November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
NAMI Releases First Free Online Class for Parents of Children with Mental Illness Video - NAMI Basics OnDemand is an online version of the in-person NAMI Basics: a free, six-session education program for parents, caregivers and other family who provide care for youth aged 22 or younger who are experiencing mental health symptoms. REGISTER TODAY »
Stop the Stigma: A Conversation About Mental Health - CBS This Morning did a special one-hour live broadcast focused on mental illness, “Stop the Stigma” which featured Ken Duckworth, NAMI’s medical director. The show also featured a studio audience of people affected by mental illness. WATCH NOW »
The Washington Post: The Big Number: 3 Or More Hours A Day Of Social Media Use Hurts Youths’ Mental Health - Might time spent on social media — YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the like — affect young people’s mental health? Yes, says a report by Johns Hopkins and other researchers, published in JAMA Psychiatry. For instance, they found that 12- to 15-year-olds who typically spent three or more hours a day on social media were about twice as likely to experience depression, anxiety, loneliness, aggression or antisocial behavior as were adolescents who did not use social media. As the youths’ social media time increased, so did their risk, making them four times more likely than nonusers to have these problems if they spent more than six hours a day on social media. (Searing, 9/30)
Autism Insurance Coverage Now Required In All 50 States - After officials in the last holdout state enacted a new rule, all 50 states and Washington, D.C. have mandates that require some level of insurance coverage for the treatment of autism. Read More >
Bp Magazine - 7 Movies about Real People with Bipolar - Read more >>
‘Out here, it’s just me’: In the medical desert of rural America, one doctor for 11,000 square miles - The federal government now designates nearly 80 percent of the rural United States as "medically underserved."- By Eli Saslow ● Read more »
To boost workforce, medical schools try to sell rural life - The schools send students to live in small towns and train with rural doctors. Some also organize outings and cultural experiences to try to sell students on living there after they graduate. READ MORE >
Workforce grants target students as first step to boost caregiver diversity - HRSA grants awarded to aid in medical training for disadvantaged students are boosting diversity in the health workforce by first cultivating a more diverse student body. READ MORE >
MPR: Mental Health Is Focus Of Hearing On Police Use Of Deadly Force - Mental health took center stage as law enforcement officers, county attorneys, elected officials and other community leaders gathered Saturday in Mankato for the second meeting of a state working group on police use of deadly force. (Roth, 9/28)
The Washington Post: ‘Out Here, It’s Just Me’: In The Medical Desert Of Rural America, One Doctor For 11,000 Square Miles - In the medical desert that has become rural America, nothing is more basic or more essential than access to doctors, but they are increasingly difficult to find. The federal government now designates nearly 80 percent of rural America as “medically underserved.” It is home to 20 percent of the U.S. population but fewer than 10 percent of its doctors, and that ratio is worsening each year because of what health experts refer to as “the gray wave.” Rural doctors are three years older than urban doctors on average, with half over 50 and more than a quarter beyond 60. Health officials predict the number of rural doctors will decline by 23 percent over the next decade as the number of urban doctors remains flat. (Saslow, 9/28)
San Francisco Chronicle: Suicides In California Prisons Rise Despite Decades Of Demands For Reform The suicide rate inside California prisons, long one of the highest among the nation’s largest prison systems, jumped to a new peak in 2018 and remains elevated in 2019, despite decades of effort by federal courts and psychiatric experts to fix a system they say is broken and putting lives at risk, a Chronicle investigation has found. Last year, an average of three California inmates killed Page 1 of 21
November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation themselves each month in state cells — 34 total suicides in a system with 129,000 inmates. That amounts to an annual rate of 26.3 deaths per 100,000 people, the highest rate in California since at least 2006. (Fagone and Cassidy, 9/29) Los Angeles Times: Mental Illness Was My Family's Secret — And America's Great Shame - In 2011, I began a professional and personal journey to understand my profession’s abandonment of our sickest patients. I had been trained as a psychiatrist at an Ivy League medical center on the East Coast. Like most of my colleagues in my generation, I did not end up treating those with schizophrenia and severe bipolar disorder. Also, like many people in my field, I had a personal connection to the disease that I kept to myself. When I was 14, Merle, my beautiful and kind 20-year-old sister, developed schizophrenia. My older sister, Gail, eventually took Merle to the hospital in Philadelphia, our hometown. After two weeks of failed treatment, my parents promptly took her out. (Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, 9/29)
Tampa Bay Times: The Baker Act Is Supposed To Protect Patients, Not Profits - A patient admitted to a Florida mental health facility under the Baker Act is vulnerable, judged to be a threat to himself or others -- or in self-neglect -- and unable to make decisions regarding his own care. In allowing a person’s liberty to be denied for up to 72 hours pending an evaluation, the state carries an immense burden of ensuring proper treatment and that no person is held a minute longer than medically necessary. A troubling Times investigation about North Tampa Behavioral Health calls for more vigorous state oversight to ensure patients’ rights are fully respected. (9/27)
Bp Magazine - Everything You Need to Know about “Coming Out” about Your Bipolar Disorder - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Patience: The Antidote to Imminent Irritation - Read more >> Bp Magazine - 6 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Improve Your Recovery - Read more >>
NIH Funding For Down Syndrome Research Balloons - With millions of new dollars for research on Down syndrome, federal officials have effectively doubled their investment in understanding the chromosomal disorder in the last year alone. Read More >
Apartments Pair People With Developmental Disabilities, Older Adults - A new apartment complex on the site of a former institution will house people with disabilities alongside older adults in what developers tout as a unique model, but not everyone is on board. Read More >
The Washington Post: With The Affordable Care Act’s Future In Doubt, Evidence Grows That It Has Saved Lives - Poor people in Michigan with asthma and diabetes were admitted to the hospital less often after they joined Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. More than 25,000 Ohio smokers got help through the state’s Medicaid expansion that led them to quit. And around the country, patients with advanced kidney disease who went on dialysis were more likely to be alive a year later if they lived in a Medicaid-expansion state. Such findings are part of an emerging mosaic of evidence that, nearly a decade after it became one of the most polarizing health-care laws in U.S. history, the ACA is making some Americans healthier — and less likely to die. (Goldstein, 9/30)
The Wall Street Journal: A New Death Shakes A Campus Rattled By Student Suicides - On a quiet Sunday afternoon at the University of Pennsylvania, a dozen students sat in a circle, turned to one another, and asked: “Are you thinking of killing yourself?” ... With 14 student suicides in the past six years, this Ivy League university has been asking hard questions and has bolstered its mental-health resources. But the recent death by suicide of a high-profile mental-health administrator— Gregory Eells, executive director of Penn’s Counseling and Psychological Services program that provides therapy sessions for students—highlighted the complexity of the school’s continuing battle against suicide. (Calfas, 9/30)
Autism and Picky Eating - Practical tips for parents of kids with problem mealtime behaviors. - READ MORE ▸
Do Autism Behaviors Have Medical Causes? - Some persistent problem behaviors turn out to be treatable illnesses. - READ MORE ▸
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
Sensory Processing Issues Explained - Oversensitivity, tantrums, clumsiness: all could point to problems taking in the world. - READ MORE ▸
More Than Picky Eating - Kids with a serious aversion to many foods may need help with overcoming avoidance. - READ MORE ▸ How Can We Help Kids With Transitions? - With the right support, children can learn to change gears without whining and tantrums. READ MORE ▸
How to Handle Tantrums - Tips for helping children learn better ways to express powerful emotions. READ MORE ▸ Sheriffs are shirking bills for inmates' hospital care through a crafty practice called “medical bond.” Sheriffs across Alabama are increasingly releasing ill inmates to avoid having to pay for medical emergencies or expensive procedures. Once they recover, some inmates are quickly rearrested and booked back into the jail from which they were released. (AL.com)
The New York Times: Hysterectomy May Raise Depression And Anxiety Risk - Women who have a hysterectomy may be at increased risk for depression and anxiety, a new study reports. Researchers used medical records of 2,094 women who had had a hysterectomy without removal of the ovaries, matching them with the same number of women of the same age who had not had the operation. None of the surgeries were performed to treat cancer. They followed them for an average of 22 years. (Bakalar, 10/1)
The New York Times: Being Young, Active And Physically Fit May Be Very Good For Your Brain - Physically fit young adults have healthier white matter in their brains and better thinking skills than young people who are out of shape, according to a large-scale new study of the links between aerobic fitness and brain health. The findings suggest that even when people are youthful and presumably at the peak of their mental prowess, fitness — or the lack of it — may influence how well their brains and minds work. (Reynolds, 10/2)
San Francisco Chronicle: Supervisors Unveil Revised Vision For Mental Health Care Overhaul - San Francisco Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Matt Haney will unveil a series of modifications Tuesday to their plan to overhaul the city’s mental health care system. The changes don’t move the measure — dubbed Mental Health SF — away from its ambitious central goal of providing free, efficient and round-the-clock access to psychiatrists and pharmacists for any San Franciscan 18 and older. (Fracassa, 10/1)
New MHA State Of Mental Health Report Shows Adults, Children In Crisis
10 Things You Can Do When You’re Stressed
CMHIC 2019: 6 Student Leaders Transforming Mental Health On Campus
USA Today: Is my kid vaping? If so, what? And how do I help them quit? Here are tips for worried parents
Oprah Magazine: How To Help Suicide Attempt Survivors—From Someone Who Has Been There
Standard-Examiner: Latinos face language barrier, cultural stigmas when seeking mental health treatment
Verily: What Your Sleep Habits Can Tell You about Your Overall Health
Teen Vogue: The Mental Health Cost of Code-Switching on Campus
Bp Magazine - Seeing the World through Tinted Glasses - Read more >>
Bp Magazine – “Night Owls” Can Learn to Shift Sleep and Wake Times - Read more >>
Bp MagazIne - When Do I Tell a New Love about My Bipolar? - Read more >>
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
The Advocate: Impacts Of Students Misdiagnosed With Mental Health Conditions At Iberville School Unknown - Records from a health center that's accused of misdiagnosing Iberville Parish students as having serious mental health disorders will follow those students for years, authorities say, but the full impact of the false reporting — part of an alleged scheme to maximize Medicaid payments — remains unknown. Federal prosecutors allege that from 2011 to 2015, St. Gabriel Health Clinic Inc. officials gave schoolchildren bogus mental health diagnoses, without informing their parents, and offered group therapy sessions during classroom hours, all to collect Medicaid reimbursement. (Rddad and Lussier, 10/2) The Washington Post: The Unique Way A Virginia Group Is Helping People With Eating Disorders - Of the 13 people who will sit together on this night and share a meal, five have an eating disorder. For them, this is not just dinner. It’s also therapy. For the rest of us, it is a chance to see the hold that eating disorders can have on otherwise successful, smart people and to gain a better understanding of a psychological disorder that remains largely misunderstood, even as more people seek help for it. (Theresa Vargas, 10/2)
Nearly 30,000 children under age 10 have been arrested in the US since 2013: FBI - ABC News - The recent arrests of two 6-year-old students in Orlando, which prompted outrage and the firing of the officer who restrained one child's hands with flex cuffs, mirrors a persistent problem confronting law enforcement and schools with thousands of children arrested annually and treated like "mini-adults," experts said. More here.
Editorial: Time for accountability in L.A. County juvenile justice - LA Times - There are several reasons why Los Angeles County’s juvenile justice system is such a mess, with so many young people coming out of juvenile halls and probation camps even more broken than they were when they went in. One reason is that when the U.S. Dept. of Justice swooped in more than a decade ago to examine the dysfunction — excessive force in the halls and camps, emotional abuse, sexual assault, poor education, overuse of pepper spray, deficient mental health treatment — the county made enough promises to stave off a federal consent decree. In retrospect, it would have been better had a decree been imposed and the feds stuck around, because the same problems persist today. More here.
1. Why Hospitals Are Getting Into The Housing Business - Hospital systems now invest in housing to help some of their most frequent patients. This allows them to safely discharge patients who otherwise would have no place to go, freeing up beds for sicker patients and saving the hospitals money. (Markian Hawryluk, 10/4)
Trump Signs Autism Act - With little time to spare, President Donald Trump approved an extension of the nation's primary autism law, authorizing $1.8 billion in spending on the developmental disorder. Read More >
Hospital Apologizes For 'Wall Of Shame' - Hospital officials are apologizing after employees created a "wall of shame" of patients with disabilities by cutting and taping portions of their private medical records to a cabinet door. Read More >
The District is neglecting its only public psychiatric hospital. It’s cruel. - By Colbert King ● Read more »
Bp Magazine - You CAN Find Meaning & Inspiration in Your Life - Read more >>
Bp Magazine - 3 Benefits of Loving Someone with Bipolar - Read more >>
Bp Magazine - The Ultimate Guide to Conquering Social Anxiety - Read more >>
The Washington Post: Republicans Make Mental Health A Platform Issue As Trump Calls For More Institutions - Wisconsin state Rep. Paul Tittl always thought mental illness was something that afflicted other families. But one year, the Republican lawmaker got what he called a triple “smack dab, slap in the face.” In 2013, the maid of honor in Tittl’s wedding committed suicide. Then his cousin committed suicide. Another relative was institutionalized with a serious mental illness that year. Now Tittl has joined the ranks of Republican lawmakers nationwide pushing to expand mental health treatment, a remarkable turnaround for a party that a few years ago was staking its reputation on cutting taxes and starving government budgets. (Craig, 10/6)
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
The New York Times: Brain Stimulation Shows Promise In Treating Severe Depression - For more than a decade, doctors have been using brain-stimulating implants to treat severe depression in people who do not benefit from medication, talk therapy or electroshock sessions. The treatment is controversial — any psychosurgery is, given its checkered history — and the results have been mixed. Two major trials testing stimulating implant for depression were halted because of disappointing results, and the approach is not approved by federal health regulators. (Carey, 10/4)
The Washington Post: On YouTube, People With Disabilities Create Content To Show And Normalize Their Experiences - Ruby Ardolf, 14, has her own YouTube channel, featuring familiar aspects of a teen’s daily life and merchandise with messages of kindness and inclusion. But Ruby is not a typical teen vlogger. She is disabled — one of 12 people worldwide with a genetic condition called Stromme syndrome, which results in microcephaly (small brain), and impaired vision and motor functioning. (Chiu, 10/6)
Los Angeles Times: Are Many Homeless People In L.A. Mentally Ill? New Findings Back The Public’s Perception - Mental illness, substance abuse and physical disabilities are much more pervasive in Los Angeles County’s homeless population than officials have previously reported, a Times analysis has found. The Times examined more than 4,000 questionnaires taken as part of this year’s point-in-time count and found that about 76% of individuals living outside on the streets reported being, or were observed to be, affected by mental illness, substance abuse, poor health or a physical disability. (Smith and Oreskes, 10/7)
The Star Tribune: High-Stakes Assessments Upend Lives Of Families With Disabilities - Each year, tens of thousands of Minnesotans with disabilities and their families undergo this agonizing, high-stakes ritual, known as a comprehensive needs assessment. A stranger with a laptop comes to their home and asks hundreds of questions about the medical needs and care of their loved ones. ... A few careless answers about medications, or a forgotten detail about an emergency room visit, could spell disaster for these families. The right response could bring thousands of dollars in assistance to pay for nursing care, physical therapy and medical equipment; the wrong answer could consign the family to a life of sleep deprivation, medical emergencies and isolation. (Serres and Howatt, 10/6)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Nearly 2 Million Ohioans Could Lose Insurance Because Of Pre-Existing Conditions - Twenty-nine percent of non-elderly adult Ohioans are at risk of losing their insurance because of pre-existing conditions – if a federal appeals court strikes down the Affordable Care Act, according to new research. The Kaiser Family Foundation released estimates Friday showing 53.9 million Americans and just under 2 million Ohioans had a host of deniable conditions – from most forms of cancer in the past decade to mental health disorders, pregnancy, sleep apnea and arthritis. (Hancock, 10/4)
Boston Globe: Statewide Initiative Launched To Prevent Suicides Among People Of Color - A new statewide initiative seeks to reduce suicides among people of color by expanding outreach, providing more culturally relevant resources, and initiating potentially uncomfortable conversations about race, privilege, and how they affect access to mental health services. The project, which grew out of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention’s Alliance for Equity, includes a range of actions to engage communities and spur dialogue. (Cox, 10/5)
MPR: In Minnesota, 4 Out Of 5 Gun Deaths Are Suicides - Most Americans are unaware that suicides — not mass shootings, other murders or accidental gun discharges — account for the majority of gun deaths in the United States, according to a recent survey from APM Research Lab. As many as three-fifths of gun deaths in the U.S. are the result of people intentionally killing themselves. (Roth, 10/7)
Seattle Times: Free To Check In, But Not To Leave: Patients Seeking Mental-Health Treatment In Washington Have Been Held Against Their Will - The question of discharging patients from a psychiatric hospital is exceedingly fraught. Doctors are only supposed to admit patients with serious mental-health conditions, and have to balance patients’ right to leave against concerns about their welfare. Washington is one of just a few states where patients who check in to a hospital must be “released immediately” upon their request, with no additional time for observation, according to state law. Yet many patients don’t realize that even if they check in voluntarily, a hospital can legally hold them against their will. (Gilbert, 10/6) Page 5 of 21
November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
The Associated Press: DC Public Psychiatric Hospital To Get Drinking Water Fixed - A public psychiatric hospital in the nation’s capital may soon have running water again. The district’s deputy mayor for health and human services, Wayne Turnage, tells WTOP-FM that St. Elizabeths Hospital’s water operations should be fully operational by Friday. The district- owned facility has been without running water since Sept. 26 when the bacteria that can cause Legionnaires’ disease were found in its water system. (10/7)
Study Finds Gaps In Medicaid Waivers - The services provided through Medicaid waivers to children with the most severe disabilities vary wildly from state to state, researchers say, leaving many families to pick up the pieces. Read More >
Bp Magazine - Rapid Cycling & Mixed States: Help Your Doctor Understand Your True Feelings-Read more >>
Bp Magazine - 6 Reasons Why Feeding Your Brain Improves Your Life - Read more >>
Bp Magazine - Managing Impulsivity while Living an Adventurous Life with Bipolar - Read more >>
Modern Healthcare: Gun Control Could Reduce Suicide More Than Boosting Mental Health Staffing - Gun control measures may be more effective at reducing firearms suicides in the U.S. than increasing behavioral health capacity, a new study suggests. The study, published in Health Affairs, found that a 10% increase in behavioral health workers per state was associated with a modest 1.2% reduction in the gun suicide rate from 2005 to 2015. The Ohio State University researchers estimated that eliminating all mental health professional shortage areas through workforce hiring could reduce the national gun suicide rate — which rose 17.1% during that period — by less than 5%. (Meyer, 10/7)
North Carolina Health News: Mecklenburg Opens NC's First Jail Psych Unit - The jail psychiatric unit in downtown Charlotte — known as “McP” — looks like a school, but it’s actually North Carolina’s first behavioral health unit located in a county jail. Inmates, or residents as the sheriff calls them, take daily medications, attend group classes, and participate in therapy with the aim of getting better before returning to the general population in the Mecklenburg County Central Detention Center or being released to the outside world. (Duong, 10/8)
The Wall Street Journal: New York City Boosts Homeless Outreach After Four Men Are Killed - New York City will increase its mental-health outreach to the homeless in Manhattan’s Chinatown after four homeless men were bludgeoned to death in the neighborhood, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday. Psychiatrists and clinicians from the city’s Department of Health and its Thrive mental-health program will perform street evaluations and provide substance-abuse resources to the homeless as part of the new push, officials said. (Honan and Blint-Welsh, 10/7)
The Associated Press: Iowa Board Approves Payment For Student Suicide Jury Verdict - A state panel that signs off on legal settlements for the state of Iowa has approved payment of $315,000 to the parents of an Iowa State University student who died by suicide in November 2015. A jury in August found the state partially liable for the death of Dane Schussler. (10/7)
ABC News: 'Great Starting Point': Summit Looks To Combat Rash Of Officer Suicides With Novel Resiliency Program - It was a typical Thursday in May 2015 for Rachel Zubrzycki. Amid the hustle and bustle of getting their four children ready for school, Rachel exchanged a quick "I love you" with her husband of 14 years before they split up to drop their children off and go to their respective jobs -- Edward a veteran detective with the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office major crimes unit and Rachel was getting back into the workforce as a part-time reading teacher. What happened next changed her life forever. (Carrega, 10/9)
Kaiser Health News: They Enrolled In Medical School To Practice Rural Medicine. What Happened? The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Salina opened in 2011 — a one-building campus in the heart of wheat country dedicated to producing the rural doctors the country needs. Now, eight years later, the school’s first graduates are settling into their chosen practices — and locales. And those choices are cause for both hope and despair. Of the eight graduates, just three chose to go where the shortages are most evident. Two went to small cities with populations of fewer than 50,000. And three chose the big cities of Topeka (estimated 2018 population: 125,904) and Wichita (389,255) instead. (Weber, 10/9) Page 6 of 21
November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
Georgia Health News: Rural Remedy: Mercer Med School Brings Care To ‘Areas Of Need’ - To fill in some physician gaps, the Medical College of Georgia is planning new incentives for med students to practice in rural areas by reducing tuition and shortening their time in school. Mercer also has such a program. Mercer Medicine says its two new facilities in Peach and Clay counties will provide an educational component for rural physicians, management services and will help in the placement of future physicians. (Miller, 10/8)
San Francisco Chronicle: California Prisons Head Acknowledges ‘Inmate Suicide Crisis’ After Reports -The number of inmates killing themselves in California prisons is “far too high,” the state admitted in a new report on the worsening suicide problem in California’s correctional system. The report confirms a Chronicle investigation that revealed the inmate suicide rate in California prisons has climbed four years in a row and reached an unprecedented peak last year with 26.3 suicides per 100,000 prisoners — substantially higher than the suicide rate in other large prison systems across the country. (Fagone and Cassidy, 10/8)
Bp Magazine - Putting Anxiety in Its Place - Read more >>
Bp Magazine - Following in Their Footsteps: Finding Hope in Bipolar Disorder Mentors - Read more >>
Bp Magazine - Mentally Stimulating Activities Delay Memory Loss - Read more >>
KCUR: Doctors Stand By Meds For Treating Kids With ADHD But Many Experts Say That’s The Wrong Approach - When children are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, stimulant medications like Ritalin are usually the first line of treatment. Doctors recently issued new guidelines that mostly uphold the role of those medications, but many experts argue that other effective behavioral treatment methods are being ignored. ...They advise that anyone 6 or older should start taking medication and get behavioral therapy as soon as they are diagnosed. Children 5 and younger are advised to start with behavioral treatment first. (Smith, 10/9)
The Associated Press: DC Psychiatric Hospital To Go Another Week Without Water - Officials say a public psychiatric hospital in the nation’s capital may go another week without drinking water. The district’s deputy mayor for health and human services, Wayne Turnage, tells The Washington Post that St. Elizabeth’s Hospital’s water service may not be restored until late next week. Repairs were expected to finish this Friday. (10/9)
Sacramento Bee: Gavin Newsom Should Sign Bill To Lower CA Youth Suicide Rate - There is a mental health crisis in our schools, and California’s leaders are doing something about it. Last month, the state Legislature unanimously passed Senate Bill 428, which expands access to trainings that will help teachers and school staff recognize and act on the mental health needs of their students. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs, 1 in 3 high schoolers reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks in a row. Each child’s suffering manifests in unique ways. In my daughter Alliy’s case, she revealed her depression in a school journal. Sadly, her silent struggle culminated in her suicide at the age of 15. (Jennifer Bayless, 10/9)
2019 Children’s Mental Health Report: Social Media, Gaming and Mental Health - https://childmind.org/our- impact/childrens-mental-health-report/2019report/
Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting: In Mississippi’s fractured mental health system, it’s the haves vs. the have- nots
Forbes: How To Support Mental Wellness And Suicide Prevention During October’s World Mental Health Day
Philly Voice: The top 5 millennial health issues – and what to do about them
NBC2 News: 1% of psychiatrists are African-American and it's creating a gap in mental health care
Yahoo: How to Talk to Your Child About Suicide
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
Disability Rights Advocates: Stanford and Students with Mental Health Disabilities Reach Landmark Settlement - Disability Rights Advocates
Today: Tariji P. Henson is on a mission to save young black lives from suicide
BP: When Good Things Become Too Much
Esperanza: Superfoods For Better Moods––And Less Depression
Losing Tim: How Our Health and Education Systems Failed My Son with Schizophrenia- a book about Paul (father) and Tim(son) – Paul is the Executive Director of Mental Health America.
School Districts Reportedly Refusing Kids With Severe Disabilities- More than a half dozen districts have declined to serve a group of students with severe disabilities and, as a result, the kids may soon be without schooling altogether, a lawsuit claims. Read More >
1. Taking The Cops Out Of Mental Health-Related 911 Rescues - Denver is considering adopting a new 911 alternative used in Eugene, Ore., that allows mental health and medical professionals, not police officers, to respond to some emergency calls, saving money and de-escalating situations with mentally ill people. (LJ Dawson, 10/11)
Modern Healthcare: States Take Back Control Of Their ACA Marketplaces More states are taking control of their health insurance marketplaces to take advantage of cost savings, increase their autonomy, and support wide-ranging health reform efforts, according to a new report Thursday. Several states are planning or mulling a move from HealthCare.gov, a federal health insurance marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act to help individuals find coverage, to state-run platforms. Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Oregon are among the states thinking about making the switch. (Brady, 10/10 ------New research reveals that Americans' fear about the dangers of those suffering with mental health problems is increasing as leaders and politicians continue to emphasize those myths. On World Mental Health Day, media outlets examined this and other topics relevant to the global conversation. Los Angeles Times: Americans Increasingly Fear Violence From People Who Are Mentally Ill - Political rhetoric that blames people with mental illness for spasms of mass violence appears to be seeping into the national psyche. Americans increasingly see people with schizophrenia or major depression as a threat not only to themselves but to others, new research reveals. That wariness even extends to those who have difficulties coping with everyday life but whose symptoms fall far short of a psychiatric diagnosis. (Healy, 10/10)
Reuters: U.S. Urged To 'Turn Off Hate' After Suicide Of LGBT+ Teen - The suicide of a 16-year-old who was cyberbullied over sexually explicit messages he exchanged with another boy shows acceptance - including legal support - is key to improving mental health, LGBT+ advocates said on World Mental Health Day on Thursday. U.S. teenager Channing Smith killed himself on the night of Sept. 22 after being "humiliated" by screenshots of his messages which were posted on social media by fellow students, his brother Joshua Smith told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. (10/10)
Kaiser Health News: Taking The Cops Out Of Mental Health-Related 911 Rescues - Every day that Janet van der Laak drives between car dealerships in her sales job, she keeps size 12 shoes, some clothes and a packed lunch — a PB&J sandwich, fruit and a granola bar — beside her in case she sees her 27-year-old son on the streets. “’Jito, come home,” she always tells him, using a Spanish endearment. There he can have a bed and food, but her son, Matt Vinnola, rarely returns home. If he does, it is temporary. The streets are easier for him. Home can be too peaceful. (Dawson, 10/11)
CNN: Ed Sheeran And Prince Harry Unite In Video For World Mental Health Day - Prince Harry and Ed Sheeran have teamed up in a video to raise awareness for World Mental Health Day -- with a light-hearted jibe at their own plight as Britain's most famous redheads. In the video, shared on the official Sussex Royal Instagram account, the famous duo discuss the issue of mental health, and urge everyone to "look out for anybody that might be suffering in silence." Yet despite the Page 8 of 21
November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation serious message, the video starts on a humorous note. When the pair sit down to discuss their collaboration, Prince Harry explains that Sheeran has the right "skill set" to create a song to help fight the problem. (Robinson, 10/10)
The New York Times: HBO To Tackle Mental Illness Stigma In New Campaign - HBO wants people to talk about mental illness. The network announced on Thursday a campaign to use its shows to increase awareness around mental health issues, highlighting characters’ struggles with conditions like depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder or substance abuse. (Harris, 10/10)
Business Insider: Lonely, Burned Out, Depressed: The State Of Millennials' Mental Health - Millennials are changing the way people look at and talk about mental health. As part of World Mental Health Day, Business Insider took a look at the mental-health state of millennials (defined by the Pew Research Center as the cohort turning ages 23 to 38 in 2019). It doesn't look pretty — depression and "deaths of despair" are both on the rise among the generation, linked to issues such as loneliness and money stress. (Hoffower and Akhtar, 10/10)
The Oregonian: Student Who Walked Into Parkrose High School With Gun, Prompted Mass Fear, Is Sentenced To Mental Health Help - A teenager who carried a loaded shotgun into a classroom at Parkrose High School in May -- causing a massive scare before one of the school’s security guards subdued him -- was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation and any mental health treatment that he needs. Investigators say Angel Granados-Diaz, then 18, was suffering a mental health crisis and didn’t intend to hurt anyone but himself. (Green, 10/10)
Miami Herald: ACA Still Under Attack By Republicans In Congress, President - Five years, nine months, and nine days — within the course of American history — is not a very long time. However, it was only that long ago that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) radically transformed the healthcare system in this country. Before Jan. 1, 2014, when the bulk of the ACA went into effect, Americans were completely at the mercy of an inequitable and unfair healthcare system: Insurers could place lifetime limits on covering essential benefits; drop your coverage if you got sick; or simply deny you coverage for “pre- existing” conditions. The ACA not only removed these outrageous barriers to getting health insurance, it gave all Americans, irrespective of provider, access to better quality and more affordable health insurance. (U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, 10/10)
The Hill: World Mental Health Day — California Takes Initiative In Battling Depression - Today is World Mental Health Day. And, California, a state with 10 percent of the U.S. population, just announced that it’s introducing the first toll-free statewide mental health line for non-emergency emotional support and referrals. What a wonderful way to kick off this occasion. This Peer-Run Warm Line is a reason to celebrate. As a psychologist, I’ve witnessed first-hand the emotional pains people carry, and how hard it is for them to come in for formal therapy. (Joan Cook, 10/10)
Des Moines Register: Iowa's Law Contributes To The Shortage Of Mental Health Care - This week is Mental Illness Awareness Week, and it’s not a time to pity those with mental illness. It’s a time to assess what works, and what doesn’t, in our mental health system. In Iowa, the situation for the mentally ill is dire: There is a desperate shortage of inpatient mental health hospital beds in the state. Yet, for example, when a private company sought to build a new 72-bed facility in Bettendorf, using its own money, it was blocked for more than two years because of Iowa’s certificate of need law. (Mark Flatten, 10/10)
Richard Ross, Photographer of Incarcerated Youth, Says He Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop – JJIE - When photographer Richard Ross turns his lens on America, he sees a country that incarcerates 12-year-old children. He sees youth in prison — even though they themselves are victims of abuse and trauma. And he sees “juvie lifers” who spend decades behind bars for crimes they committed before their brains were fully developed. He sees, in other words, a society that holds children — especially those of color — accountable to institutions rather than the other way around. And he’s using his camera to show what that distorted view looks like from inside the prison walls in the hopes of one day changing it for the better. More here.
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
Putting kids in the adult criminal justice system is profoundly unjust - South Florida Sun Sentinel - The adult criminal justice system is not prepared to help children when it comes to their mental, emotional, or educational needs. People who work in adult prisons are trained to deal with other adults, and don’t have the training to deal with children whose brains are still developing. Children who commit crimes should be held responsible, but they should be held responsible as children who are still maturing. And when they come home, the crime should be behind them, and should not follow them for the rest of their lives. More here.
Raise the Age Law Now Fully in Effect in New York - Spectrum News - The Raise the Age law fully went into effect in New York this month. It raises the age of criminal responsibility to 18 years old in a state that used to automatically process 16 and 17-year-olds as adults. “So much of what we see right now is just really the criminalization of poverty, the lack of resources in schooling and other types of infrastructure where a lot these young people really just feel they don’t have any other choice,” said John Washington who works with PUSH Buffalo. The organization works toward building a better Buffalo. More here.
Why close Rikers? An insider’s view - New York Daily News - One man I met recently was returned to Rikers because he missed curfew — because of a job he got through his parole officer. A parole officer slapped a technical violation on a homeless man dying of a drug overdose at Bellevue so that, instead of dying with dignity, he died handcuffed to his bed. I met another man who was imprisoned when he got married to a woman who had a felony record. As counterproductive as it is to incarcerate people for non-criminal violations instead of helping them readjust to society, it would be even more senseless to build new borough-based jails just to do so. More here.
Bp Magazine - 5 Ways to Slow Down Before You Crash - Read more >>
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The Wall Street Journal: The Medicaid Experiment In Arkansas: Thousands Lost Coverage, Few Gained Jobs - Mr. Ellis is one of more than 18,000 people who were cut from the Medicaid rolls after Arkansas embarked on a closely watched experiment in June 2018, when it became the only state to fully implement a work requirement for program recipients. The outcome in Arkansas could help shape the future of Medicaid, a state-federal program for low-income and disabled people that covers one in seven adults across the U.S. President Trump and Republicans promote the mandate as a way to rein in safety-net costs and increase employment. In a blow to the GOP, a federal judge in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in March blocked Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirement, saying federal officials didn’t adequately consider its potential to cause recipients to lose coverage. (Campo-Flores and Armour, 10/13) ------In 1991, 5.9% of black teenagers reported attempting suicide, but in 2017, more than 10% of of black teenagers said they had. “It’s well documented that black youth access mental health treatment less,” said Michael Lindsey, author of the study.
Chicago Tribune: Reported Suicide Attempts Among Black Teens Have Spiked Since 1991, Study Shows - Suicide attempts that were self-reported by black teens have spiked since 1991, even as their peers in other groups have experienced a downward trend or remained unchanged, according to a new study that raises concerns about mental health outreach for black youths. The study, which was published online Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics, underscores the importance of equitable access to mental health care and prevention initiatives in schools, social workers and mental health advocates said. It also highlights the lack of data and the understudied nature of suicide in the black community, experts said. (Buckley, 10/14)
The Washington Post: Fear Of Flying Anxiety Disorder Can Be Overcome - Tami Augen Rhodes needed to fly to Washington. An invitation to a black-tie event at the Supreme Court was an opportunity the 49-year-old lawyer in Tampa did not want to miss. But Rhodes had not flown since she was 35, when an escalating dislike of flying grew into a firm Page 10 of 21
November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation phobia. Desperate to get to Washington without resorting to a long train ride, Rhodes called into a weekly group-telephone chat run by Tom Bunn, a former Air Force and commercial airline pilot and licensed clinical social worker who runs a program for fearful fliers. (Vander Schaaff, 10/12)
Cincinnati Enquirer: ADHD Care Guidelines Are Updated; What Parents Need To Know - In late September, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its guidelines for doctors caring for children with ADHD. The rewrite isn’t a sweeping overhaul but a strong recommendation for more screening of mental illness and closer monitoring. Here are five things to know about the updated guidelines. (Saker, 10/13)
San Jose Mercury News: What You Can And Cannot Expect From California’s New Mental Health Line - This month, California launched the first statewide mental health line. The peer-run line based in San Francisco will get $10.8 million over three years to expand across the state. (Snibbe, 10/12)
The Wall Street Journal: After Abuse Allegations, Oregon Brings Back Foster Kids Sent Out Of State - Foster children in Oregon who were sent to privately run group homes out of state are now being brought back following numerous allegations of abuse. Oregon is one of several states that in recent years began relying on faraway residential treatment centers to house children with severe behavioral and psychiatric issues for whom adequate care couldn’t be found nearby. But the state’s child welfare agency didn’t regularly monitor their treatment and now two of the largest companies in the field have closed down facilities in Utah and Montana after staff members were accused of physical abuse and frequent use of drug injections to control the children, according to state regulators. (Elinson, 10/14)
The Star Tribune: U Tests New Apps To Help Teen Brains Fight Psychosis - Teens struggling with hallucinations and delusions will receive mobile phone apps that offer brain training and social support — part of a new University of Minnesota research focus that emphasizes non-drug solutions for severe mental disorders. Testing the apps will be the U’s unique contribution to a new federal study of teens and young adults experiencing their first episodes of psychosis. (Olson, 10/14)
San Francisco Chronicle: Losing Summer: 10 Months. Nearly 30 Visits To San Francisco’s Psychiatric ER. And A Suicide - San Francisco’s Behavioral Health Services system helps many of the 30,000 people it works with every year, and many receive high-quality or even lifesaving treatment. But Summer’s experience highlights weaknesses in the $370 million system — a system Mayor London Breed and the Board of Supervisors say is broken. (Lange, 10/13)
The New York Times: How To Close Rikers Island Prison - Rikers continues to be a place of violence and cruelty. In 2010, a 16-year-old African-American by the name of Kalief Browder was accused of stealing a backpack, a crime he said he did not commit, and sent to Rikers. The teenager never received a trial. Yet he remained in jail for three years, including two years in solitary confinement. In 2015, two years after his release, he took his own life, after speaking openly about the trauma the ordeal had caused him. (10/13)
Bp Magazine - Emotional Eating: Reset Your Habits—Bite by Bite - . Read more >>
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The Hill: Almost Half Of Americans Have Dealt With Substance Abuse In Family: Gallup - Nearly half of U.S. adults say that substance abuse problems have affected someone in their family, according to a new Gallup poll released Monday. Forty- six percent of respondents said they have experienced substance abuse in their family overall, with 18 percent reporting just alcohol problems, 10 percent reporting only drug problems and 18 percent reporting problems with both, according to Gallup. (Budryk, 10/14)
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
The New York Times: Indiana Mother Faces 6 Felony Charges After Son Attempted A School Shooting - An Indiana woman who called the police in December and told them that her 14-year-old son had threatened to shoot up his former school will face criminal charges if prosecutors have their way. Prosecutors in Wayne County filed an affidavit on Friday recommending six felony charges against the woman, Mary York, 43, in the episode, which ended when her son killed himself at David W. Dennis Intermediate School in Richmond, Ind. The police did not release the boy’s name because of his age. (Padilla, 10/15)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Held For 20 Days: How N.H.'s Shortage Of Mental Health Beds Erodes Patients' Rights - Imagine you are forced to go to a hospital to receive psychiatric treatment that you don’t think you need. What rights would you have? That’s the question at the heart of a court battle between the state of New Hampshire, the ACLU, and nearly two-dozen hospitals. A ruling in the case could have profound impacts on how New Hampshire treats people who are in a mental health crisis. (Moon, 10/14)
Iowa Public Radio: 'Housing First' Initiatives Gaining Momentum In Iowa - Providing permanent, stable housing without requirements such as sobriety or employment has become a growing priority for organizations working with individuals struggling with addiction. This philosophy, known broadly as "housing first" functions on the idea that housing is a human right, and it's growing in popularity here in Iowa. (Kieffer, Harrop and DiGiacomo, 10/14)
Government Setting Aside $112M To Expand Disability Housing - Federal officials are offering up millions of dollars to increase the supply of affordable housing for people with disabilities. Read More >
Walmart Faulted In ADA Discrimination Case - A jury has awarded $5.2 million to a longtime Walmart employee with a developmental disability after determining that the company failed to accommodate him. Read More >
Expensive Legal Fights Ensue Over Special Education Services - The law says public schools must give students with disabilities the services that meet their individual needs, but parents and districts often disagree on what those services should be. Read More >
Talking to Teenagers About Porn - Why it's important to counter misleading and unhealthy ideas about sex. - READ MORE ▸
Teens and Romantic Relationships - Some DOs and DON'Ts to share with your teens. READ MORE ▸
How to Talk to Kids About Sex and Consent - When it comes to sex, setting boundaries and respecting them are both important. - READ MORE ▸
Helping Girls Deal With Unwanted Attention - Why taking it seriously is important. - READ MORE ▸
Teaching Kids About Boundaries - Why empathy and self-awareness play a major role. - READ MORE ▸
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa.’s Largest Community College Eliminates Campus Mental Health Counseling For 17,000 Students Pennsylvania’s largest community college system has eliminated all on-campus mental health counseling for its students, Spotlight PA has learned, a move college health experts called short-sighted and risky at a time of growing need. The Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) told counselors across its five campuses to stop individual and group counseling as of mid-September, according to an internal memo obtained by Spotlight PA. Instead, students with mental health needs will be sent to a dean of student affairs who will refer them to an off-campus provider. (Pattani, 10/16)
Bp Magazine - Social Media, Gaming, Shopping ... How to Avoid "Too Much" - Read more >>
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Bp Magazine - Don’t Trust Everything You Think: 10 Myths I Believed about Bipolar Disorder - Read more >>
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
------“If you had kids suddenly dying at these rates from a new disease or infection, there would be a huge outcry. But most people don’t even know this is happening,” said Lisa M. Horowitz, a pediatric psychologist at NIH.
The Washington Post: Teen Suicides Are Increasing At An Alarming Pace, Outstripping All Other Age Groups, A New Report Says - Suicide death rates among teenagers and young adults have increased at an alarming pace in the past decade, according to a new government report. While suicide has steadily become more common across the population, the increase among youths has outpaced all other age groups. For many years, suicide among youths was relatively rare and its frequency relatively stable. But from 2007 to 2017, the number of suicides among people ages 10 to 24 suddenly increased 56 percent — from 6.8 deaths per 100,000 people to 10.6, the new report shows. (Wan, 10/17)
The Wall Street Journal: Youth Suicide Rate Rises 56% In Decade, CDC Says - Violent death, including homicide and suicide, is a major cause of premature death for the age group. Around 2010, the death rate of suicides among adolescents and young adults surpassed the rate of homicide deaths, according to the report. “The chances of a person in this age range dying by suicide is greater than homicide, when it used to be the reverse,” said Sally Curtin, a statistician at the CDC and an author of the report. “When a leading cause of death among our youth is increasing, it behooves all of us to pay attention and figure out what’s going on.” (Abbott, 10/17)
Reuters: Suicide Attempts Rising Among Black Teens - While the overall proportion of teens reporting suicidal thoughts or plans declined for all racial and ethnic groups during the study period, the proportion of black teens attempting suicide surged by 73%. “Whatever is happening to result in a downward trend among teens in the general population is missing black teens,” said Michael Lindsey, lead author of the study and executive director of the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University. (Rapaport, 10/16)
In other mental health news on suicides — ABC News: NYPD Death By Suicide Is 2nd US Officer Within 24 Hours - The death by suicide suffered on Tuesday by the New York Police Department was the second in the U.S. within 24 hours, continuing a worrying trend among law enforcement. It was the NYPD's 10th so far this year, and it came on the heels of an officer in Montgomery County, Maryland, originally presumed murdered, dying by suicide less than a day earlier. (Barr, 10/16)
The Associated Press: Florida Commission Says Mental Health System Needs Overhaul - Florida's mental health system is underfunded and needs to be overhauled, with better coordination between providers, law enforcement and educators, the commission investigating last year's high school massacre recommended to the legislature Wednesday. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, meeting in Orlando, found that the state's mental health system is too often a revolving door. (10/16)
The Washington Post: Mississippi Man Robert Wayne Johnson Killed Himself While Jailed For Unpaid Fines. Now His Wife Is Suing Kemper County. - In 2017, Robert Wayne Johnson had hit a rough patch. The married father of five had lost his job and was living on the streets. He was also grappling with mental illness, according to his family. The 51-year-old couldn’t afford about $2,500 in municipal court fines and fees accumulated over three years for infractions such as driving without a license that he owed in Kemper County, a rural Mississippi community roughly 125 miles east of Jackson. So a judge sentenced Johnson to a two-day stint in jail instead. Johnson never made it out alive. (Bellware, 10/16)
The Associated Press: Lawsuit Challenges State's Use Of Solitary Confinement - A prisoner who suffers from several mental health disorders and has been held in solitary confinement for more than 12 years is one of four who filed a class- action lawsuit against the state of North Carolina on Wednesday, saying the treatment violates the state constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. (10/16)
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
The Hill: Applause For Sesame Street — It Shows Children That Addiction Is A Disease And Not A Moral Failing - Sesame Street has a new puppet and a new human character, both of whom have parents with a “kind of sickness called addiction.” The puppet’s name is Karli and, according to Elmo, Karli’s mommy was away for a while and is home now. Sesame Street's new human child character, Salia, explains that drug use disorder is “Getting attracted to something so you keep doing it over and over again. It makes people feel like they need drugs and alcohol to feel ok. And they can’t stop doing it.” (Marjorie S. Rosenthal, 10/16)
Editorial: A 9-year-old charged with murder? The focus should be on healing, not punishment. - The Chicago Tribune - Understanding of child development has evolved over the last 30 years. It appears clear that a boy that age should not be held to the severe accountability that involves incarceration, even within the juvenile justice system. Charged as a juvenile at age 9, the sternest sentence the child would receive is probation, though judges have broad leeway to prescribe hospitalization or other treatments. A child’s brain doesn’t develop a sense of time and consequences and weighing risk until later in adolescence, said Amanda Moreno, a professor at the Erikson Institute, a graduate school focused on early childhood development. “Even at age 8 or 9, there’s a lot they don’t know about being future oriented," Moreno said, including understanding the results their actions can cause. More here.
Trump Special Ed Chief Calling It Quits - The federal government's top special education official is heading for the exit. Read More >
University Opens Convenience Store Staffed By Students With Autism - Recognizing that students with autism need job skills just as much as a degree, one university is believed to be the first to open a campus store to provide them with workplace training. Read More >
NPR: Genetic Tests For Psychiatric Drugs Now Covered By Some Insurers - As a teenager, Katie Gruman was prescribed one mental health drug after another. None seemed to help her manage symptoms of anxiety and bipolar disorder, so she self-medicated with alcohol and illicit drugs. It would take five years, and trying more than 15 different medications, before she found meds that actually helped. (Dangor, 10/17)
Detroit Free Press: Mental-Health Counselors Win Passage Of Bill Allowing Them To Practice - A bill that would allow licensed professional counselors to continue to diagnose and treat mental-health patients passed with unanimous support in the state Senate Thursday and is headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is expected to sign it into law. The bill and its swift passage were the result of a concerted push by the counselors, who provide services to some 150,000 people, to stop rules proposed by the state Department of Licensing and Regulation that would have impacted the counselors’ ability to officially diagnose and treat patients. (Gray, 10/17)
USA Today: With Veteran Suicide Rate Increasing, Look To Heal Moral Injury - A 2018 Ruderman Family Foundation report noted that first responders are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. The statistics on active duty military and veteran suicides are also telling. The largest number of active duty military suicides since the Department of Defense began collecting the data occurred last year, with 325 deaths. Veteran suicide rates are well above those in the general population and is rising for young veterans. Nationally, the suicide rate in the United States has increased 30% from 2000 to 2016. What more can be done to save lives? We believe a significant factor in suicides remains invisible and largely unaddressed. That factor is moral injury. (Rita Nakashima Brock and Ann Kansfield, 10/18)
Bp Magazine - 3 Tips to Help You Respect Other People’s Experiences - Read more >>
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State Expands Addiction Treatment Programs in County Jails - NJ Spotlight—New Jersey
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
Grant-Funded Native American Treatment Court Produces First Graduates in Great Falls - Great Falls Tribune—Montana
Bevin Launches ‘Hope and Help’ Initiative to Combat Substance Use Disorder, Provide Vital Resources - KyForward.com— Kentucky
'FACT' Teams Aim to Keep People with Mental Illness out of Jail - MPR News—Minnesota
[Opinion] Police Chiefs and Advocates for the Homeless Agree: Housing, Not Handcuffs, Is the Right Way to Deal with Poverty - The Washington Post—Virginia
How This Police Department Is Fighting for Its Officers' Mental Health after Suicides - NBC News—Virginia
Study Sheds Light on How the Justice System Can Affect Physical, Mental Health - NC State University News—North Carolina
Study: Spokane Community Court Effective at Reducing Recidivism, Connecting Defendants to Services - The Inlander— Washington
Kansas Inmate Will Be Allowed Opioid Addiction Drugs - The New York Times—Kansas
At This Sarasota Court, the Focus Is Addressing the Causes of Homelessness - WUSF—Florida
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A Medicaid Waiver System So Confusing That Families Hire Guides - Overwhelmed by the complexity of Medicaid waivers, families are increasingly turning to consultants to help them navigate the maze of rules and regulations. Read More >
Disability Caregivers Worked 87 Hours A Week For $4 An Hour, Feds Say - A chain of residential care homes for people with disabilities paid their workers as little as $4 an hour and made them work more than 87 hours a week, according to a federal lawsuit. Read More >
When to Push Your Children- And how to know if you're pushing too hard.- READ MORE ▸
How to Help Kids Who Are Too Hard on Themselves - Bolstering children who tend to talk themselves down. - READ MORE ▸
Does Your Child Lack Motivation? - What it could mean when kids just don't seem to be trying very hard in school. - READ MORE ▸
How to Help Your Child Get Motivated in School - Strategies you can use to help kids work up to their potential.- READ MORE ▸
How to Help Kids Deal With Rejection- Don't minimize feelings. Do encourage resiliency. - READ MORE ▸
12 Tips for Raising Confident Kids - How to help children feel they can handle what comes their way. - READ MORE ▸
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Bp Magazine - Weight Stigma Can Lead to Depression and Binge Eating - Read more >>
Bp Magazine - What to Do When People Treat You with Disrespect - Read more >> Page 15 of 21
November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
The Hill: Rep. Kennedy Presses Trump Health Official On Medicaid Work Requirements - Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) in a tense exchange Wednesday pressed the head of the Medicare and Medicaid programs to explain why she has allowed states to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries. Kennedy asked Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to point to any study that backs up the administration’s argument that work requirements make people healthier. (Weixel, 10/23)
The Washington Post: Burnout Is Affecting Doctors And Nurses At Alarming Rates, National Study Finds - Imagine a health-care system in which doctors and nurses are so exhausted and beaten down that many of them work like zombies — error-prone, apathetic toward patients and at times trying to blunt their own pain with alcohol or even suicide attempts. That is what America’s broken health care system is doing to its health workers, according to a 312-page report released Tuesday by the National Academy of Medicine, one of the country’s most prestigious medical institutions. (Wan, 10/23)
The Washington Post: Schools Are Now Letting Students Take Mental-Health Days Off - In the face of rising rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among young people, some states and school systems have started allowing students to take mental sick days off from school. Last year, Utah changed its definition of valid excuses for absences to include mental health issues. This summer, Oregon enacted a law — driven by a group of high school student activists — that allows students to take days off for mental health. (Wan, 10/22)
NPR: Police Say It Can Be Hard To Tell A Meth Case From Mental Illness - The dispatch call from the Concord, N.H., police department is brief. A woman returning to her truck spotted a man underneath. She confronted him. The man fled. Now the woman wants a police officer to make sure her truck is OK. "Here we go," mutters Officer Brian Cregg as he steps on the gas. In less than three minutes, he's driving across the back of a Walmart parking lot, looking for a man on the run. (Bebinger, 10/22)
Kaiser Health News: Washington State Law On Behavioral Care Balances Parental Rights, Teens’ Autonomy - When Ben Packard met with the 16-year-old girl a little over a year ago, she was a patient at Seattle Children’s Hospital, where she’d been admitted after trying to kill herself. Her parents were distraught. “They wanted to know what was going on, and why their kid wanted to die,” said Packard, a mental health therapist on the psychiatric unit who worked with her and her family. But Washington is one of many states that carved out exceptions to the rights of parents to know about or consent to certain types of care their minor children receive, including mental health and drug and alcohol treatment as well as reproductive health services such as birth control and abortion. (Andrews, 10/24)
Des Moines Register: Iowa Hospital Association Executive Fired For Comments On Social Media - An executive of one of Iowa’s most influential medical associations was fired after he criticized Gov. Kim Reynolds for the state's Medicaid “mess” in what he said was a satirical a Facebook post, records obtained by the Des Moines Register this week show. Thomas “Scott” McIntyre's 18-year career with the Iowa Hospital Association ended after his response in March to a coworker’s post that he said also was critical of Reynolds' handling of Medicaid. (Clayworth, 10/23)
— Police departments face a dilemma: When do you take away a suicidal officer’s gun?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Autism Community, Long Marginalized, Becoming Agent Of Social Change - The Next Step clinic will screen kids as young as 2 for signs they were born with autism. That would mean they came into the world as part of a neurological minority — an estimated one in 59 whose behavior often doesn't conform to the social norms of the neurological majority. Few populations have been as misdiagnosed. (Schmid, 10/24)
The Associated Press: Police Face Dilemma Over When To Take Suicidal Officer’s Gun - A law enforcement think tank wants police departments dealing with a suicide crisis in their ranks to rethink how they make one of their toughest decisions: when to take guns away from troubled officers. The recommendation to review gun-removal policies is contained in a new report by the Washington-based Police Executive Research Forum released in anticipation of a gathering of police chiefs this weekend in Chicago. (Hays, 10/24)
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
Boston Globe: Understanding Dementia From The Inside Out - Trying to perform a simple task with multiple radio noises in your ears, blurred vision, painful spikes in your shoes, and blinding strobe lights would be a similar experience to having dementia. It’s hard to imagine, which is why HouseWorks, a Newton-based provider of home and hospital care for seniors, is using virtual reality to give those who care for dementia patients a better sense of what it’s like to have the disease. (Goddard, 10/24)
Chicago Tribune: ‘Every Day I Go Outside, I Feel Like I’m Going To Get Killed’: How Chicagoans Exposed To Violence End Up Isolated, Lonely And With Chronic Health Problems - In a study that looks at social isolation, loneliness and violence exposure in urban adults, data shows that the more violence people experienced in their own community, the lonelier they were likely to be. The greatest loneliness was found among people who were exposed to community violence and who screened positive for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Couple that information with the fact that loneliness is a growing health concern in the nation, and it would appear that violence that leads to loneliness can also lead to higher mortality, [Dr. Elizabeth] Tung said. (Rockett, 10/24)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Teen Girls Trafficked By Woman They Met At Milwaukee Academy --Two teenage girls were sexually trafficked by a woman they met at a behavioral and mental health facility in Milwaukee, according to a criminal complaint. The two girls first met Kendra Bey at Milwaukee Academy, where she was employed as a youth worker from July 2015 through October 2015. Milwaukee Academy is a residential treatment facility for girls who have psychiatric issues or who have been victims of abuse, including sex trafficking. (Rumage, 10/24)
The Wall Street Journal: Homeless Become More Visible In Austin, Sparking Political Clash - In 10 years of off-and-on homelessness, Rebecca Wallace has lived in the shadows of Texas’ capital city. Once, while living behind a shopping mall, she said a beating by a group of men put her in intensive care for weeks. Now, Ms. Wallace sleeps on an inflatable mattress under a freeway in the city’s busy tourist district, along with a growing number of other homeless people. (Findell, 10/24)
Mental Health and Creativity: The Giving Gallery Artist Spotlight
The Tragic Story of State Custodial Institutions
Buzzfeed News: Netflix Leaned Into Teen Suicide Again With “The Politician” To Mixed Reviews From Mental Health Experts
Psycom: Inside America's Psychiatrist Shortage
People: How to Recognize a Mental Health Crisis — and What You Can Do to Help
Washington Post: Sentenced to 2 days but held for 54: How one man’s jail suicide underscores Mississippi’s mental health care crisis
Forbes: Innovative Technology Changes How We Diagnose And Treat Workplace Mental Health
Crunchbase News: Octave Raises $11M Series A To Make Mental Health Care More Accessible
Yahoo News: Kenneth Cole announces the launch of The Mental Health Coalition
CNN: A 'Sesame Street' Muppet shares her mother's struggle with addiction
Cosmopolitan: It Can Take Weeks for College Students to Get the Mental Health Help They Ask For. That’s a Seriously Dangerous Delay.
A 9-year-old has been charged with murder after a house fire killed five of his relatives. Juvenile justice advocates say the charge is 'unusual' and 'wholly inappropriate - Business Insider - Riya Saha Shah, managing director at the Juvenile Law
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
Center in Philadelphia, told Insider that in Illinois there is no lower age limit for criminal responsibility. Still, in most cases, young children are provided alternative programming instead of being charged in the criminal system. "There is certainly a question of his competency to even go to trial given his age, any indication of disability, and inexperience with the legal system. It is unsurprising that he didn't understand what he was accused of," she said. "Brain science and cognitive development research supports that he is unable to make a reasoned, informed decision that weighs all the future consequences. Research shows us that because youths' brains are not fully developed until well into their 20s, they are more prone to impetuous decision-making and risk-taking." More here.
She Was Sex Trafficked At 14 — Then Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison - Huffington Post - Lici is desperate to get out of prison. She tried to kill herself when she was first transferred from a juvenile detention center to an adult prison in January 2017, and a correctional officer discovered her passed out in her cell. She said she still thinks about suicide. One of her attorneys recently saw marks on Lici’s right inner arm, and fears she has been self-harming again. The prison staff also saw those marks, and in October they put Lici in a medical crisis unit for a few days where she sat in a cell by herself. Lici says her prison uniform and underwear were taken away, and that she was given nothing but a blanket to keep her warm. More here.
Bp Magazine - 6 Empowering Principles for Seeing Fewer Problems & More Possibilities - Read more >>
Bp Magazine - 10 Ways to Clear the Clutter and Scrap the Stress - Read more >>
The Washington Post: Filmmaker Asks How Adults Can Help Digitally Obsessed Teens Tackle Mental Health Challenges - Teens are more connected than ever. So why are they so depressed, anxious and stressed? Delaney Ruston, a physician, worried about her own teens’ mental well-being. Her 2016 documentary, “Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age,” focused on how screentime affects young people. Now, she took her quest a step further, asking how adults can help teens tackle mental health challenges. (Blakemore, 10/26)
The Washington Post: Many First Responders Struggle With PTSD - Certain smells can put Ken Dillon in a dark hole. When Dillon, a Connecticut state trooper, smells pizza, for example, his mind rewinds to Dec. 14, 2012 — pizza Friday — at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 26 people, including 20 first-graders, were shot dead by a young man who then took his own life. “When everything happened, big trays of pizza were left out on the counter in the cafeteria,” Dillon explained. “Over the next week while we processed the scene it began to rot and smell really bad, and it blended with the other unfortunate smells, like blood just down the hallway — the smell of evil. After that, anytime I’d smell pizza, it would take me back to that time.” (Ebersole, 10/26)
NPR: Dog People Rejoice: Owning A Pup Is Good For Your Cardiovascular Health - Hugging a dog is one life's greatest joys. Getting to see fur on four legs and a wagging tail is like experiencing a love drug — quite literally. Dogs and humans that interact with one another get a jolt of oxytocin, the so-called "cuddle hormone." And, if you get to look at dogs and hug them every day, you just might live longer than people who don't have to clean animal hair off their clothes, according to a pair of studies out this month. (Chen, 10/26)
The Washington Post: His First Job Was Training Service Dogs In Prison. The Dogs Go On To Transform Veterans’ Lives. - Last year, Al Moore was gulping down a dozen medications to cope with physical pain and sometimes crippling post- traumatic stress disorder that he developed during 30 years in the Marine Corps. Those drugs have been replaced by what Moore describes as “the most holistic medicine you can have.” “We call him ‘Kevin the wonder dog,’ ” Moore’s wife, Dawn, said Thursday, pointing to the Labrador retriever whose light brown eyes were fixed, as usual, on her husband. “He’s always wondering, ‘What can I do for you?’ ” (Chason, 10/27)
The Wall Street Journal: Using Horsepower To Fight PTSD And Veteran Suicide - M, a lifelong equestrian, first witnessed the healing power of horses while working after college on a ranch in Colorado, where she was teaching people to ride. A family had brought their 4-year-old son, a boy with Down syndrome who was uncommunicative. Something about the horse captivated him. Sitting in the saddle, he signed “horse”—the first word he had ever communicated. His mother Page 18 of 21
November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation started crying, which prompted his first spoken word too: “Mama.” Moved by the encounter, Ms. Hill-McQueeney began to learn about the then little-known concept of therapeutic riding or equine therapy. (Winkler, 10/26)
Tips for Surviving Standardized Tests - Less anxiety, better scores. - READ MORE ▸
Beating Test Anxiety - Study strategies, confidence builders and coping skills are key. READ MORE ▸
Metacognition: How Thinking About Thinking Can Help Kids - A powerful skill for building resilience. READ MORE ▸
How to Help Kids With Math Anxiety - Give children tools to face math with confidence. READ MORE ▸
Help for Kids Who Struggle With Executive Functions - Tips for helping kids get, and stay, organized. READ MORE ▸
Most Older People With Down Syndrome Have Dementia, Study Finds - It's long been known that people with Down syndrome are more susceptible to Alzheimer's disease, but now a new study is quantifying just how common memory issues are in this population. Read More >
First He Was Shot At By Police. Now He Is Being Evicted From His Group Home - Three years after a man with developmental disabilities wandered from his group home and found himself at the center of a police shooting, his troubles are far from over. Read More >
Bp Magazine - How to Harness Your Hypomanic Energy - Read more >>
Bp Magazine - Peer Support Groups: Getting Better Together - Read more >>
Bp Magazine - 6 Motivational Tips to Tackle Today’s Goals - Read more >>
NPR: How To Help A Child With Anxiety - Childhood anxiety is one of the most important mental health challenges of our time. One in five children will experience some kind of clinical-level anxiety by the time they reach adolescence, according to Danny Pine, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health and one of the world's top anxiety researchers. Pine says that for most kids, these feelings of worry won't last, but for some, they will — especially if those children don't get help. (Turner, 10/29)
Stat: ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Is Fiction, But Its Actors Hear From Real People In Pain - [Alex] Boniello’s experience reflects a tricky problem for shows and plays that portray suicide. Even if producers have tried to handle the issue with sensitivity — by hiring mental health consultants for the script, adding the suicide prevention hotline to their program, or partnering with nonprofits to provide mental health resources — they are still left to grapple with the deeply personal fan mail that pours in after it premieres. (Thielking, 10/29)
Miami Herald: Lawsuit To Halt Solitary Confinement In Florida Gets Boost - Across the country, a growing consensus of medical and mental health professionals have equated placing prisoners in solitary confinement to torture. In Florida, a group of civil rights groups suing to end the practice have measured rates of confinement in state prisons at twice the national average, including hundreds of people who have been in isolation for six to 20 years. (Conarck, 10/28)
The Hill: Number Of Uninsured Children Rises For Second Year, Tops 4 Million - The number of uninsured children in the U.S. increased for the second year in a row and now tops four million, the highest numbers since Obama Care became law, according to a new report released Wednesday. According to the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, the number of uninsured children increased by more than 400,000 between 2016 and 2018. (Weixel, 10/30)
The Washington Post: The Cost Of In-Home Care For Seniors Is Rising. You Could Pay More Than $52,000 A Year. - When my father-in-law came to live with my family, we hired home health aides to help with his care. He couldn’t cook or feed himself and needed help with bathing and getting dressed. He required assistance taking his medication and even rising from a bed or chair. My father-in-law had a decent amount of savings, but to try to make the money last to cover the long- Page 19 of 21
November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation term care he needed, we hired someone for just four hours in the morning and then another aide came for two hours in the evening to help my father-in-law get ready for bed. The rest of the time my husband and I were his caregivers. (Singletary, 10/29)
Mental Health Conditions Seen in Childhood - While many people believe the myth that "kids can't be diagnosed with a mental health condition," the reality is that one in every six youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health condition each year. READ MORE »
6 Myths and Facts About Mental Illness - There is a lot of misinformation surrounding mental illness still present within our society. Here are some of the common myths people make about mental illness and the accompanying facts. READ MORE »
Borderline Personality Disorder Myths and Facts - Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is one of the most misunderstood mental health conditions. And the following myths make it hard for people with BPD to get the treatment and support they need. READ MORE »
What I Wish Others Hadn’t Said After My Hospitalization - "Rather than these harmful comments, I want people to ask me how I’m doing, validate my feelings and my struggle, ask if I need help and tell me they’re here if I want to talk about anything." READ MORE »
People with Mental Illness Can Work - "Stigma says to people with mental illness that we’re not ambitious, motivated, intelligent or able. However, these are all myths, and the common belief that people with mental illness cannot work, is a myth." READ MORE »
Prison - The Washington Post Magazine - This issue of the Washington Post Magazine is written, illustrated and photographed by currently and formerly incarcerated Americans. ....‘A nation that locks up so many people and creates an expansive apparatus that relies on violence and confinement is a nation in which democracy, over the long term, cannot thrive.’ ---Piper Kerman (Orange is the New Black) on the carceral state and its threat to democracy. More here.
Proposed Florida bill would eliminate solitary confinement for juveniles in prison system - Forrest Saunders, Associated Press - TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-- Laurette Philipsen can sum up solitary confinement in a few words. “It is definitely torture.” While serving eight years for fraud as an adult, she says she spent nearly a month in a room alone. No one to speak to. Food, delivered through a slot.
“After three, four days, your mind starts to play games with you," Philipsen said.
It’s an experience research shows can lead to depression, anxiety, even psychosis. Which is why some Florida legislators want to end solitary as a way to punish juveniles in the prison system. More here.
Editorial counterpoint: Juvenile crime isn't a problem — it's an opportunity - Star Tribune - Quite simply, I got tired of dropping people off at the front door of the justice system and not being able to help them walk back out. Whether we want to recognize it or not, everyone walks back out of those detention center doors at some point. And research tells us that for young people especially, locking them up actually increases the likelihood that they will commit future crimes.
Young people who have been in detention generally have higher rates of recidivism, are more likely to be involved in crime as an adult, do worse in school, suffer from more mental health issues and have less earning potential as adults. More here.
Bp Magazine - Who’s in Charge of Our Impulsive Behavior? - Read more >>
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November 2019 – Additional Mental Health Related Articles and Videos from Around the Nation
1. Grief Grew Into A Mental Health Crisis And A $21,634 Hospital Bill - She spent five days in the hospital undergoing psychiatric care. The bill she got is about the same price as a new Honda Civic. (Laura Ungar, 10/31)
Politico: Obamacare Is Stronger Than Ever — And A Trump-Backed Lawsuit Could Destroy It. - Three years into a presidency that promised to kill Obamacare, the health care law has never been stronger. Millions of people buying coverage during the enrollment period starting Friday will find that average premiums have dropped across the country. When consumers go to HealthCare.gov, they’ll be paying 4 percent less on average for the most popular health plans — with six states reporting a double-digit decline. (Goldberg, 10/31)
Des Moines Register: Iowa Should Learn From Arkansas; Say No To Medicaid Work Requirements - Every once in a while you get to see what happens when a bad policy idea becomes reality. Look no further than Arkansas, which enacted work requirements for Medicaid recipients. Iowa’s Republican lawmakers and governor should take an especially close look. In 2018, Arkansas embarked on an experiment to become the only state to fully implement Medicaid work requirements. Medicaid, funded by federal and state governments, provides health insurance for low-income Americans and ensures health providers who treat poor patients are compensated. (10/30)
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