espinola said.
Featured photo at top courtesy of Unsplash.
Related Stories
High Court offers protections for therapy speech
April 5, 2026
Jennifer Bard, a professor in the Donald P. Klekamp College of Law and the UC Department of Internal Medicine, spoke with journalists about the US Supreme Court ruling granting first amendment protections for speech offered during therapy sessions.
Scientists discover how snakes stand upright without limbs
April 3, 2026
Smithsonian magazine highlights a study co-authored by UC Professor Bruce Jayne, an expert in snake locomotion, about how snakes stand upright without arms or legs.
On track: Hoffman Honors Scholar studies public transit
April 2, 2026
Public transit is where Zane Sawyer’s lifelong passion for travel meets his commitment to making an impact. The University of Cincinnati first-year geography major in the College of Arts & Sciences and member of the second cohort of Hoffman Honors Scholars (HHS) has hit the ground running, designing a research project intended to capture both how public transit works and how its users perceive it.