Federal Report Denounces Gender Treatments for Adolescents

Federal Report Denounces Gender Treatments for Adolescents

Federal health officials published a report on Thursday declaring that the use of hormonal and surgical treatments in young people with gender dysphoria lacked scientific evidence and expressing concern about long-term harms, a stark reversal from previous agency recommendations and the advice of top U.S. medical groups. The report instead …

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Human Therapists Prepare for Battle Against A.I. Pretenders

Human Therapists Prepare for Battle Against A.I. Pretenders

The nation’s largest association of psychologists this month warned federal regulators that A.I. chatbots “masquerading” as therapists, but programmed to reinforce, rather than to challenge, a user’s thinking, could drive vulnerable people to harm themselves or others. In a presentation to a Federal Trade Commission panel, Arthur C. Evans Jr., …

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New Insights Into Older Hearts

New Insights Into Older Hearts

It turns out that the Isley Brothers, who sang that 1966 Motown hit “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You),” were onto something when they linked age to an aching and flagging heart. Heart disease, the nation’s leading cause of death and disability, has been diagnosed in about …

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How an Activist Group Helped Torpedo MDMA Therapy

How an Activist Group Helped Torpedo MDMA Therapy

After more than three decades of planning and a $250 million investment, Lykos Therapeutics’ application for the first psychedelic drug to reach federal regulators was expected to be a shoo-in. Lykos, the corporate arm of a nonprofit dedicated to winning mainstream acceptance of psychedelics, had submitted data to the Food …

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5 Intimacy Retreats to Improve Your Sex Life

5 Intimacy Retreats to Improve Your Sex Life

Fifteen years ago, seeking reconnection and to fuel our flames in the bedroom, my husband and I ditched our three kids for a weekend-long couples’ retreat called “Better Communication, Better Sex,” at the Miraval Arizona Resort & Spa in Tucson, Ariz. There were separate workshops for women and men, a …

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Howard Buten, Autism Therapist, Novelist and Clown, Is Dead at 74

Howard Buten, Autism Therapist, Novelist and Clown, Is Dead at 74

Howard Buten, a college dropout from Detroit, juggled three extraordinary lives. In one, he was a tender, clumsy and wordless red-nosed clown named Buffo. He sold out theaters around the world. Critics compared him to Charlie Chaplin and Harpo Marx. In another, he volunteered as an aide with autistic children, …

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What Dr. Ruth Left Behind

What Dr. Ruth Left Behind

When Ruth Westheimer died last July at 96, she was celebrated as a pioneering sex therapist, cultural gadfly and consummate Manhattanite — described once as a 4-foot-7 cross between Minnie Mouse and Henry Kissinger, to use a much-repeated description, who changed the way we talk about our most intimate lives. …

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