Mental Health Weekly articles from May 2007

Mental Health Weekly archives from May 2007

Parents may pursue IDEA cases without attorney, court rules: cost, availability of counsel pose barrier in education case.
May 28, 2007... A ruling issued by the U.S. Supreme Court last week resolves a paradox for parents seeking to challenge individualized education programs (IEPs) for their children with disabilities. While adults generally are allowed to represent themselves...

CMHCs partner with local VA systems to address MH needs of veterans: Montana, Washington state also provide housing and employment support.(National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare)
May 28, 2007... The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH) members are responding to the mental health needs of veterans by collaborating with local outpatient Veterans Administration (VA) clinics and working with National Guard members...

Bazelon creates model policy to address student MH issues.
May 28, 2007... The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law this month released a model policy to help colleges and universities develop a non-discriminatory, non-punitive approach to help students in crisis because of mental health problems. ...

Screening tool identifies patients who fail to take medications.
May 28, 2007... The results of a new survey released during last week's annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has found that poor insight, failure to take medication and previous discontinuation of medication are the most common...

Legislation introduced to expand mental health care access for veterans.
May 28, 2007... Community mental health leaders and providers are excited about legislation introduced last week to improve access to services for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who are struggling with combat-related mental health disorders....

Mental Health America releases inaugural podcast, 'Chiming In'.(Brief article)
May 28, 2007... Mental Health America (MHA) last week released its inaugural podcast, "Chiming In," to reach even more Americans with messages that promote mental health and encourage wellness and recovery from mental illness. Each month, "Chiming In"...

NCD partnership addresses crimes against persons with disabilities.(BRIEFLY NOTED)
May 28, 2007... In an effort to raise public awareness about the prevalence of violent crime against people with disabilities, the National Council on Disability (NCD) last week announced a partnership with the Association of University Centers on...

Study suggests little cognitive advance in adolescence.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
May 28, 2007... Early behavioral data from the National Institute of Health Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Study of Normal Brain Development was recently reported online in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. This groundbreaking...

Early success for first online autism registry.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
May 28, 2007... The Interactive Autism Network (IAN), the first online registry of its kind (See MHW April 16), is off to an impressive start, having registered more than 13,000 families in its first month, according to Dr. Paul Law, who co-founded IAN with...

Georgia seeks new director for state mental health.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
May 28, 2007... In light of growing criticism of the condition of mental health services in state hospitals, Georgia officials have announced a national search for a new medical director for the Department of Human Resources' Division of Mental Health,...

Nevada justices seek to bend minimum sentencing law.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
May 28, 2007... Questioning the rationale of Nevada's mandatory minimum sentencing laws, established in 1995, Nevada Supreme Court Justice Jim Hardesty complained that in some cases, state law prevents judges from appropriately sentencing nonviolent...

Netsmart: Connected Care Architecture.(RESOURCES)(Brief article)
May 28, 2007... On May 18 Netsmart Technologies, Inc. introduced its Connected Care Architecture[TM] (CCA), featuring software and tools designed to allow the exchange of information among community mental health agencies, private sector and state...

Sylvia Axelrod.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)
May 28, 2007... Sylvia Axelrod, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), is the recipient of the 2007 Welcome Back Award for Destigmatization. NAMI wrote on May 18 that Eli Lilly and Company established...

Marian Radke-Yarrow.(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 28, 2007... Marian Radke-Yarrow, who served as chief of the developmental psychology laboratory at the National Institute of Mental Health from 1974 to 1995, died at her home on May 19 of leukemia. She was 89 years old. The New York Times reported on May...

NCCBH elects R.I. council president as board of Directors chair.
May 28, 2007... The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH) this month announced the election of Elizabeth Earls as the new Chair of its Board of Directors, effective July 2007. Earls, who has extensive federal and state legislative...

Mental Health America.(Coming up)
May 28, 2007... Mental Health America (formerly the National Mental Health Association) will hold its 2007 Annual Meeting, "Bringing Wellness Home," on June 6-9 in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nmha.org/go/annualmeeting.

American Mental Health Counselor Association.(Coming up)
May 28, 2007... The American Mental Health Counselor Association (AMHCA) will hold it 2007 Annual Conference, "Growth out of Adversity," on July 26-28 in New Orleans. Visit www.amhca.org/pdf/AMHCAFebPNad-flyer.pdf for more information and to register.

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.(Coming up)
May 28, 2007... The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) will hold its 2007 National Conference, "Making the Recovery Connection," in Orlando, Fla. on August 10-12. Visit www.DBSAlliance.org/conference for more information or to register online, or...

American Psychological Association.(Coming up)
May 28, 2007... The American Psychological Association will hold its 115th Annual Conference on August 17-20 in San Francisco. For more information and to register, visit www.apa.org/convention07.

In case you haven't heard ...
May 28, 2007... Could going "green" help fight the blues? A mental health charity in the United Kingdom, Mind has launched a "green agenda" for mental health care. Mind is asking that the UK's National Institute for Clinical Evidence (NICE) recognize the...

NASMHPD takes lead in assisting state hospitals in banning tobacco: association places effort in broader health context.
May 21, 2007... The recent finding that people with serious mental illness die on average 25 years younger than the general population has made it increasingly difficult for state mental health systems to look the other way on the issue of client smoking....

NAPHS survey finds continued demand and diversity of services.(National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems)
May 21, 2007... The annual survey of behavioral treatment trends conducted by the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS) finds that while hospital lengths of stay remain steady, the trend analysis also points to a continued strong demand...

Louisiana program addresses ongoing mental health needs.
May 21, 2007... The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSUHSC) announced this month the development of a new program to enhance mental health services and capacity in Hurricane Katrina-affected areas and to better meet mental...

N.Y. center to offer mental health counseling for vision patients.
May 21, 2007... A new mental health services center launched last month in New York City will provide psychiatrists and licensed psychotherapists with the resources to evaluate, treat, prescribe medication, when necessary, and offer support to New Yorkers...

CMS grants support alternatives to nursing home care.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on May 14 that 13 states and the District of Columbia will receive over $547 million in grants to build Medicaid long-term care programs designed to "keep people at home and out...

Depression care reduces risk of death in older patients.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... A study among patients ages 60-75 years with major depression seems to support the importance of managing depressive symptoms among older individuals in terms of longevity. The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine reported last week...

New Jersey considers parity for MH, SA coverage.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... New Jersey lawmakers are considering a proposal that would require health insurers to grant the same coverage for mental health disorders as they do for physical illnesses, reported the Garnett State Bureau on May 14. The state currently...

Hawaii's state hospital concerned about staff safety.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... After recently emerging from 15 years of federal oversight due to poor patient conditions in the past, operators of the Hawaii State Hospital are again concerned about hospital conditions--but this time with a focus on protecting staff. The...

New SAMHSA web section for veterans.(RESOURCES)
May 21, 2007... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has launched a new section of its website for veterans and their families, with information on prevention, treatment and recovery support for mental health and substance...

Validus acquires Marplan antidepressant drug.(BUSINESS)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... The Parsippany, N.J.-based Validus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced on May 14 its acquisition of Marplan [R] (isocarboxazid) from Oxford Pharmaceuticals, and its intention to begin promoting the antidepressant drug on May 19 at the American...

Nancy Johnson.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)(Magellan Health Services Inc.)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... Former Congresswoman Nancy Johnson has been elected to Magellan Health Services' Board of Directors, company officials announced last week. Johnson, who served 12 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the fifth district of...

Mental Health America.(Coming up)
May 21, 2007... Mental Health America will hold its 2007 Annual Meeting, "Bringing Wellness Home," on June 6-9 in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nmha.org/go/annualmeeting.

American Mental Health Counselor Association.(Coming up)
May 21, 2007... The American Mental Health Counselor Association (AMHCA) will hold it 2007 Annual Conference, "Growth out of Adversity," on July 26-28 in New Orleans. Visit www.amhca.org/pdf/AMHCAFebPNad-flyer.pdf for more information and to register.

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.(Coming up)
May 21, 2007... The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) will hold its 2007 National Conference, "Making the Recovery Connection," in Orlando, Fla. on August 10-12. For more information or to register online, visit www.DBSAlliance.org/conference,...

In case you haven't heard ...
May 21, 2007... Self-compassion may be a more powerful tool than self-esteem in facing life's inevitable disappointments and failures, report researchers with Duke and Wake Forest Universities. The researchers conducted five independent trials on the premise...

North Carolina providers and advocates gird for changes in public services: state continues to examine community support services.
May 14, 2007... North Carolina's community mental health provider community has recently experienced the rollercoaster of emotions that can accompany a reliance on public sources of funding. Providers learned on the day before last month's Easter holiday...

Senators introduce SCHIP bill to provide mental health parity for children: legislation would end discriminatory treatment of mental health care.(State Children's Health Insurance Program)
May 14, 2007... While congressional efforts are still underway to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Senate lawmakers last week introduced new legislation that would end discriminatory treatment of mental health care under...

Illinois juvenile justice initiative provides MH services for youth.
May 14, 2007... An Illinois-based initiative to diagnose and treat mental illness among youth who have been in contact with the justice system revealed a significant decrease in future contact with law enforcement, according to program officials, who...

National survey links depression, first time use of drugs, alcohol.
May 14, 2007... Results from the new National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), released this month by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), revealed that youths who faced depression in the past year were twice as...

Self-directed behavioral health care: where is it directed?(FROM THE FIELD)
May 14, 2007... In the three years since the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) 2004 Consumer Direction Initiative Summit, the transformation of behavioral healthcare through self-direction has been slow. The promise of...

DOD task force highlights failings of military MH system.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(US Department of Defense)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... As the Pentagon continues to insist that adequate services are in place to address mental health issues among combat troops, a Department of Defense (DOD) task force recently released a draft report that found "significant gaps" in the...

Cannabis found to worsen psychotic symptoms.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Yale University researchers were recently surprised to find that marijuana exacerbates psychotic symptoms in schizophrenic patients, rather than inducing the calming effect that patients tend to describe, reported the Associated Press on May...

Genetic study is first of its kind in bipolar disorder.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... It's estimated that 5.7 million American adults have bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive illness, and not all patients respond to treatment with lithium or other mood-stabilizing medications. The National Institutes of Health...

Texas considers submitting MH data for background checks.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Although federal law requires states to notify the National Instant Criminal Background Check System of individuals convicted of felonies or domestic violence, Texas is one of 28 states that do not submit information regarding mental health...

Guide: designing behavioral healthcare facilities.(RESOURCES)(The Design Guide for the Built Environment of Behavioral Health Facilities: Second Edition)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... The National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS) has released a newly updated publication: The Design Guide for the Built Environment of Behavioral Health Facilities: Second Edition. Two national leaders, David Sine, ARM, CSP,...

Tommy G. Thompson.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)(honored by the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Tommy G. Thompson, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2001-2005), has been honored by the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS) for his "commitment to a fair and comprehensive system of...

National Alliance on Mental Illness.(Coming up)
May 14, 2007... The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will hold its 2007 Annual Convention, "Building our Movement, Building our Future," on June 20-24 in San Diego. For more information or to register, visit www.nami.org.

American Mental Health Counselor Association.(Coming up)
May 14, 2007... The American Mental Health Counselor Association (AMHCA) will hold it 2007 Annual Conference, "Growth out of Adversity," on July 26-28 in New Orleans. For more information and to register, visit www.amhca.org.

International Brain Research Organization.(Coming up)
May 14, 2007... The International Brain Research Organization will hold its 7th World Congress of Neuroscience on July 12-17 in Melbourne, Australia. Registration closes on May 31. For more information, visit www.ibro2007.org.

In case you haven't heard ...
May 14, 2007... In the first study to examine how meditation impacts attention, published online last week in the journal PloS Biology, three months of rigorous meditative training appeared to change how the brain assigns attention, in effect allowing study...

Medicare study cites medication access problems for Part D beneficiaries: APA urges drug plans to adhere to CMS guidelines.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(American Psychological Association)
May 7, 2007... A new study analyzing the first four months of the Medicare Part D drug benefit has found that more than one half of the dual-eligible patients studied have had significant problems accessing their medications. The study noted serious adverse...

Virginia tech tragedy spurs calls for funding, services on campus.
May 7, 2007... The aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy has prompted calls for more efforts on college campuses to beef up counseling and mental health services, as well as screening and intervention for students in need. On Capitol Hill, committee...

Magellan officials report 'robust' first-quarter earnings.(Financial report)
May 7, 2007... Magellan Health Services Inc. last month announced its first-quarter earnings for 2007. Citing responsible management of the financial aspects of its business and significant progress through the sale of a second risk radiology...

Senate parity bill: strong legislation that will help consumers and families.(FROM THE FIELD ...)(Column)
May 7, 2007... Editor's Note: Michael Fitzpatrick, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has written this week's From the Field column in response to the April 23 From the Field column by Deb Beck, Kim Bowman and Marge Hanna....

FDA proposes expanding antidepressant warning to young adults.(Brief article)
May 7, 2007... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week proposed that makers of all antidepressant medications update the existing black box warning on their products' labeling to include warnings about increased risks of suicidal thinking and...

Oregon takes steps to improve youth MH services.(STATE WATCH)(Brief article)
May 7, 2007... At a roundtable discussion of the state's mental health system in late March, Oregon's Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed an executive order establishing a Children's Wraparound Steering Committee, charged with overseeing the development of a...

Depression explored in weekly internet show.(RESOURCES)(The Down and Up Show)(Brief article)
May 7, 2007... The Depression is Real Coalition announced on April 26 the launch of a weekly internet audio-cast called "The Down and Up Show," hosted by a prominent expert in mood disorders, Ellen Frank, Ph.D., and featuring leading experts discussing...

Michael C. Collins.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)(United States. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities)
May 7, 2007... Michael C. Collins has been appointed the new executive director of the National Center on Disability (NCD), effective June 18. Collins most recently served as the first executive director of the California State Independent Living Council....

Greg Simon, M.D., M.P.H.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)(Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance )(Brief article)
May 7, 2007... Greg Simon, M.D., M.P.H., has been elected to a three-year term as chairman of the scientific advisory board for the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), the country's largest patient-directed organization focusing on depression...

American Psychiatric Association.(Coming up)
May 7, 2007... The American Psychiatric Association (APA) will hold its 2007 Annual Meeting, "Addressing Patient Needs: Access, Parity and Humane Care," in San Diego on May 19-24. Visit www.psych.org/edu/ann_mtgs/am/07/index.cfm for more information.

Mental Health America.(Coming up)
May 7, 2007... Mental Health America (formerly the National Mental Health Association) will hold its 2007 Annual Meeting," Bringing Wellness Home," on June 6-9 in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nmha.org/go/annualmeeting.

International Brain Research Organization.
May 7, 2007... The International Brain Research Organization will hold its 7th World Congress of Neuroscience on July 12-17 in Melbourne, Australia. Registration closes on May 31. For more information, visit www.ibro2007.org.

American Psychological Association.(Coming up)
May 7, 2007... The American Psychological Association will hold its 115th Annual Conference on August 17-20 in San Francisco. For more information and to register, visit www.apa.org/convention07.

In case you haven't heard ...
May 7, 2007... Counting backward rapidly won't just give your brain a workout, but will simultaneously raise your heart rate, as well as emotional stress such as grief or surprise. Bloomberg reported that British researchers recently used this mildly...