UCLA psychologist weighs in on psychosis portrayal in The Pitt and more media coverage of UCLA

newsroom.ucla.edu · Feb 27, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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In a New York Times article about how HBO Max’s “The Pitt” portrays psychosis, UCLA psychologist Carrie Bearden, director of the Center for the Assessment and Prevention of Prodromal States, explained that suspiciousness and unusual thoughts can signal elevated risk for developing a psychotic disorder. The story underscores the importance of recognizing and addressing early symptoms. See more about UCLA in today’s Bloomberg, People and other outlets. More highlights from UCLA in the News: Feb. 26, 2026 Pistachio billionaires give UCLA $100 Million for mental health | Bloomberg Lynda and Stewart Resnick, the billionaire co-owners of agricultural giant the Wonderful Company, are giving $100 million to UCLA Health to fund the expansion of a neuropsychiatric hospital and mental health campus. The gift from their foundation is the largest in the health system’s history and will anchor construction of a new specialized complex aimed at addressing the growing mental health crisis, UCLA Health said Thursday. (UCLA’s Johnese Spisso was quoted.) LGBTQ+ questions are disappearing from federal surveys | People The Trump administration has been removing questions relating to LGBTQ+ identities on federal surveys, according to a new study. A February 2026 study by the UCLA Williams Institute determined that the federal government has removed at least one measure of sexual orientation and gender identity in about 360 data collections. The erasure of LGBTQ+ questions comes after President Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order that only male and female gender identities would be federally recognized. (UCLA’s Lauren Bouton and Elana Redfield were quoted.) State of the Union targets transgender kids and their families | Advocate According to data collected by the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, about 2.8 million people, or 1 percent of the population in the U.S., identify as transgender, with 3.3 percent of U.S. youth ages 13 to 17, roughly 724,000 teenagers, identifying as transgender, an August 2025 report found. 74% of fire-impacted Altadena rentals show no rebuilding activity | KTTV-TV Most fire-impacted Altadena rental housing shows no rebuilding activity, according to new UCLA research. The analysis shows 74% of identified rental units within the fire perimeter remain on properties with no public record of things like rebuilding permits, sales or active listings. (Also: LAist.) Teens want to see more “connected masculinity” onscreen | Deadline Less Doctor Strange and more Dr. Robby. That’s what Gen Alpha and Gen Z want to see onscreen, according to the most recent “Teens & Screens” survey from the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA. The annual report found that kids and young adults ages 10-24 prefer to see onscreen portrayals of “fathers enjoying parenting” or “fathers showing love to kids” by a 5 to 1 margin vs. those who wanted to see less of those dynamics. The best protein sources for lowering your risk of dementia, ranked | HuffPost Dr. Emeran Mayer, a neuroscientist, professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and author of “The Mind-Gut Immune Connection,” shared that getting regular exercise, maintaining social connections and nutrition all play a role in lowering the risk of dementia.