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Welcome to The Census, your biweekly roundup of what matters in behavioral health care.

Today, we’re breaking down:

• The at-home ketamine therapy boom

• Your latest news headlines in under two minutes

Let’s dive in.

- Shân

P.S. Lots of interesting research was released this week. Scroll to the end for our one-line summaries.

A trend we’re watching this week:

🔎 People are searching for ketamine clinics like never before

— partially spurred by JFK Jr.’s open embrace of alternative mental health therapies.

Under many circumstances, ketamine therapy can be life-changing. The jury’s still out on whether widely accessible ketamine treatment has a net benefit, but we’re not here to enter that debate. 

We’re here to tell you that search interest in individual ketamine clinics, particularly those offering at-home, self-guided ketamine therapy, is soaring (see above).

And to remind you of these points:

• The DEA has extended the pandemic-led telehealth prescribing of ketamine, meaning people can still take it, unsupervised, at home.

• Newly proposed legislation could soon allow AI to autonomously prescribe drugs, recognising AI as a “licensed practitioner.”

• Our HHS Secretary has been very vocal about ending the “aggressive suppression” of psychedelics such as ketamine.

• Search trends for “addicted to ketamine” are eerily similar to those for ketamine therapy — but are suddenly at much higher volumes. 

Plenty to mull over. Let’s get your news headlines. 

Catch up quick

This week’s top stories

Latest news

🚬 More than 15% of young American adults used e-cigarettes in 2023 — but Google search interest (above) suggests many are looking for ways to quit.

🎲 Arizona spent ~$1.4M on gambling addiction treatment last year, marking a continued upward trend since the state legalized sports betting in 2021. 

🤖 Behavioral health patients receiving care boosted by GenAI attended 42% more therapy sessions and achieved a 25% higher recovery rate compared to standard treatment.

🤑 Syra Health reported 2024 revenue of $8M, a 45% increase from 2023, thanks partly to ‘strong growth in behavioral and mental health contracts.’

📈 Analysts forecast an increase in healthcare private equity deals due to falling interest rates and a more favorable regulatory environment.

😟 Several thousand Tricare providers haven’t been paid for months, forcing many to drop patients, reduce hours or consider closing their clinics.

⚠️ Looming Medicaid cuts would automatically end ACA expansions in Illinois, significantly reducing who qualifies for behavioral health coverage.

🍔 Eating disorders are bringing ‘shame and secrecy’ to middle-aged women across the States.

🤪 The CDC will conduct its own study into whether vaccines cause autism, despite reams of past research failing to prove any links. 

👀 A new state law meant to improve conditions at Texan addiction facilities may unfortunately not have the effect lawmakers intended.

🤯 More than 31 million Americans borrowed money last year to pay for health care, a new survey found.

👀 Caps on hours and rate cuts are two state issues to watch in autism therapy this year.

🧠 LGBTQ+ youth across the US experience high rates of mental health challenges — yet they face significant hurdles to accessing mental health care.

😞 Ark Behavioral Health is closing one of its locations and laying off 85 staff, citing an ‘unanticipated and unprecedented decline’ in patient census.

🏥 Horizon Recovery opened a new $3M residential center for teens experiencing mental health and addiction issues in Arizona.

💡 What providers and investors need to know about Colorado’s proposed expanded medical care transaction oversight bill. 

Funding rounds & investor moves

🕊️ Bluebird Kids Health landed $31M+ for its value-based integrated behavioral-physical pediatrics model.

🤑 CentralReach, a dominant player in autism therapy software, is seeking a sale at a $1B valuation.

🟢 Greenspace Health secured a Series B investment to advance innovation in behavioral health through measurement-based care.

🤖 Wysa, an AI-powered mental health chatbot company, acquired April Health (they integrate virtual behavioral health services into primary care).

💰 NeuroFlow acquired Quartet Health, a value-based behavioral healthcare enablement company.

💸 The Stepping Stones Group acquired Gallagher Pediatric Therapy, a school provider of occupational and physical therapy.

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Studies & opinion pieces

🍷 Low-dose semaglutide can reduce cravings and drinking outcomes, showing early promise in treating alcohol use disorder (study). 

⚠️ Gestational exposure to the psychiatric medication valproate is associated with an increased risk of ASD and ADHD (study).

💊 Adults aged 26 to 34 who started their ADHD medications through telehealth had a higher risk of SUD, even after accounting for mental health conditions (study).

💡 Gut nerve development appears to play a role in autism-related stomach issues — and serotonin might be the key to relief (study).

🔋 A mitochondrial-targeted dietary supplement appears to improve both mitochondrial function and autism symptoms in children (study).

🧠 Abnormal fluid flow in the brain may play a role in autism severity and specific symptoms like language difficulties and sensory issues (study).

🤔 Why there are no quick fixes to the autism therapy wait time crisis (opinion).

👀 Agentic AI agents may be used to guide future clinical decision-making, if they are shown to meet strict safety standards (opinion).

🤖 How machine learning models show promise in early detection of serious mental illness (opinion/Q&A).

That’s it for this week! See you next time,

- Shân

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