Mental Health Weekly articles from April 2005

Mental Health Weekly archives from April 2005

Volunteers becoming an increasingly important segment of treatment workforce: SAMHSA guide emphasizes structure, planning when using volunteers.
April 25, 2005... Volunteers can help facilities and patients by enhancing community support and expanding services, but first the facility needs to have a structure in place so that a benefit doesn't turn into a liability. A new guide from the Substance Abuse...

SAMHA focuses on behavioural workforce development: plans include development of national action plan.(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
April 25, 2005... In a continuous move to support transformation of the mental health system, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) has targeted workforce development of the...

Proposal to unify counselor certification under review at ICRC and NAADAC/NCC: membership organizations also explore merger.(Association for Addiction Professionals)(National Certification Commission)(International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium)
April 25, 2005... The plan to unify addiction counselor certification took another step forward April 12 with the release of a proposal for collaboration by the two main credentialing bodies --the National Certification Commission (NCC) of NAADAC, The...

High rate of gambling problems found in substance abuse counsellors.
April 25, 2005... About 17-18 percent of substance abuse counselors have or have had a gambling problem, according to a study currently in press at the American Journal on Addictions. This rate is about three times higher than the rate found in the general...

Santa Fe Summit sets its sights on transforming the nation's MH system.
April 18, 2005... The tone for this month's annual Santa Fe Summit was established from the outset when keynote speaker and director of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) A. Kathryn Power hand-delivered sheriff's pins inscribed with the words...

Benchmarking initiative to identify best practices in ambulatory behavioral health.
April 18, 2005... Ambulatory heath care and benchmarking officials last month announced a formal partnership to launch a behavioral health benchmarking initiative to identify best practices and current industry treatment trends in ambulatory behavioral...

Benchmarking initiative offers participants executive summary, industry overview and access to national database.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2005... The Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Health Care (AABH) and Behavioral Pathway Systems (BPS) officials are encouraging organizations with intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization programs to participate in their benchmarking...

Court ruling removes legal barriers from TennCare disenrollment: CMS approves first phase of TennCare restructuring.
April 18, 2005... Tennessee state officials learned last week, following a federal appeals court ruling, that they can continue with their plans to move forward with reducing enrollment for approximately 323,000 adults from TennCare, the state's financially...

NAMI campaign emphasizes national, local community partnerships: Campaign launches in several states.(National Alliance for the Mentally Ill)
April 18, 2005... The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) as part of its "Campaign for the Mind of America," while continuing its mission to increase access to mental health treatment and services, this month made campaign stops in Illinois, Ohio and...

Closing the gap on untreated costs for mental illness in Ohio.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2005... To close the gaps and decrease the costs of untreated mental illness in Ohio, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)-Ohio and the Campaign for the Mind of America recommend: * Mental health parity--Ohio must join 35 other...

NAMI recommends Washington state increase investment in services.(National Alliance for the Mentally Ill)(Brief Article)
April 18, 2005... The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill's (NAMI's) report on Washington State recommended the following actions to enable the state to address the needs of its most vulnerable citizens with severe mental illness: * Washington state...

Study: Psychiatric care improves abstinence.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 18, 2005... In a study published in the journal Psychiatric Services, the researchers predicted that even minimal use of psychiatric services among patients with chemical dependency would result in better long-term abstinence outcomes. Study authors...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
April 18, 2005... The GAINS Technical Assistance and Policy Analysis Center for Jail Diversion will offer a one-day workshop,"Successfully Working with Adults with Mental Illness Involved in the Criminal Justice System,"May 5 in Austin, Texas. For more...

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief Article)
April 18, 2005... According to the Associated Press, reports that Puerto Ricans were ranked as the world's happiest have puzzled some on the Caribbean island. The Sweden-based World Values Survey drew conclusions from a survey of 120,000 people in 82 nations....

ValueOptions wins New Mexico contract to implement statewide initiative.
April 11, 2005... New Mexico health officials earlier this month announced its selection of ValueOptions, Inc., one of the nation's largest managed behavioral healthcare organizations, as the statewide entity to improve its behavioral health services and...

N.J. governor's MH report viewed as blueprint to improve system: includes funding for mental health initiatives.
April 11, 2005... The New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies (NJAMHA), Inc. last month lauded a report of New Jersey Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey's mental health task force, touting the report as the state's blueprint for improving its entire system...

Bulk of U.S. spending for mental health stems from public sector.
April 11, 2005... Medicaid has increased to become the largest payer of mental health care, with prescription drugs the fastest-growing spending component. People with mental disorders rely on public sources of financing to a greater extent than people with...

Kendra's Law: an unmitigated success.(From the Field ...)
April 11, 2005... Harvey Rosenthal picked a brave battle. Taking on the conclusions of a strong majority of the clinical research; opinions of both those in and who run the program; previous, and close to unanimous, endorsements of his state's elected...

Musicians lend voices to mental health awareness.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... A National Mental Health Association (NMHA) brief claims that nearly 5,000 individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 years take their own lives each year. A new national public awareness campaign, "mpower: musicians for mental health," will...

Coming up ...(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... The GAINS Technical Assistance and Policy Analysis Center for Jail Diversion will offer a one-day workshop,"Successfully Working with Adults with Mental Illness Involved in the Criminal Justice System,"May 5 in Austin, Texas. For more...

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Researchers at Cornell University have found that a standard treadmill test can have a positive psychological effect on patients tested for coronary artery disease. Lead researcher Alvin L. Mushlin, M.D. pointed out that little is known about...

Federal court ruling may improve access to state's MH services for children: Oklahoma doctors crippled by low Medicaid payments.(mental health )
April 4, 2005... A federal judge last month ruled that the Oklahoma Health Care Authority violated federal Medicaid law by failing to provide access to children's services that are equivalent to those available to children receiving private insurance. The...

Hospital survey reflects blurring of public and private lines.
April 4, 2005... Today's typical psychiatric hospital or general-hospital mental health unit carries a much different profile from many people's lingering image. It is much more diverse than before in both services and payer mix, flexible to its community's...

Denver center wins national award for recovery focus.(Community Provider Award of Excellence )
April 4, 2005... A Denver community mental health center earned a Community Provider Award of Excellence last month from the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH) for an innovative recovery-focused approach to mental health care. ...

Helping the most needy: forced treatment not the answer.(From the field ...)
April 4, 2005... Over the past decade, the debate over the justness and the actual impact of the use of court-ordered outpatient mental health treatment has emerged as one of the most contentious controversies in our mental health system. All too often, it...

Magellan shares information on coping with tragedy.(Resources)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... In the aftermath of last month's school shootings on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota, Magellan Health Services, Inc. posted on various areas of its website information on school violence and coping strategies. "It is our hope...

NMHA offers answers on Medicare drug coverage.(Resources)(National Mental Health Association)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... With thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries soon moving over to the Medicare program for their prescription drug coverage, the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) has prepared a document of "frequently asked questions" as a guide to...

Vernon Barksdale, M.D., M.P.H., has been named chief medical officer at managed behavioral health care company Schaller Anderson Behavioral Health, Inc.(Names in the News)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Vernon Barksdale, M.D., M.P.H., has been named chief medical officer at managed behavioral health care company Schaller Anderson Behavioral Health, Inc. Barksdale maintains a limited private practice in psychiatric and addiction medicine....

Thresholds.(Names in the News)(psychiatric rehabilitation center )(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Merriam Wamble is the new chief clinical officer at Thresholds, a psychiatric rehabilitation center in Chicago. Wamble, who has 27 years of health care experience, will handle clinical leadership and program development. Thresholds serves...

N.J. law protects patients from liens.(Briefly Noted)(New Jersey)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... A measure signed last month by New Jersey's acting governor, Richard J. Codey, will shield patients in state and county psychiatric facilities from liens on their personal assets, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The law covers both...

Florida medical center cited for violations.(Briefly Noted)(Baker Act)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Florida Medical Center has been directed by the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) to cease accepting involuntary commitments until state medical administrators address recent transgressions, reported The Miami Herald. The...

UK teachers manifest stress in high numbers.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... According to research reported in The Independent newspaper in London, nearly half of England's secondary school teachers have experienced mental health problems that are linked to student behavior. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers...

Coming up ...(Brief Article)(Calendar)
April 4, 2005... The New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies, Inc. presents its annual conference, "Reaching New Heights," May 4-5 in Basking Ridge, N.J. For more information, call (609) 838-5488, ext. 218. The Performance Institute will present...

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Some researchers now believe that many restless, inquisitive people who appear to achieve a great deal in certain fields may share genetic traits with people who have bipolar disorder. The New York Times last month reported that these milder...