Tag Archive for 'Mental health'

Virginia mental health needs

Published on 22 January 2012 in Advocacy, Families, Mental health, Musings, News, Policy and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

In a statement entitled “A proposal that would assist troubled youths in Virginia” the Washington Post editorial board lent its support to efforts to fund mental health services for children and youth. The editorial, published 11 January 2012, recounted a history of rueful cost cutting and encouraging advocacy in my commonwealth.

A YEAR AGO, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) proposed slashing millions of dollars from the state’s already badly fragmented and underfunded programs for at-risk children and teenagers. The cuts targeted funding for specially trained foster families and other services for children, including some who posed a danger of violence to themselves and others. The cuts were rejected, and funding restored, thanks to a bipartisan group of lawmakers responding to an outcry from advocacy groups and local governments, which would have borne the brunt of the governor’s proposal. In the end, the debate turned a useful spotlight on a critical hole in the state’s social services safety net.

The Post editorial team explained that the current budget does not contain such cost-cutting measures, but that difficulties for mental health services persist because of other problems (e.g., local government fiscal shortages). In the end, the need for services is great and, as the editorial shows, the need for serious discussion about funding of them is clear. Read the full editorial on the Post’s Web site.

If you’re in Virginia and you can make it to Richmond, join Voices for Virginia’s Campaign for Children’s Mental Health for “Advocacy Day at the General Assembly” Thursday 26 January 2012. If you live somewhere else, scout about for ways you can help support mental health services in your local or regional government.

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Virginia campaign promotes action agenda

Published on 22 June 2011 in Families, Mental health, News and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

The Campaign for Children’s Mental Health outlined an agenda for improving mental health policy for children and youths in the US commonwealth of Virginia on 14 June 2011. The “Action Agenda” expresses the need for Govenor Bob McDonnell to exert leadership in three policy areas so that the problems of 100,000 minors with mental health issues are addressed:

  • Children with mental health disorders and their families need to have a full array of high quality treatment and support services in their own communities, no matter where in Virginia they reside.
  • Children with serious mental health disorders who require public sector services need to have access to the same array of services regardless of payment source or custody status in order to maximize the impact of and curb inappropriate use of public dollars in the treatment system.
  • Children with mental health disorders and their families should be recognized and included as experts on their own and their children’s treatment needs.

Visit the 1 in 5 Website (see it over in the sidebar, too) and download the full statement of the Action Agenda.

I am very glad to have and I hope others will join me in signing a petition to support this effort. Isn’t it great to have this effort right here in Virginia? Do you have similar efforts in the area where you live?

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NAS presses MH pubs

Published on 25 January 2011 in Bookshelf, Mental health, News, Policy and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Noting recent news in the US, the National Academy of Sciences has taken the opportunity to promote some of its publications related to mental health. Among these is one that is relevant to those concerned about EBD among children and youths, a 2009 report by the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council that I’ve mentioned previously, Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People. Here’s the full release:

Mental Health Care Gains Attention in Wake of Tucson Shooting

By Christine Stencel

January 21, 2011 – The attack on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her audience in Tucson, Ariz., has touched off a national discussion about the capabilities of the country’s mental health system. The majority of respondents to a USA Today-Gallup Poll survey said failure of the mental health system bears “a great deal” of the blame for the Tucson shooting. Two reports from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council provide guidance on improving mental health care in the United States.

Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People, a 2009 report by the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, calls for national leadership in the prevention of these disorders and promotion of young people’s mental health. Many preventive programs and strategies have been shown to be effective, the report notes, but the country lacks priorities and public goals for these efforts. The report outlines steps that federal and state agencies, community groups, and parents can take to intervene when symptoms arise and to promote mental health.

Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions, an earlier report from the Institute of Medicine, underscored the need for greater parity for care of mental conditions and substance abuse in the nation’s health care system. The separation of mental health from other forms of medical care undermines the overall quality of Americans’ well-being, it says. The report outlines an agenda to capitalize on recent advances in diagnosing and treating these conditions and better integrate them into the health care delivery system.

Link to the NAS Web site for appropriate links to the documents.

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The Congressional Mental Health Caucus

Published on 17 January 2011 in Mental health, News, Policy and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Sadly, mental health has been in the US news of late. I’m reminded that in the US legislature there is the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, which takes as its goals reducing negativism and stigma, aiding efforts to access mental health services, improving work-related productivity, and protecting veterans who have mental health problems. Although the caucus does not explicitly state child mental health as a focus of concern, it has supported awareness efforts such as National Children’s Mental Health Day.
Continue reading ‘The Congressional Mental Health Caucus’

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More props for Mr. Artest

Published on 24 December 2010 in Mental health, Musings, News and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Professional basketball player Ron Artest, who admits that he experienced difficulties as a youth and an adult, has been promoting mental health awareness over the past few years. Recently I posted a note acknowledging some of his efforts, and today I call attention to another of them. At the release of the accompanying public service announcement 21 December 2010 in support of mental health awareness, Mr. Artest not only spoke in support of those efforts, but he also donated $50,000 to local clinics in the Los Angeles (CA, US) area.

In a blog post for the Los Angeles Times entitled “Ron Artest debuts his PSA on mental health awareness,” Mark Medina reported about the press conference and the production of the PSA. If you’re a Lakers fan, as am I, you’ll find a couple of tidbits of interest there. But, there are also noteworthy nuggets about mental health advocacy and even about the entertainment industry in Mr Medina’s report, too. He has an audio interview with Gary Foster, who produced the video (as well as the noted movie “The Soloist,” also about mental health), and additional notes about Mr. Artest’s efforts.

According to Mr. Medina, on Christmas Day, another of Mr. Artest’s fund- and awareness-raising efforts on behalf of mental health will be in the spotlight. The ring that Mr. Artest received as a member of the world championship Los Angeles Lakers team of 2010 will be awarded to the winner of a raffle. That raffle has reportedly raised over $500,000 US. (I bought my raffle tickets, of course.)

As a fan of the Lakers for 50 years, I’m glad Mr. Artest is playing for my team, but I’m especially happy to have him on the mental-health advocacy team. My hat’s off to you, Mr. Artest.

Read all of Mr. Medina’s entry, Ron Artest debuts his PSA on mental health awareness. Check my earlier post from 11 November 2010.

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Teaching about mental health

Published on 23 November 2010 in Administration, Bi-polar, Mental health, News, Schizophrenia and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Teachers who are concerned about helping students understand mental health issues have at least one sensible places where they can go for teaching resources: Breaking the Silence, a Web resource offered by a local National Alliance on Mental Illness group. BTS, as it calls itself, provides a combination of neighborhood (NY, US) and widely available services (including a downloadable teacher’s “toolkit” with lesson plans, posters, and more).
The BTS folks make the case for teaching about mental health in this way:
Continue reading ‘Teaching about mental health’

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Mental Health Initiative

Published on 9 November 2010 in Autism, Depression, Families, Musings, News, Policy, Schizophrenia and Treatment. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Sometimes folks lose sight of the fact that disability and mental health issues are international in scope. They’re not confined just to one’s own neighborhood, locality, geopolitical area, etc. Fortunately, there are groups that transcend borders (you can probably think of the names of some well-know organizations that function internationally), and there are some in EBD, too. The Open Society Mental Health Initiative is an example:

The OSI Public Health Program’s Mental Health Initiative aims to ensure that people with mental disabilities (mental health problems and/or intellectual disabilities) are able to live as equal citizens in the community and to participate in society with full respect for their human rights. The Mental Health Initiative focuses on ending the unjustified and inappropriate institutionalization of people with mental disabilities by advocating for the closure of institutions and the development of community-based alternatives. The initiative works in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (read more about the history of mental health policies in this region).

The OSI initiative is more than a one-trick pony. It’s about a lot of things, and its foci include children with Autism, mental health issues, and more. I encourage readers to check the site. Here is a link to the OSI MHI home page.

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Props for Ron Artest

Published on 8 November 2010 in Bullying, News, Policy and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Some readers of EBD Blog might know that I follow basketball. That gives me a unique opportunity to mix my interest in hoops with my concern about EBD in this post. I have the chance to acknowledge efforts by Ron Artest, a professional basketball player, to support mental health initiatives. My hat’s off to Mr. Artest for using his celebrity in this helpful manner.

Let me provide a little detail. In one of these efforts, Mr. Artest announced plans to use the ring he received as a member of Los Angeles Lakers when they won the 2010 National Basketball Association championship in a fund-raising raffle for mental health work. Interested readers can learn how to buy raffle tickets here. But that’s only one activity. To read about them all, follow this link. In fact, if one really wants to learn how substantial Mr. Artest’s impact has been, wade through the results of this Google search showing the press coverage of his efforts.

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Open Society Institute Mental Health Initiative

Published on 2 September 2010 in Autism and News. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Sometimes folks lose sight of the fact that disability and mental health issues are international in scope. They’re not confined just to one’s own neighborhood, locality, geopolitical area, etc. Fortunately, there are groups that transcend borders (you can probably think of the names of some well-know organizations that function internationally), and there are some in EBD, too. The Open Society Mental Health Initiative is an example:

The OSI Public Health Program’s Mental Health Initiative aims to ensure that people with mental disabilities (mental health problems and/or intellectual disabilities) are able to live as equal citizens in the community and to participate in society with full respect for their human rights. The Mental Health Initiative focuses on ending the unjustified and inappropriate institutionalization of people with mental disabilities by advocating for the closure of institutions and the development of community-based alternatives. The initiative works in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (read more about the history of mental health policies in this region).

The OSI initiative is more than a one-trick pony. It’s about a lot of things, and its foci include children with Autism, mental health issues, and more. I encourage readers to check the site. Here is a link to the OSI MHI home page.

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UK action on children’s mental health

Published on 15 January 2010 in Administration, Families, News, Policy, Prevention and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Lord Jones of Cheltenham, a member of the the UK Parliament, has formally asked “what measures are planned to improve services for (a) children with serious emotional disturbance, and (b) adults with mental health illnesses.” The request is in response to recent UK report, Keeping Children and Young People in Mind – Full Government Response to the CAMHS Review that, in turn (and as the title shows), was a response to the government-sponsored review of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

Keeping Children and Young People in Mind calls for a system of universal services, targeted services, and specialist services accompanied by support for them from local and national government agencies. Get a copy of Keeping children and young people in mind: the Government’s full response to the independent review of CAMHS and visit the Web site of the UK Department of Children, Schools, and Families for more about “services supporting the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.”

See the Parliamentary records for a written version of the request by Lord Jones.

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Virginia Campaign for Children’s Mental Health

Published on 15 December 2009 in Acting in, Acting out, Assessment, Autism, Bi-polar, Causes, Conduct disorder, Delinquency, Depression, Families, Musings, News, Policy, Prevention, Research, Schizophrenia, The press and Treatment. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Twelve key children’s services for community services boards
  1. specialized children’s emergency services;
  2. crisis stabilization;
  3. evaluations for Comprehensive Services Act services;
  4. psychiatric/medication;
  5. office-based mental health therapy;
  6. office-based substance abuse therapy;
  7. mental health case management;
  8. intellectual disabilities case management;
  9. substance abuse case management;
  10. home-based behavioral treatment and support for families;
  11. school-based day treatment; and
  12. local residential services.

Right here in my home commonwealth of Virginia last week, Mira Signe, Vicki Hardy-Murrell, John Morgan, and Margaret Nimmo Crowe explained why it is important that government and private organizations attend to and address issues in children’s mental health. By explaining that Virginia has inadequate services and that one in every five children or youths experience mental health problems at some time during their lives, they made the point that that there is a tremendous need for public focus on these issues. This was the kick-off event for the Campaign for Children’s Mental Health.

The Campaign for Children’s Mental Health is a 3-year sustained effort to make mental health services more available and accessible to Virginia children in need. It will strongly endorse Governor-elect McDonnell’s call for system improvements; urge the General Assembly and state and local government to work collaboratively with the administration to address system deficiencies; and conduct a high-profile three-year advocacy and education drive to build public and political support for improved mental health services for children.

Only about one in 20 of Virginia’s children have access to the key services listed in the accompanying box. So, four out of five children who need these services do not have access to them.

No, Virginia, this is not an acceptable way to treat our children. Let’s do better.

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Screening teens

Published on 6 August 2009 in Acting in, Assessment, Depression, Families, News, Prevention and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Writing under the headline “Pros and cons of screening teens for depression,” Brendan Borrell examined some of the issues that sometimes roar around surveying youths to identify those who are depressed or at risk for depression. Mr. Borrell’s article, which is one in a series of articles about depression appearing in the Los Angeles Times, addressed concerns such as parental reservations about testing of their children without permission, false positive identification of a high percentage of students, and the absence of adequate treatment for many who need help.

Mr. Borrell established the importance of the issue in his lead:

By the time a teenager graduates high school, about one out of nine of his or her peers has attempted suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, behind car accidents and homicide, and 10% to 12% of teens ponder suicide every day.

Continue reading ‘Screening teens’

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