VOA标准英语2010年-Website of the Week — Psychology Hel（在线收听）

Information to help you cope with stress, depression, and other mental health issues

Art Chimes | Washington, DC 12 March 2010

 
The APA's Help Center offers a collection of tools and articles to help you learn about and, perhaps, cope with mental health issues.

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APA Help Center
"The APA Help Center ... features information related to psychological issues that affect people's daily physical and emotional well being." — Luana Bossolo

Time again for our Website of the Week, when we showcase interesting and innovative online destinations.

Natural disasters like January's devastating earthquake in Haiti can produce tremendous loss of life and property. And for survivors — as well as family and friends halfway around the world — the stress and worry can take a psychological toll.

Mental health can be at stake in less dramatic circumstances, too. The loss of a job or a divorce can trigger stress. Even just getting old can lead to depression. Our Website of the Week may help.

"The APA Help Center is an online resource for consumers that features information related to psychological issues that affect people's daily physical and emotional well being," says Luana Bossolo, a spokeswoman for the American Psychological Association. The APA's Help Center has a collection of tools and articles to help you learn about mental health issues and perhaps help you cope.

The site includes sections on work and family, and on disasters. There's even a special interactive feature showing how stress can affect your physical health.

A visit to the APA Help Center isn't the same as seeing a trained psychologist, but it's a good place to learn more about what's bothering you.

"This is a starting point for people," says Bossolo. "This is a place for you to get more information. But if you feel that having information is not enough, then we really encourage people to seek appropriate help."

Bossolo says the web team ensures that information on the site is accurate by turning to experts in the field.

"And we're turning to psychologists who have the skills and the professional training and knowledge on these topics. We interview the psychologists on the content, and we also have these psychologists review the material to ensure that the science and the research is accurately presented."

Many mental health issues cross cultural boundaries. So, although the APA Help Center is sponsored by the American Psychological Association, international users account for one in five visits - some of them, presumably checking out the Spanish language version that's there, next to the English language site at apa.org/helpcenter, or visit our site, VOAnews.com, for the link to this and hundreds of other Websites of the Week.