Book Reviews: Mental Health Care in the College Community, Editors Jerald Kay and Victor Schwartz
College educators now recognize that promoting mental health for students plays a key role in achievement. A new book, says Anna Scheyett, fills a gap about planning and implementing essential services. Read her review of Mental Health Care in the College Community.
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News: Risky college-age drinking
iStock photoNearly half of those between the ages of 18 and 24 are enrolled in college. And nearly half of those sampled in an epidemiological survey reported a mental health or substance use concern. But only one-quarter of the students sampled (n=2188) said they sought treatment. Comparing non-students to students, the college students were more likely to show alcohol dependence; non-students were more likely to have a nicotine dependence. Authors of the study appearing in the Archives of General Psychiatry...
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News: Resources for college students
To help colleges meet the needs of students with a mental illness, two resources were recently released. Building Bridges from SAMHSA is a rich resource describing problems students have encountered, offering solutions student consumers recommend, and providing community resources. The Jed Foundation makes available Student Mental Health and the Law which answers questions about disabilities, the law, and services. Each is available in a pdf download....
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Track Legislation: Michelle's Law (HR 2851) goes to president
The Senate passed a bill (HR 2851) allowing college students to retain their insurance if they are health issues require taking a leave of absence. The measure, which the House approved in July, was named for a student named Michelle who died of colon cancer....
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News: Colleges proactive about mental health
The needs of students attending college while managing a mental illness are being addressed more openly than ever before. In the month of September, typically associated with "back-to-school" news, NPR aired stories about managing depression, and campus organization such as Active Minds, Graduate students are writing about how knowledge of one's illness can influence how to select a program. Last week the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law released a guide, Campus Mental Health with detailed information about legal rights...
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News: Colleges proactive about mental health
The needs of students attending college while managing a mental illness are being addressed more openly than ever before. In the month of September, typically associated with "back-to-school" news, NPR aired stories about managing depression, and campus organization such as Active Minds, Graduate students are writing about how knowledge of one's illness can influence how to select a program. Last week the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law released a guide, Campus Mental Health with detailed information about legal rights...
Full Story | Topics: advance directives, colleges, depression, legal, stigma, students | Comments (1)

Commentary: Helping college students: PADs on campus
When college students need help because of a mental illness, schools often don't know where to turn. Helping college students: PADs on campus could offer an answer. Dean Anna Scheyett and Adrienne Rooks (School of Social Work, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) explain how psychiatric advance directives can enlist students, faculty and administrators.
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News: Services for college students
The "Mental Health on Campus Improvement Act" (S. 3311) was introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) to improve services for students on college campuses. The bill aims to increase the number of counselors available on campus. A survey by the American College Health Association indicated one in 11 students considered suicide and the numbers with anxiety disorder and depression had increased. Of the students who committed suicide, barely one in four had received counseling. Click here to read S. 3311...
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News: Covering gap in student insurance
A bill aimed to close insurance gaps for up to one year when medical necessity forces a college student to temporarily withdraw is making its way through congressional committees. Michelle's Law (H.R. 2851), named for college student named Michelle Morse, is based on a 2006 New Hampshire law passed after her death from colon cancer. A similar measure became law in New Hampshire in 2006, and last year New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hode introduced this in the House....
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Consider This: Northern Illinois University
Events at Northern Illinois University remind us that complex problems need complex answers.
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News: Student privacy in Virginia
In a session that’s certain to invoke the tragedy at Virginia Tech many times, the Virginia General Assembly will be considering changes to mental health laws. One proposal introduced last week strips privacy from students by requiring high schools to forward mental health records to colleges accepting them. It is hard to imagine how this will encourage students to confidently seek help....
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News: Student privacy in Virginia
In a session that’s certain to invoke the tragedy at Virginia Tech many times, the Virginia General Assembly will be considering changes to mental health laws. One proposal introduced last week strips privacy from students by requiring high schools to forward mental health records to colleges accepting them. It is hard to imagine how this will encourage students to confidently seek help....
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News: Panel reports on Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech Panel Review investigating April’s campus shootings was critical of failures to link information and follow up for assailant Cho. It also clarified his history. Among its numerous concerns was whether mental health information should follow students applying to colleges. "It is common practice to require students entering a new school, college, or university to present records of immunization. Why not records of serious emotional or mental problems too?" The answer: "stigma." The Review recommended weighing this against...
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News: Panel reports on Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech Panel Review investigating April’s campus shootings was critical of failures to link information and follow up for assailant Cho. It also clarified his history. Among its numerous concerns was whether mental health information should follow students applying to colleges. "It is common practice to require students entering a new school, college, or university to present records of immunization. Why not records of serious emotional or mental problems too?" The answer: "stigma." The Review recommended weighing this against...
Full Story | Topics: colleges, stigma, students | Comments (0)

News: Panel reports on Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech Panel Review investigating April’s campus shootings was critical of failures to link information and follow up for assailant Cho. It also clarified his history. Among its numerous concerns was whether mental health information should follow students applying to colleges. "It is common practice to require students entering a new school, college, or university to present records of immunization. Why not records of serious emotional or mental problems too?" The answer: "stigma." The Review recommended weighing this against...
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News: Virginia probe unsettling
Knee-jerk reactions to Virginia Tech could easily threaten privacy and confidentiality, and promote social isolation and stigma, as colleges plan for the upcoming academic year. The panel probing mental health services on Virginia's college campuses held hearings, and one of the questions posed was whether schools ought to screen applicants for a mental illness, an alarming idea to some school counselors. A report is expected next month....
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News: Virginia probe unsettling
Knee-jerk reactions to Virginia Tech could easily threaten privacy and confidentiality, and promote social isolation and stigma, as colleges plan for the upcoming academic year. The panel probing mental health services on Virginia's college campuses held hearings, and one of the questions posed was whether schools ought to screen applicants for a mental illness, an alarming idea to some school counselors. A report is expected next month....
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News: Refiguring college mental health services
New England Journal of Medicine, July 12, 2007 Students at Virginia Tech will need counseling for years to come, according to one veteran of school disasters, the principal of Columbine High School. In the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Miriam Shuchman describes how psychologists at Virginia Tech met the immediate need last April, along with programs other collges have implemented, such as expanding outreach or reorganizing services....
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News: Refiguring college mental health services
New England Journal of Medicine, July 12, 2007 Students at Virginia Tech will need counseling for years to come, according to one veteran of school disasters, the principal of Columbine High School. In the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Miriam Shuchman describes how psychologists at Virginia Tech met the immediate need last April, along with programs other collges have implemented, such as expanding outreach or reorganizing services....
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News: Refiguring college mental health services
New England Journal of Medicine, July 12, 2007 Students at Virginia Tech will need counseling for years to come, according to one veteran of school disasters, the principal of Columbine High School. In the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Miriam Shuchman describes how psychologists at Virginia Tech met the immediate need last April, along with programs other collges have implemented, such as expanding outreach or reorganizing services....
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Interviews: Q & A with Dr. Andrew P. Levin: The intersection of psychiatry and law
a conversation with Phyllis Vine, editor
In the aftermath of Virginia Tech, a fair number of Monday-morning pundits have weighed in with opinions about how school officials, the police, and psychiatrists should have acted before tragedy hit. To clarify some of the issues about the intersection of law and psychiatry, MIWatch spoke with forensic psychiatrist Dr. Andrew P. Levin.
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Interviews: Q & A with Dr. Andrew P. Levin: The intersection of psychiatry and law
a conversation with Phyllis Vine, editor
In the aftermath of Virginia Tech, a fair number of Monday-morning pundits have weighed in with opinions about how school officials, the police, and psychiatrists should have acted before tragedy hit. To clarify some of the issues about the intersection of law and psychiatry, MIWatch spoke with forensic psychiatrist Dr. Andrew P. Levin.
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Links: Support Groups
Groups for consumers, families and advocates to network for support, education, information.
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Links: Support Groups
Groups for consumers, families and advocates to network for support, education, information.
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Commentary: Thoughts About Media Coverage of the Virginia Tech Tragedy
by Otto Wahl, Ph.D., University of Hartford
The tragic death of 33 students at Virginia Tech has shocked and saddened us all. Given the mental health aspects of the situation, it is not surprising that there has been much in the coverage about mental illnesses and their treatment. Unfortunately, the articles and editorials that followed the shootings have often been troubling in what they convey to the public about mental illnesses and mental health interventions.
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Commentary: Thoughts About Media Coverage of the Virginia Tech Tragedy
by Otto Wahl, Ph.D., University of Hartford
The tragic death of 33 students at Virginia Tech has shocked and saddened us all. Given the mental health aspects of the situation, it is not surprising that there has been much in the coverage about mental illnesses and their treatment. Unfortunately, the articles and editorials that followed the shootings have often been troubling in what they convey to the public about mental illnesses and mental health interventions.
Full Story | Topics: colleges | Comments (0)

Commentary: Thoughts About Media Coverage of the Virginia Tech Tragedy
by Otto Wahl, Ph.D., University of Hartford
The tragic death of 33 students at Virginia Tech has shocked and saddened us all. Given the mental health aspects of the situation, it is not surprising that there has been much in the coverage about mental illnesses and their treatment. Unfortunately, the articles and editorials that followed the shootings have often been troubling in what they convey to the public about mental illnesses and mental health interventions.
Full Story | Topics: colleges | Comments (0)

Commentary: Thoughts About Media Coverage of the Virginia Tech Tragedy
by Otto Wahl, Ph.D., University of Hartford
The tragic death of 33 students at Virginia Tech has shocked and saddened us all. Given the mental health aspects of the situation, it is not surprising that there has been much in the coverage about mental illnesses and their treatment. Unfortunately, the articles and editorials that followed the shootings have often been troubling in what they convey to the public about mental illnesses and mental health interventions.
Full Story | Topics: colleges | Comments (0)

Commentary: Thoughts About Media Coverage of the Virginia Tech Tragedy
by Otto Wahl, Ph.D., University of Hartford
The tragic death of 33 students at Virginia Tech has shocked and saddened us all. Given the mental health aspects of the situation, it is not surprising that there has been much in the coverage about mental illnesses and their treatment. Unfortunately, the articles and editorials that followed the shootings have often been troubling in what they convey to the public about mental illnesses and mental health interventions.
Full Story | Topics: colleges | Comments (0)