Current Addictions and Mental Health Resources

Anyone can have a mental illness, regardless of age, gender, race, or income. Mental illnesses are more common than cancer, diabetes, heart disease, or AIDS. It is believed that one in five adults and children has a diagnosable mental disorder, one in every 10 young people age 9 or older has a serious emotional disturbance that severely disrupts daily life.and one in four families will have a member with mental illness. Children who develop depression often have a family history of the illness, many times a parent who had depression at an early age. Untreated mental health problems can lead to suicide, which is the sixth leading cause of death for 5- to 14-year olds. An estimated two-thirds of all young people with mental health problems are not getting the help they need.It is important to remember that mental illness occurs at any age, but most often appears for the first time between the ages of 25 and 44. With proper treatment, most people suffering from a mental illness can return to normal, productive lives, and almost everyone receives some benefit from treatment.

The causes of mental illness are complicated. Mental health disorders in children and adolescents are caused mostly by biology and environment. Examples of biological causes are genetics, chemical imbalances in the body caused by genetics, lack of sleep or poor nutrition, or damage to the central nervous system, such as a head injury, lack of oxygen in child birth and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Many environmental factors also put young people at risk for developing mental health disorders. Examples including exposure to environmental toxins, such as high levels of lead; exposure to violence, such as witnessing or being the victim of physical or sexual abuse, drive-by shootings, muggings, or other disasters; stress related to chronic poverty, discrimination, or other serious hardships; and the loss of important people through death,divorce, or broken relationships.

The following six preventive services are recommended and can be carried out in a clinic, church, library or local community center:

1. Prenatal and infancy home visits or support groups.

2. Targeted cessation education and counseling for smokers, especially those who are pregnant.

3. Targeted short-term mental health therapy.

4. Self-care education for adults (money management, relationship skills, stress management).

5. Mentoring and adult supervised after-school and weekend programs

6. Brief counseling and advice to reduce alcohol use.

Over the years I have found that finding good information is kind of like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The following links will take you to addictions and mental health sites that have the most current and useful information for addictions counselors, rehabilitation counselors, mental health clinicians, nurses and (of course) program administrators. All of the resources are FREE so you can order copies for your colleagues and/or staff!

Clinical Preventive Services in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Update: From Science to Services http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/SMA04-3906/ This report has been prepared to summarize the most promising preventive interventions of a behavioral nature intended to impact mental and substance use disorders, or in some cases, medical outcomes. This review focuses on prevention interventions that are primarily delivered by health care systems. Interventions provided in schools, worksites, communities, and criminal justice systems were excluded, as were population-based interventions.Clinical

Preventive Services in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Update: From Science to Services Special Report: Preventive Interventions Under Managed Care: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/SMA00-3437/SMA00-3437ch1.asp Programs and services that prevent substance abuse and mental health disorders have the potential to lessen an enormous burden of suffering and to reduce both the cost of future treatment and lost productivity at work and home. The availability and accessibility of these interventions to the millions of Americans whose health care is provided by managed care organizations depend upon the services’ status as covered benefits.

Get Connected! Toolkit (Linking Older Adults With Medication, Alcohol, and Mental Health Resources) http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=16523 Alcohol, medication misuse, and mental health problems can be significant issues for older adults. This kit is designed to enable their service providers to undertake health promotion, advance prevention messages and education, and provide screening and referral for mental health problems and the misuse of alcohol and medications. The kit includes a coordinator’s guide and program support materials such as education curricula, fact sheets, handouts, forms, and resources.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD): The Basics (CD Rom) http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=17296 This mini CD—consisting of slides and accompanying notes—provides the latest and most accurate information on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders or FASD. The CD includes essential facts on what FASD is, how it’s caused, how many people have it, and much more.

Quick Guide for Clinicians Based on TIP 47, Substance Abuse: Clinical Issues in Intensive Outpatient Treatment http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=17615 This pocket-sized booklet concisely presents information from TIP 47, including the principles of intensive outpatient treatment (IOT), the services offered, treatment engagement, clinical issues and challenges, and the approaches used in IOT.

TIP 46: Substance Abuse: Administrative Issues in Intensive Outpatient Treatment http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=17440 This Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP), Substance Abuse: Administrative Issues in Outpatient Treatment, was written to help administrators address the changing environment in which outpatient treatment programs operate. The TIP provides basic information about running an outpatient treatment program, including strategic planning, working with a board of directors, relationships with strategic partners, hiring and retaining employees, staff supervision, continuing education and training, performance improvement, outcomes monitoring, and promotion of the program to potential clients, funding agencies, and government officials. More specialized sections address challenges that have emerged and gathered importance in the last decade: preparing a program to provide culturally competent treatment to an increasingly diverse client population and succeeding in a managed care-dominated world by diversifying the funding sources a program draws on.

TIP 45, Detoxification and Substance Abuse Treatment http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=17398 TIP 45 provides lists and tables related to such topics as initial evaluation domains for clients in detoxification, guidance on assessment and rehabilitation planning, and the management of intoxication and withdrawal from specific substances or substance groups such as alcohol, marijuana, stimulants, and opioids.

TIP 44: Substance Abuse Treatment for Adults in the Criminal Justice System http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=17183 Research consistently demonstrates a strong connection between criminal activity and substance abuse; research also finds that involvement in substance abuse treatment reduces recidivism for offenders who use drugs. This TIP presents clinical guidelines to assist counselors in dealing with problems that routinely arise because of their clients’ status in the criminal justice system.

Good resources for teachers and parents regarding mental health and addictions can also be hard to come by. Additionally, many parents have a hard time sticking with programs because day-to-day things come up—working late, homework whatever. It is often more effective to use these materials in a group setting. Not only does it allow the parents and children to spend time together, but families can provide social support to one another. The following FREE resources are available for order and/or download and can be easily used in a classroom, homeschool or church setting.

Drugs, Brains, and Behavior – Science of Addiction http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=17602 (As seen on HBO’s Addiction: Communities Take Action) This landmark publication provides scientific information about the disease of drug addiction, including the many harmful consequences of drug abuse and the basic approaches that have been developed to prevent and treat the disease, and aims to increase understanding of the basics of addiction to help people make informed choices in their own lives, adopt science-based policies and programs that reduce drug abuse and addiction in their communities, and support scientific research that improves the Nation’s well-being.

Building Blocks for a Healthy Future Family Guide http://media.shs.net/bblocks/ParentGuideLong.pdf

The Building Blocks Family Guide contains ideas for fun activities and discussion starters for you and your children, as well as advice and guidance on topics such as active listening, rule making, and being a good role model. It also can be used to guide you through the rest of the Building Blocks materials with your children.

Brain Power! The NIDA Junior Scientist Program: Grades K-1 http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=16883; Grades 2-3 http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=16037; Grades 4-5 http://www.drugabuse.gov/JSP3/JSP.html The Brain Power! program takes students step by step through an exploration of the processes of science and how to use these processes to learn about the brain, the nervous system, and the effects of drugs on the nervous system and the body. The materials include a videotape, a teacher’s guide, trading cards, and parent newsletters.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD): The Basics (CD Rom) http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=17296 This mini CD—consisting of slides and accompanying notes—provides the latest and most accurate information on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders or FASD. The CD includes essential facts on what FASD is, how it’s caused, how many people have it, and much more.

Family Guide to Systems of Care for Children With Mental Health Needs http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/sma05-4054/ Caring for Every Child’s Mental Health Campaign is a national public education initiative emphasizing attention to children’s and adolescents’ mental health. It supports the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program, in place in communities across the Nation, which is demonstrating the effectiveness of systems of care in meeting the services needs and improving the lives of children with serious emotional disturbances (SEDs) and their families. This campaign is managed by the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services. The guide is intended to help parents and caregivers seek help for children with mental health needs. Information is provided on what parents and caregivers need to know, ask, expect, and do to get the most out of their experience with systems of care.

Reach to Teach Educating Elementary and Middle School Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=17603 Reach To Teach is a resource guide for parents of a child with an FASD and for teachers in elementary and middle schools who work with children who have an FASD. It provides a basic introduction to these disorders and tools to improve communication between parents and teachers.

Heads Up: A website with .pdf printables from scholastic publishers. http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/headsup/support/index.asp?article=reproducibles

Real News About Drugs and Your Body. Here you’ll find real, science-based facts about the effects drugs have on the teen brain and body. Check out the articles and features below to get the latest facts so you can make smart choices about your health.

Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis

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Product Description
In Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis, Rosalynn Carter and coauthors Susan K. Golant and Kathryn E. Cade render an insightful, unsparing assessment of the state of mental health. Mrs. Carter has been deeply invested in this issue since her husband’s gubernatorial campaign when she saw firsthand the horrific, dehumanizing treatment of people with mental illnesses.
Using stories from her 35 years of advocacy to springboard into a discussion of the … More >>

Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis

How Mental Health Disorders Can Ruin Your Life

The term mental health refers to the outward leaning on different ways of mental health. Fascinating into account ethnical conflicts and the particular considerations of the country, it deals with the medical biz of mental disorders in contrastive countries, mental health education, and their treatment options, financial and political views.

The human resources direction mental health, the structure of mental health care systems, and human rights issues are amongst the others.

The overall goal of the area of mental health is to make strong or stronger crazed health, all because the worlds by giving poop about the mental health position consequence all nations and identifying mental health needs in command to turn up cost-effective treatments to meet those specific needs.

Mental disorder:

The disorder which makes a significant excuse to the burden of disease leverage the whole system is the mental disorder or dysfunction of mental health. This is a worldwide step of so-called impairment adjusted action years allotted to a certain disease, which is a quell amount of years lived with was also age of life lost adapted to this disease.

Neuropsychiatry conditions tally seeing 14 % of the load of illness in the whole nation or world. Among non-touchy diseases, this explains 28% and thereby additional the sickness or cancer. The largely important part to this build in has main depressive episode, schizophrenia, sickness of using alcohols, dementia also the depression congener us to manic depressive illness

However it is estimated that the real contribution of mental disorders to the global burden of disease is even higher, amongst others due to complex interactions and co morbidity of physical and mental illness.

Treatment for Unbalanced mental health:

It has been proven that up to 30% of all individuals universally suppose a mental disorder, and in pain of the accident that treatments for the intervention of mental disorders are available. The ratio of those mortals with mental disorders who would need treatment but who do not receive mental health care is very high.

The so called treatment since unbalanced lunatic health is estimated to do about 76-85% for the countries with middle or low incomes, besides still 35-50% being the countries having high incomes. Even those who are handled are often treated credit an inefficient manner or in an inhumane way.

Interventions:

So thanks to get going hero like or stronger mental health systems around the world sound reckon on been first cited in the macrocosm Health Report 2001, which centered on the unglued health:

* Provide treatment significance primary care
* Give care in the community
* Make psychotropic drugs available
* Involve communities, families also consumers
* Educate the governmental
* Bring about national policies, programs and legislation
* Link with other sectors
* Develop human resources
* Support more research
* Monitor fold mental health

Barriers now the unfolding for the mental disorder:

In ill will of the fact that knowingness of the need because design of persons with mental disorders has developed, learned admit not been significant changes in mental health care oratory during the past years.

The most important reasons through this problem are lack of a mental health policy, public health presidencies, and mastery many countries the main problem is the statute law, a lack of boodle – human and financial resources – as well as lacking the ability or insufficient resource allotment.

Mental disorders diagnosed in childhood:

This type of disorders diagnosed in awkward age cites to certain considerations traditionally linked with a beginning diagnosis in teenagers or in the time of childhood.

This is in counterpoint to conditions such due to mishap depression, disorders, and manic depression, which have normally been believed by adult-onset, though they are now diagnosed and treated significance children on definitive occasion.

The grow up of attack has demonstrated to be a useful heuristic in sorting out conditions, and some conditions include guidance their normal subject matter of direct that the condition was first discovered before the age of 18.

Mental Health Today

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Publication covering such topics as mental health news, stories of hope, atypical antipsychotics as treatment for schizophrenia, survey of ethnic minority mental health, campaign on early intervention, routes to recovery, and opportunities for health and social care professionals…. More >>

Mental Health Today

Should Alcohol Taxes Pay for Mental Health Programs? Do the Math

Improving the Mental Health System

According to a news release that was dated May 9, 2006, the “Standing Senate Committee On Social Affairs, Science and Technology” in Canada recommended the creation of a Canadian Mental Health Commission that will be responsible for significantly upgrading the Canadian mental health system. As stated by Senator Michael Kirby, the Chair of the Committee, “The Senate Committee is committed to improving the range, quality and organization of health and support services that are required by the tens of thousands of Canadians who are living with mental illnesses and addictions.”

Funding The Proposed Change

Based on an extensive three-year study on mental health and addiction, the Committee determined that it will cost $5.36 billion over a 10-year period for this mental health system upgrade. Where will these funds come from? According to the Committee, the revenue will come from raising the excise tax on alcoholic drinks by 5 cents per drink.

Part of the rationale for the 5-cent increase per drink was obviously the goal of raising the needed funds for the proposed changes in the mental health system. Another justifying factor for the price increase, however, was the fact that since each alcoholic drink will cost more, Canadians will be more inclined to drink lower-alcohol products such as beer and wine instead of liquor.

Let’s Do the Math

At first glance, this proposal seems to make sense. Why shouldn’t those who drink help finance a program that will provide them with a better mental health system? Why not let those who are part of the “problem” become part of the “solution”? This logic seems sound until you do the math. If $5.36 billion is needed to help finance the upgraded mental health system, then how many drinks will have to be consumed in a ten-year period to reach $5.36 billion dollars? The answer: 107,200,000,000 drinks. That’s 107 billion, 200 million drinks.

To arrive at how many drinks this is per year, all we have to do is divide this number by 10 (for the ten-year program) and the result is 10,720,000,000. This is still a huge number that fortunately can be “massaged” even more. According to The World Factbook website, the population of Canada was estimated to be 33 million people in 2006. Dividing 10,720,000,000 by 33,000,000 equals 325. Putting this in terms that the average person can understand, every man, woman, and child in Canada will have to consume 325 alcoholic drinks per year for the next ten years to finance the new mental health system! Simply put, these numbers are not realistic.

More Flaws

The “logic” of this proposed mental health program also breaks down when it is examined more deeply. For instance, why would people drink lower-alcohol products such as beer if the increased excise tax applies to all alcoholic drinks? To help understand this better, let’s use an example. Let’s say that the average shot in Canada currently costs $3.00 and the average beer costs $1.00. Based on the proposed price increase, if Joe drinks an average of 5 shots per week, his weekly average alcohol expenditure will be $15.25. When the numbers are calculated, this figures out to be 1.7% more than Joe would have spent before the proposed tax increase. Let’s do a similar exercise with beer. Based on the projected price increase, if Pete drinks an average of 5 beers per week, his weekly average alcohol expenditure will be $5.25. When the numbers are calculated, this figures out to be 5% more than Pete would have spent before the proposed tax increase. The point: since the proposed price increase affects higher-alcohol products (such as shots) proportionately less than their lower-alcohol counterparts (such as beer), why would Canadians switch to lower-alcohol products?

Alcohol and Mental Health

Another question. What if tens of thousands of Canadians, realizing that drinking alcohol is not good for their “mental health,” significantly reduce their alcohol intake or quit drinking alcoholic beverages altogether? Where will the money come from to offset this lack of revenue? In a similar manner, what if thousands upon thousands of Canadians who drink alcoholic beverages decide that they don’t want to pay the extra excise tax and, as a result, stop drinking alcoholic beverages? If this happens, where will the government get the money needed to transform the mental health system? In other words, does the Canadian government have a realistic “plan B” for this major transformation?

A Logical Contradiction

From a different perspective, isn’t it rather ironic that those who drink alcoholic beverages will pay for the revamped mental health system? Isn’t there a contradiction in logic somewhere in this proposal? Stated differently, if tens of thousands of Canadians have mental illnesses or are addicted to alcohol or drugs, wouldn’t the government want Canadians to drink LESS alcohol in order to reduce the existing alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and alcohol-related mental health problems? Yet according to the current mental health proposal, from strictly a financial standpoint, it would appear that the Canadian government is banking the entire mental health system upgrade on historical data that strongly suggests that Canadians will continue to drink at their current or even higher levels of consumption.

Budgetary Miscalculations

What happens, for instance, if there are cost overruns in the proposed mental health system? There are, of course, two “easy” solutions to this problem: increase the excise tax on each drink or motivate Canadians to drink even more alcoholic beverages. Either “solution,” however, is predicated on the fact that in order to “work,” the upgraded mental health system needs to be funded by Canadians who continue to drink alcoholic beverages.

Conclusion

It appears logical to conclude that the Canadian mental health system is in need of a major overhaul. As with most comprehensive government programs, however, the issue of funding becomes a major obstacle to overcome. The proposed Canadian mental health system upgrade is no exception. Based on the reasons given above, it seems obvious that the Canadian government needs to come up with alternate sources of revenue generation for this worthwhile project. Indeed, to point out one of the major “flaws” in the current proposal, consider the following question: When is more drinking a “good thing?” Answer: when it finances a nationwide mental health system upgrade. Something tells me that Andy Rooney from “60 Minutes” would have a lot of fun with this.

Copyright 2007 – Denny Soinski. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and give the author credit.

What is Good Mental Health?

Let’s talk about your mental health.

Note your initial reaction to that suggestion. What do you expect when someone wants to talk about your mental health? In our society, people often expect to hear some kind of criticism. The little man or woman inside may be accusing me of thinking you are crazy.

Pay attention—I want to talk about your mental health—your mental and emotional assets. I believe that discussions about anything “mental” in our society should begin with assets—so that all parties come to the table with the understanding that people are not labels. Any person, who has ever had a condition such as depression, bipolar, anxiety, schizophrenia etc., must separate the diagnosis from their definition of themselves.

So what is mental health?

This question has been a question of hot debate since people began thinking about their thinking. In the past, mental health, as well as health in general, was defined as the absence of a disease or illness. This definition would define someone who spends their day doing nothing more than watching television as “mentally healthy” when they have the capacity to do much more.

Current definitions of mental health involve behaviors of coping, productivity, and quality connections with others.

1. The World Health Organization definition (World Health Organization 2007):

“A state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”

2. The Surgeon General of the United States definition (Department of Health and Human Services 1999):

“The successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity.”

What Can Mental Health Do?

Though mental health and health both involve our body, “mental health” generally refers to the effective functioning of our thoughts, moods, and behaviors (Public Health Service 2001). Effective thoughts, moods, and behaviors lead us to take care of ourselves, physically and mentally. We pay attention to what we eat, how we feel, how we interact. We are able to detect when something is “off” and make the necessary adjustments. We help build a world that facilitates the health and mental health of others.

Mental health is the foundation of our health. “There is no health without mental health” (World Health Organization 2007).

Do I Have Mental Health?

Everybody has mental health—thoughts, moods, and behaviors that work. The answers to the following questions can help you identify the mental health you possess:

What mental processes and behaviors can help me “keep going” every day, as well as during times of crisis?
How can I mobilize my effective mental processes and behaviors to recover from illness?
How can I use my effective mental processes and behaviors to have a more abundant life?
Do You Want to Know More?

Stay tuned to Moxie Mental Health, where stories of how real people have transformed themselves, their families, and the world around them are posted three times weekly: Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

The next blog will discuss research from the field of Positive Psychology that has identified and classified specific mental strengths. The blog will help you identify several specific mental strengths that you own. Your strengths can be your means of encountering the difficulties you face with spirit and courage—enabling you to emerge from the fire as a grander, more magnificent person.

Katrina

Weaving Mental Health First Aid into Workplace Wellness

Every month Anne LaFleur sends employees in her office a quiz about various wellness topics. When the topic was depression, she received twice as many responses as usual from co-workers.

When LaFleur, vice president of human resources at a credit union in Pawtucket, RI, took a Mental Health First Aid course in February, she quickly understood the reason for the high level of interest in mental health issues. The training also helped her identify people in her office who may be suffering a mental health problem and taught her how to provide help and refer people to self-help and professional resources. “The training made me realize that mental health issues are very common, yet one of the least talked about problems,” LaFleur says.

More than one in four people suffer from a diagnosable mental health problem in any given year. Mental illness likely costs businesses more than $79 billion a year, $63 billion of it in lost productivity. The statistics point to the significant need to incorporate mental health into burgeoning employee wellness programs, which have received a shot in the arm with the passage of federal healthcare reform legislation.

Mental Health First Aid has proved to be an ideal program to promote improved mental health in workplaces across the country.

LaFleur is one of more than 6,000 people certified in Mental Health First Aid since the training was introduced in the United States two years ago by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare along with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Those who participate in the 12-hour Mental Health First Aid course learn a five-step process to assess a situation, select and implement appropriate interventions and help a person developing signs and symptoms of mental illness or in crisis receive appropriate care. Participants also learn about the risk factors and warning signs of specific illnesses such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, and addiction.

Evaluations show that the evidence-based Mental Health First Aid program saves lives, expands people’s knowledge of mental illnesses and their treatments, and reduces the stigma associated with mental illness by helping people understand and accept mental illness as a medical condition. One trial of 301randomized participants found that those who took the training had greater confidence in providing help to others, greater likelihood of advising people to seek professional help, and decreased stigmatizing attitudes.

Unexpectedly, the study also found that Mental Health First Aid improved the mental health of the participants themselves.

“By understanding the signs and symptoms of depression, I learned to recognize this in myself,” says Kellie-Ann Heenan, director of human resources at a company in Lincoln, RI.

Heenan, who had the training in February, has an adopted son from Russia who suffers from a number of emotional issues.

“The tools I learned made it easier to connect with him and better understand where he’s coming from,” she says. “In the end, the training improved my own mental health.”

LaFleur has also applied the lessons she learned in the course to her home life.

“My kids are in their 20s and they go through the typical ups and downs,” says LaFleur, “I use my Mental Health First Aid training to see how my kids are feeling.” LaFleur says she was surprised by the range of mental health issues covered in the course.

“We looked at how to deal with both crisis and non-crisis situations, and it made us very aware of the terminology we use that may not be socially correct,” she says, noting that describing co-workers as “crazy” or a “nut case” may be hurtful to people going through an emotionally trying time.

The training proved to be particularly helpful to Lynn Corwin last January when two fellow employees walked into her office in a panic. They told Corwin, director of human resources at the organization, that a co-worker was extremely upset about the recent earthquake in Haiti. The distressed young woman had a close friend in Haiti and had been unable to contact the person for five days. Fearing the worst, the woman was having difficulty managing her emotions, let alone being able to work.

While the two workers had no idea how to deal with the situation, Corwin sprung into action.

“I used what I learned in the course to calm the woman down and talk with her about how she’s feeling,” says Corwin. “I explained to her that it was OK to be upset, and to not be embarrassed about it.”

“The training left me with a greater sense of confidence about how to deal with a variety of people issues that come up in every office,” concludes Heenan. “There’s such a stigma around mental health and people don’t want to talk about it, so having the information gives me confidence that I’ll be able to handle these types of situations when they arise.”

Nobody’s Child

Description
In an Emmy Award-winning role, Marlo Thomas portrays Marie Balter. Abandoned as an infant, Balter endures abuse and neglect by her foster parents. At age 17, doctors misdiagnose her severe panic disorder as schizophrenia, and she spends 20 years in a mental institution.A heart wrenching true story of the survival of the human spirit, Nobody’s Child journeys from tragedy to triumph as Balter ultimately builds a life, earns a masters degree from Harvard University, and open… More >>

Nobody’s Child

Mental Health Organizations Work Together To Save And Improve Lives

If someone told you they had access to specialty cardiology treatment but not to primary care, you may find it ironic. If someone told you they are being treated for their cancer but not for their co-occurring diabetes, it would seem ridiculous. Yet this kind of health care is typical to that given to individuals suffering from serious mental illness.

The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors 2007 study on morbidity and mortality in people with serious mental illness revealed that, on average, people with severe mental illness die 25 years earlier than the general population. This was a bombshell. But the tragic report findings corroborated what those in the trenches — community mental and behavioral healthcare providers — suspected; community mental health organizations are helping people recover from mental illness when their lives are endangered due to neglect of other serious health issues.

The barriers to complete care seem daunting. A recent survey of community behavioral organizations revealed that although over 90% consider general healthcare for consumers a priority, only one in two organizations has any general healthcare capacity, and less than one in three has the capacity to provide the services onsite. The most common barriers to obtaining general medical services are problems in reimbursement, workforce limitations, physical plant constraints, and lack of community referral options.

The large unmet need for mental health and substance abuse specialty services within general healthcare also cannot be ignored. A 2007 Health Affairs article notes that community health centers reported that over 40% of uninsured patients and 20% of Medicaid patients had difficulty accessing mental health services; and over 50% of uninsured patients and 30% of Medicaid patients were challenged in accessing substance abuse treatment. Primary care needs the staff and skills to assess behavioral health conditions; and behavioral health care providers need the capacity to accept and treat the complex cases referred to them from primary care.

There are community behavioral health organizations that have implemented innovative clinical and financing models that make possible the provision of comprehensive care in collaboration with primary care centers. Collaboration is evident in co-located mental health and primary care services, enhanced referral processes between mental health and primary care, sharing of patient information, and cross-training of staff.

Community mental health organizations’ job is saving and improving lives. In addition to legislative activity, many mental health organizations have been active on the practice improvement front. Using web-based technologies have formed virtual learning communities where behavioral health and primary care professionals share information and offer feedback and advice.

Community mental health organizations around the U.S. will continue to advocate for increased attention and resources for the whole health of our communities — but to be effective they need your help. Here are four things that every person can do to help:

1.) Make your voice heard –

Advocate within your community and your state for resources to ensure that people with serious mental illnesses and addictions have access to primary care.

2.) Be creative –

Work with existing funding mechanisms to begin to address the whole health of people with serious mental illnesses and addictions; explore all the options.

3.) Foster collaboration –

Look for ways to begin to work with your local community health center or primary care practices. What might start with sending your staff to a primary care center can evolve into a robust partnership with primary care services being delivered within your organization.

4.) Focus on health -

Consider offering Mental Health First Aid certification programs in your community, helping people identify mental illnesses and respond to mental health crises. And as the most important healthcare providers in the lives of people with serious mental illnesses and addictions, promote healthy lifestyles and effective management of chronic conditions

Let us imagine the future — a future where we prevent illness whenever possible and when we can’t prevent, we educate, we intervene early, and we deliver the best possible care to every person, every place, every time. And if we imagine it — together we will make it happen.

Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: A Clinical Approach

Product Description
The 6th edition of this market-leading textbook offers a clear, straightforward way to understand the often intimidating subject of psychiatric mental health nursing. Its practical, clinical perspective and user-friendly writing style help you quickly master key concepts. Clinical chapters follow the nursing process framework and progress from theory to application with a wealth of real-world examples to prepare you for practice.

UNIQUE! A conversational,… More >>

Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: A Clinical Approach

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