Behavioral Health Management articles from May 1994

Behavioral Health Management archives from May 1994

Enough! (of teenage substance abuse) (Editorial)
May 1, 1994... It's not often that a journalist will admit to being turned off by bad news--it's our stock-in-trade, don't you know. But I must admit I don't enjoy having to publish material such as that found in "Are Drugs Making a Comeback with Kids?" (p....

Teamwork for survival: the Beech Hill model. (Beech Hill Hospital Adolescent Treatment Center's outdoor rehabilitation program)(includes related article of a teenager's rock climbing experience)
May 1, 1994... Since 1983 Beech Hill Hospital Adolescent Treatment Center has pioneered treatment for substance abuse disordered adolescents based on a blending of traditional clinical approaches with an outdoors experiential model. Beech Hill has worked...

Criteria for an outdoors-based treatment program. (Aspen Achievement Academy gives an example of how it fits into the overall continuum of care)
May 1, 1994... Although insurors and managed care organizations are increasingly accepting this approach -- at least, if the recent growth of the Aspen Achievement Academy is any indication --, questions still persist. Answers concerning the therapeutic...

Are drugs making a comeback with kids? Commentary on findings from a National Institute on Drug Abuse survey. (Cover Story)
May 1, 1994... After nearly a decade of overall decline in teenage drug use, the past two years have seen an upturn, at least for a few drugs of abuse. Marijuana, LSD and inhalants showed increased use among 12th, 10th and 8th graders surveyed last year by...

Anatomy of an adolescent day treatment program. (at Rolling Hills Hospital)
May 1, 1994... In May 1993 Rolling Hills Hospital, a 40-bed private Psychiatric Hospital in Ada, Oklahoma, opened our first Adolescent Day Treatment Facility, a unit physically separate from the Hospital. It was designed for patients 12-to-18 years of age who...

Child psychiatry encounters "the continuum." (adaptation of inpatient psychiatrists to managed care)
May 1, 1994... The adaptation of inpatient psychiatrists to the "managed care era" can be likened to the stages of acceptance of a tragedy. First comes Denial, characterized by statements such as "my patients are too sick to be discharged in less than two...

An IOP alternative: how intensive outpatient care can be adapted to troubled teens. (Quinco Behavioral Health Systems' ReUnion program)(includes case history example)
May 1, 1994... Since the U.S. Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration published its report concerning the astronomical rise in mental health expenses from 1980-83 ($54 billion-$73 billion), families, employers and benefits experts have been...

Inhalant abuse: moving into the mainstream.
May 1, 1994... The most rapidly growing use of psychoactives among American youth in the past few years has been in sniffing (or inhaling, or "huffing") a broad range of chemicals that are easily available, generally cheap, and virtually free of legal and...

Wake-up call from a Washington lobbyist. (Charles G. Ray talks of the behavioral health management field and health care reform) (Interview)
May 1, 1994... Tipper Gore proposes, but Congress disposes -- and if behavioral health care benefits are not disposed of altogether in Congressional horse trading over health care reform, Charles G. Ray will have to share at least some of the credit. From his...

The well-deserved death of denial: is it time to let go of this cherished concept?
May 1, 1994... Several years ago deShazer(1) wrote a provocative article in which he argued for the rejection and elimination of the entire concept of psychological resistance. He developed, basically, a focus on solutions to problems, rather than the...

Understanding the risk in "at-risk" contracts: a primer for providers who want to be "managed care-friendly."
May 1, 1994... Before reading this article, take this pre-test multiple-choice: Risk equals_____. A. ruin B. reward C. an opportunity for gain or loss that must be carefully managed. If you said risk equals ruin, you probably have a tendency...

Relapse prevention and behavioral managed care. (Addiction & Recovery Section: Relapse Prevention Update)
May 1, 1994... Early cost containment strategies focused upon managing single episodes of treatment, attempting to make sure that patients were properly evaluated and matched to the appropriate types and levels of treatment. The goal was to reduce the overall...

Lessons from a relapse prevention pioneer. (Addiction & Recovery Section: "Spiritual" vs. "Rational" Approaches to Recovery)
May 1, 1994... At Father Martin's Ashley, a 66-bed center treating both alcoholism and chemical dependency, we established one of the nation's earliest relapse prevention programs just three years after opening our doors in 1983. Since 1986 more than 3,000...

Relapse prevention before relapse: an intensified approach. (Addiction & Recovery Section: Relapse Prevention Update)
May 1, 1994... Though the relapse prevention model developed by Terence Gorski is a successful one, there has been one limitation, from our point of view: it is frequently employed for the relatively stable addict/alcoholic who has had a year or more of...

What the "Big Book" says about relapse. (Alcoholics Anonymous' Big Book) (Addiction & Recovery Section: Relapse Prevention Update)
May 1, 1994... "Relapse prevention" has taken its place in the treatment and research language alongside "intervention," family systems," and "cognitive therapy." These concepts and tools, widely used in modern chemical dependency treatment, were unheard of...

Costs: don't blame them all on providers! (includes related information) (Editorial)
May 1, 1994... Often, providers are identified as the reason for increased costs of substance abuse treatment because, it is alleged, they display various combinations of incompetence, greed, and even fraud. While these clearly do exist, they are not typical...

Crime bill and behavioral health field: a mismatch? (Omnibus Crime Control Act)
May 1, 1994... The big headlines on the Clinton Administration's Omnibus Crime Control Act have trumpeted the battle over assault rifles and the imposition of the death penalty for 60 more types of offenses. Tucked within the legislation, however, is an...