A proposal for transitional crisis beds
by Sol Wachtler

The opportunities afforded by court diversion programs could be enhanced with stable community housing. Judge Sol Wachtler writes about an innovative proposal to transform vacancies in closed hospitals into housing, enabling mentally ill defendants to move forward with their court-supervised treatments.
Full Story | Topics: community care, diversion programs, housing | Comments (0)

Psychiatric Advance Directives: A tool for patients and clinicians
by Marvin Swartz

More and more people are able to take control of their treatment plans by anticipating how to manage in a crisis. In Psychiatric Advance Directives: A tool for patients and clinicians, Dr. Marvin Swartz, a psychiatrist at Duke University Medical Center, discusses how they work to promote autonomy.
Full Story | Topics: consumers, legal, recovery, treatment programs | Comments (2)

Access to care: training consumers and case managers
by Jack Carney

Ignoring the side effects of antipsychotic drugs has led to metabolic syndrome and chronic illnesses known to shorten life expectancy. Yet, this can be addressed by helping consumers and case managers learn how to identify the symptoms and to seek medical care This is the guiding principle of a project Jack Carney, program director of a social service agency, describes in "Access to care: training consumers and case managers."
Full Story | Topics: community care, consumers, medication, treatment programs | Comments (2)

Race, genetics, metabolism: drug therapy and clinical trials
by L. DiAnne Bradford

Genes influence how drugs are metabolized. Yet most clinical drug trials are conducted on Caucasians, with little study of Asians and African Americans. Noted psychopharmacologist, Dr. DiAnne Bradford, writes about the impact of these genetic differences for drug therapies.
Full Story | Topics: drug trials, FDA, medication, race | Comments (0)

Home genetic tests: science or marketing?


With daily updates about genetics, the direct-to-consumer marketing of testing kits is proliferating. Whom do these kits serve? asks Laura Hercher.


Full Story | Topics: bipolar disorder, depression, genetics, schizophrenia | Comments (0)

Let's stop saying "Mental Illness"

“After more than three decades of doing this work," writes David Oaks, executive director of MindFreedom International, "I have found that we need to find some simple victories. Changing our own language is something that we still have control over. I want to emphasize, as I say in this essay, that my suggestion is not about political correctness or linguistic perfection, which are impossible goals.

My suggestion is that we can take a small step toward our principles by finding more inclusive ways of describing those formerly called "mentally ill."

Add a comment and join in this discussion.
Full Story | Topics: advocacy, DSM-V, patient rights, stigma | Comments (6)

Meeting family needs: Alameda County's new program

A new program will offer flexible help for families in northern California. Rebecca Woolis, author of When Someone You Love Has a Mental Illness, describes the service she helped design to meet diverse cultural and ethnic needs.
Full Story | Topics: advocacy, community care, family, treatment programs | Comments (0)

Peer-to-Peer: Returning Vets' Mental Health Care
by Ralph Ibson

Soldiers in need of mental health treatment are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in unprecedented numbers, stretching thin military services. Ralph Ibson, Mental Health America's Vice President for Government Affairs, explains how a program of peer-to-peer services could fill the void caused by long distances, understaffing, and personnel shortages.


Full Story | Topics: Congress, politics, Veterans Affairs | Comments (0)

Working with youthful offenders: Crossroads
by Judge Linda Teodosio

Judge Linda Teodosio, Summit County Juvenile Court, describes Crossroads, a unique and intense diversionary probation program for juveniles in Ohio. Since 2003, Crossroads has worked with community collaboration to help youthful offenders get the treatment, and the fresh start, they need. Judge Teodosio’s program was recently cited as a model for juvenile justice by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice (NCMHJJ).


Full Story | Topics: children, courts, diversion programs, recovery, students | Comments (1)

Depression, advertising and pharma
by Julie Donahue
If pharmaceuticals educate consumers, instead of targeting them for specific drugs, can they still meet the bottom line? These are among the questions Professor Julie Donahue raises about depression and advertising for antidepressants.


Full Story | Topics: depression, FDA, pharmaceutical, stigma | Comments (0)

Complex PTSD
by Julian Ford, Ph.D.

Stories about PTSD have become a daily occurrence as a result of conditions of combat in war zones. Now Complex PTSD -- resulting from early life trauma -- is being recognized for its profound effects leading to problems with emotional and physical growth. Noted expert Dr. Julian Ford discusses some of the earmarks of Complex PTSD, how it differs from PTSD, and why clinicians are taking note.
Full Story | Topics: bipolar disorder, Complex PTSD, PTSD, schizophrenia | Comments (2)

Disaster Mental Health
by Anthony T. Ng, MD
In "Disaster Mental Health," Dr. Anthony T. Ng draws on his extensive experience to discuss challenges psychiatrists face when helping individuals and communities respond to natural or man-made disasters. Dr. Ng is the former chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disasters.

Full Story | Topics: addiction, anxiety disorders, depression, PTSD | Comments (0)

A Personal Journey Wearing Three Hats: family, doctor and research director
by Lisa Dixon, MD, MPH
Professor of Psychiatry, Dr. Lisa Dixon, is also a family member and a researcher. In "A personal journey wearing three hats" she writes about how her work has been informed by these roles while evaluating programs for families and consumers in the recovery process.

Full Story | Topics: advocacy, family, recovery, research, schizophrenia | Comments (0)

Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness in Schools
By Janet Susin
After her son was hospitalized with a mental illness, a Long Island school teacher learned there was nothing in the standard curriculum to help other students understand psychiatric disorders. Read about Janet Susin's campaign to change this and design Breaking The Silence.
Full Story | Topics: advocacy, education, stigma | Comments (0)

A Consumer's Voice--Hawai'i's Jail Diversion
by Sally A.M. Ho
Who decides which inmates get mental health treatment? Sally Ho takes us behind the scenes of setting up a jail diversion program in Hawaii in A Consumer's Voice.
Full Story | Topics: consumers, diversion programs, prisons, recovery | Comments (1)

When the Scars of Battle Haven't Healed: Reflections on Memorial Day
by Sol Wachtler
Memorial Day should be a time of reflection, remembrance, and gratitude to those members of our armed forces who served and died for our country. My Memorial Day reflection went back to 1994 when I was in a mental health prison unit in Rochester, Minnesota.
Full Story | Topics: military, prisons, PTSD | Comments (1)

Get Busy Living: A Fountain House Project at Manhattan Psychiatric Center
by Tom Malamud
Despite an image of shuttered hospital doors and deinstitutionalized patients after the 1970s, state hospitals still account for the care and treatment of more than 30,000 people. Many of them are buried in a deep sense of hopelessness, which is compounded by neglect from having been forgotten. Yet, with help, interest, and inspiration, they might gain hope, look to the future and plan for their post-hospital life.
Full Story | Topics: advocacy, recovery | Comments (2)

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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Meeting the Mental Health Challenges of the Elder Boom

"It's time to make geriatric mental health a front burner issue in America," says advocate Michael B. Friedman. Learn how ageism affects services, surveys and perceptions about what's normal for people over 65 to experience.
Full Story | Topics: chronic illness, elderly, Medicare | Comments (0)

Decriminalizing Mental Illness -- Reframing Solutions
by Jennifer J. Parish
Jails have become the de-facto hospitals for people with mental illness. Most would never have been arrested had they been receiving treatment, including proper housing or social supports. Attorney Jennifer J. Parish explains why it is essential to decriminalize mental illness now.
Full Story | Topics: courts, diversion programs, housing, policy | Comments (0)

Introducing School-Based Mental Health Services
by Charles Soule'
What happens when a child's behavior indicates a problem but the family is unable or reluctant to go to community health clinics? Dr. Charles Soule' discusses the benefits of providing appropriate intervention to children in school, linking teachers and staff to families who can use the assistance.
Full Story | Topics: children, education | Comments (0)

Mental Health Parity: Its Time Has Come
by Ralph Ibson
Insurance coverage for mental illnesses has lagged far behind that accorded physical conditions. Now the Senate and the House are considering closing loopholes in the 1996 law. If passed, Ralph Ibson explains how this will contribute to ending discrimination and stigma for treatment of psychiatric disorders.
Full Story | Topics: insurance, policy | Comments (0)

Trauma and PTSD in Children
by Julian Ford
Not all children who experience a traumatic event will develop a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Those who do, however, will need help learning how to manage the stress and its symptoms. Dr. Julian Ford discusses how parents and teachers can become aware of when youngsters need help.
Full Story | Topics: children, education, PTSD | Comments (0)

Succeed like Seabiscuit: the promise of a New York job training program
by Tom Malamud
People with mental illness are often under-employed despite their huge potential. New York City's Fountain House developed an employment program to guarantee that, like the race horse it's named after, Seabiscuit, members not only get to the starting gate, but they finish as winners.
Full Story | Topics: advocacy, recovery, workplace | Comments (0)

Recovery, Psychiatric Education, and the Future
by Hunter L. McQuistion, MD The potential for building personal recovery is stronger than it's ever been. This is a paradigmatic change which, according to noted psychiatrist Hunter L. McQuistion, requires including models of recovery in post-graduate training programs.
Full Story | Topics: education, recovery | Comments (0)