News: Fighting for last place: Florida, Texas, New Mexico
Recognition that there's a dearth of spending for mental health is entering politics this year as candidates on the Right and the Left begin to ask why state budgets are spending more on prisons than treatments. . .
Full Story | Topics: budget impacts, Florida, mental health, New Mexico, reform, Texas | Comments (0)

Consider This: Oil spill czar minimizes mental health impact
. . .trivializes anguish
Full Story | Topics: BP oil spill, disaster, mental health, prevention, services | Comments (0)

News: As economy takes toll, mental health budgets shrink
Writing in Stateline.org, staff writer Christine Vestal assesses how states have met mental health budgets and what this means for people needing psychiatric services in today's fiscal crisis. "The drop-off is translating into a reduction in the number of psychiatric hospital beds, as well as fewer services for mental health emegencies and longer waiting lists for housing," says Vestal. . .
Full Story | Topics: budget impacts, children, community programs, Medicaid, mental health, states | Comments (0)

Did You Know: More children in Pennsylvania had access to mental health care than in any other state.
Click here to find your state. The average nationwide was 60 percent, with a low of 42 percent in Texas and a high of 82 percent in Pennsylvania. The 2007 statistics were compiled by the National Survey of Children's Health....
Full Story | Topics: children, mental health, states | Comments (0)

Book Reviews: Principled Leadership by Bill Anthony and Kevin Huckshorn

News: Depression screening during Mental Illness Awareness Week

News: Mental health team in pediatric clinic

Consider This: Thought parity was a done deal?
. . .Think again
Full Story | Topics: addiction, advocacy, drug use, insurance, mental health, mental illness, parity, politics, reform | Comments (3)

Track Legislation: Preventing Indian youth suicide (S 1635)
Suicide rates among Native Americans range from 3 1/2 to 10 times greater (depending on the state) than for other youth in America, said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND). The Indian Affairs Committee heard testimony on behalf of the "7th Generation Promise: Indian Youth Suicide Prevention Act of 2009 (S 1635)" discussing the epidemic of suicide pointing to the mental health needs of the Indian Health Service. Dr. Yvette Roubideaux explained services are inadequate and fragmented, stitching together a combination of...
Full Story | Topics: adolescents, depression, mental health, race, services, suicide | Comments (0)

Consider This: Global mental health
. . .urgent needs
Full Story | Topics: advocacy, mental health | Comments (0)

News: Military shifts ideas about mental health

News: Death with dignity: the National Consumer Memorial

News: Justice Sonia Sotomayor
What can we expect from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor? "A bright future," says the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. In a review of her qualifications prior to yesterday's confirmation, the Bazelon Center analyzed decisions about: reasonable accommodation, social security benefits, guardianship, and workplace discrimination. The report from Bazelon can be downloaded here....
Full Story | Topics: legal, mental health | Comments (0)

News: Parity sets stage for reform, says Kennedy

Track Legislation: Medical care for military women
Improvements in mental health treatment for women veterans were part of a bill (HR 1211) the House passed by unanimous vote, 408 to zero. Among the provisions are special training for mental health professionals to treat women for sexual abuse and PTSD, and a study of the barriers, including stigma, to seeking treatment. Reports indicate sexual harassment of military women has increased and is often unreported....
Full Story | Topics: mental health, military, PTSD, Veterans Affairs, women | Comments (0)

News: Mental health care needs reform and repair
"Behavioral health services are often the first place cuts in coverage are made," said Mental Health America's CEO, David Shern. . .
Full Story | Topics: Congress, mental health, policy, politics, reform | Comments (0)

Did You Know: In China, 8 percent of those with a mental illness ever sought help.
Read more about this study of China between 2001 and 2005 in The Lancet....
Full Story | Topics: mental health | Comments (0)

News: Integratating mental health and substance use in reform

News: Cuts threaten chaos in Calif.
Closing a California deficit now estimated at $24 billion has led to charges that the governor is using nickle and dime strategies to avoid raising taxes to plug holes and has failed to lead during a growing fiscal crisis. Among the cuts to health care the governor has proposed: mental health ($92 million); AIDS reduction program ($55 million), and eliminating health care to 1 million poor children that will save the state $247.8 million. But it will lose nearly three...
Full Story | Topics: budget impacts, children, mental health | Comments (0)

News: Obama nominates mental health expert
A noted economist specializing in mental health policy has been nominated to serve the Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of Planning and Evaluation. Sherry Glied, who frequently consults about mental health policy and insurance reform, co-authored the influential Better But Not Welland served the Council of Economic Advisors under two presidents, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. She currently teaches at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health where she describes her teaching by saying, "What...
Full Story | Topics: insurance, mental health, policy | Comments (0)

News: Budget debate consumes Calif.
An intense campaign is being pitched in California where voters will decide next week whether to take from children and people with a mental illness to plug a budget hole. The heat is turning high while local politicians appear on YouTube and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger enumerates what will happen if the measures that were hammered out in a political deal should be voted down. Words like desperate, grim, and bleak convey the concern. Some are recommending splitting the ballot,...
Full Story | Topics: budget impacts, community programs, mental health, politics | Comments (0)

News: Cal. voters consider retrenchment
California lawmakers have been called "cowardly" for asking voters to undo decisions they previously made to fund programs for children or for people with a mental illness. They represent two of five items for an unusual May 19 ballot that will help plug a budget deficit. As the election nears, citizen editorials are lambasting Gov. Arnold Schwartzenegger for targeting programs vulnerable people while sparing taxes for owners of yachts and planes. Mental health advocates worry that the governor's aggressive campaigning...
Full Story | Topics: children, mental health, politics | Comments (0)

Consider This: The doctor isn't in
. . .shortages in psychiatry
Full Story | Topics: children, mental health, politics, psychiatry, reform | Comments (1)

Consider This: State budget fixes
. . .some will hurt more than others
Full Story | Topics: community programs, depression, hospitals, jails, medication, mental health, politics, states, suicide | Comments (0)

News: Stimulus package boosts mental health research
The National Institutes of Health will dedicate $200 million to aid research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH). Each agency has identified priorities in target areas for understanding cost-effective interventions and treatments, bioethical issues raised by technology and information systems, and genetic and stem-cell research. Interest has been intense for the grants with an April 27 due date, said an NIMH spokesperson. The complete list of additional eligible grant categories...
Full Story | Topics: addiction, mental health, research | Comments (0)

News: NAMI scores states
The nation's adult mental health system is a mess, according to a report released by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. (NAMI) which released its scorecard.Each of the 50 states were examined on 82 targets such as evidence-based practices or the promotion of consumer-run programs. These were among the benchmarks established by the 2003 New Freedom Commission. No state received the highest grade of "A" for its overall work and the advocacy organization also assessed the strengths and "urgent needs"...
Full Story | Topics: advocacy, mental health, reform, states | Comments (0)

News: Nevada cuts challenged
The Nevada legislature is challenging the intent of Gov. Jim Gibbons to slash the mental health budget by $473 million and close 11 of the 21 rural mental health centers, writes the Las Vegas Review Journal....
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News: Senate hearings on prevention and wellness
Congressional hearings were held last week to address prevention and wellness as the cornerstone to health reform. Bill Emmet, Campaign for Mental Health Reform, explained how mental health and substance use disorders are intertwined with preventable chronic illnesses contributing to loss of productivity and a shorter life expectancy (averaging 25 years). Emmet said: People with mental illnesses are uninsured at twice the rate of the general population: 34% of people with mental illness have no health coverage at this point....
Full Story | Topics: chronic illness, drug use, mental health, policy, prevention, testimony | Comments (0)

Film: "Another Kind of VALOR"

News: Activisits push beds through London
Dressed as patients and orderlies, British activists campaigned for mental health reform while pushing beds through the streets of London on Oct. 10th, World Mental Health Day. They pointed to a 20-fold increase in prescribing antipsychotic medication between 2002 and 2007, and want expanded access to psychological therapies....
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News: Forecasting treatment costs
A study published in the current issue of Health Affairs forecasts spending to treat mental health and substance abuse conditions will reach $239 billion by 2014. This is double what it was in 2003, but as a proportion of total, it represents a decline of public sector spending on health from 7.5 percent to 6.9 percent....
Full Story | Topics: addiction, mental health | Comments (0)

News: House passes veteran's mental health bill
A voice vote in the House approved a compromise for the "Veteran's Mental Health Bill" calling for improvements in treatment and research for PTSD, substance abuse disorders and for expanding the time when military families may seek mental health services. For updates on S. 2162, click here....
Full Story | Topics: family, mental health, military, PTSD, Veterans Affairs | Comments (0)

Consider This: Hats off to Dems
. . .for opening the closet door
Full Story | Topics: addiction, advocacy, mental health, politics, recovery, reform | Comments (0)