Back by Popular Demand...

The plank reports from the First National Summit of Mental Health Consumers and Survivors, held in Portland, Ore., from August 26 through 29, 1999, are once again available on the Clearinghouse Web site! Also available are the reports from Summit 2000 and from the Dialogue Sessions at Alternatives 2001. Just click on Publications on the Clearinghouse Web site and scroll down for the links.

To refresh your memories, the goal of the first Summit was to develop consensus around the issues of greatest concern to consumers and survivors and create action plans for future work. Attendees played an active part in developing the planks, on the topics of Advocacy, Organizing, Force and Coercion, Financing, Alternative Services, Recovery, Stigma, Community Support Systems, Research, Forensic Issues, Multicultural Issues, and Social Accountability.

To follow up, the Clearinghouse hosted Summit 2000, to which it invited the leaders of key mental health advocacy organizations to respond to the work that had been done in Portland. Justin Dart, Jr., best remembered as the father of the Americans with Disabilities Act, was only one of a stellar roster of speakers at this event.

The next year, Alternatives 2001 (hosted by the Clearinghouse in Philadelphia) included "dialogue" sessions on the plank topics.

As you may be aware, the National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations recently joined the national debate on mental health policy. Stay tuned….

posted by Susan Rogers

Seroquel Marketing Material Meets the FDA

AstraZeneca Warned by FDA About Misleading Seroquel Marketing Material

AstraZeneca working with FDA after drug warning

FDA orders AstraZeneca to change promotions on Seroquel

These articles discuss a letter that was sent to the drug company by the FDA about some of their promotional material, and the company's response to that letter. The material in question was a fact sheet distributed to doctors along with the prescribing information.

I thought it best to just let the articles speak for themselves. If you'd like to follow the issue further, this link should do a Google News search for you.

posted by j. melinn

An American Schizophrenia

Today I was shown by one of my co-workers a recent article published in the Chicago Tribune. It is an interesting and thought-provoking piece dealing with the United States’ frequently changing foreign policy. The author wanted to bring attention to the fact that the U.S. government seems to oscillate between extreme isolationism from and direct intervention in burgeoning democracies around the world.

The problem arises with the article’s title: “An American Schizophrenia”. While I understand what the writer is trying to say, the title uses “schizophrenia” interchangeably with the term “multiple personality disorder”. >
The writer of the article was obviously pointing out that the U.S. government has what could be loosely term a “split-personality”. On the one hand, the U.S. government is intervening in Iraq to bring democracy. On the other, the U.S. government of the 1950s did not intervene when the Soviet Union invaded Hungary. While “split-personality” is not actually a medical term, it is often used to incorrectly refer to people with multiple personality disorder.

Multiple personality disorder is part of a group of illnesses called Dissociative disorders. The term multiple personality is not synonymous with the term schizophrenia. They are two very different mental disorders.

On the NAMI website, multiple personality is described as a disorder in which “an individual has more than one distinct identity or personality state that surfaces in the individual on a recurring basis”.

Schizophrenia “interferes with a person's ability to think clearly, to distinguish reality from fantasy, to manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others”. It does not cause an individual to have more than one personality. It is a very common misconception that multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia are the same thing. It would do much to dispel stigma and to encourage compassion for people with mental illness, if the public had a deeper understanding of various mental illnesses.

This blog entry is simply to point out that schizophrenia and multiple personality are not the same thing, and that using the terms interchangeably confuses people about mental illness. The more people understand various mental illnesses and how they affect those who have them, the less mysterious they become. The more mental illness is understood, the less stigma there will be surrounding it.

posted by Christa Andrade

National Mental Health Association Adopts New Name

The National Mental Health Association has adopted a new name – Mental Health America – and a new vision for mental wellness in the United States. Under its new name, Mental Health America is re-dedicated to improving the health and well-being of all people – especially children and adults living with mental health and substance use problems – by helping them live mentally healthier lives.

"We have the knowledge and experience to know how to improve the nation’s mental health," said Mental Health America’s president and CEO, David Shern. "What we lack is a national response commensurate with the magnitude of the issue."

Over the coming year, Mental Health America will engage the American public in a dialogue about mental health and wellness, and the important role they play in each person’s life and in the health and success of the country.

Mental Health America advances its mission by:
• Educating the public about ways to preserve and strengthen its mental health;
• Fighting for access to effective care and an end to discrimination against people with mental and addictive disorders;
• Fostering innovation in research, practice, services and policy; and
• Providing support to individuals and families living with mental health and substance use problems.

Mental Health America is the country’s leading nonprofit dedicated to helping ALL people live mentally healthier lives. With its more than 320 affiliates nationwide, it represents a growing movement of Americans who promote mental wellness for the health and well-being of the nation – every day and in times of crisis.

posted by Susan Rogers

Web Site Tracks Deaths of Children from Institutional Abuse

The Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse monitors and reports the deaths of children and youth in institutions such as residential treatment programs, boot camps, and other such facilities. According to the Coalition Web site, there is no federal or state agency doing this important job. Thanks to Bob Seeley, a Pennsylvania human rights activist who has fought against the use of seclusion and restraint for many years, for bringing the site to my attention.

posted by Susan Rogers

What Holidays?

What Holidays?

My merriment meter is busted. I took the hour-long train ride to the office on Columbus Day, not realizing: a. that it was Columbus Day, and b. that we had Columbus Day off. Then, last month, I had to explain to a very courteous, non-violent (thank goodness!), gathering of trick-or-treaters that I had nothing to give them, and didn’t even bother to pretend that I wasn’t home, because I’d forgotten about Halloween until I heard the doorbell ring.

Well, I will not be caught unawares on Thanksgiving. If there are waaaay too many available parking spots at the train station, I’m going home. And who could miss Christmas, what with everyone crowding into the 7-Eleven because everything else is closed?

Yes, I will be prepared for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s. Don’t ask me what I’m going to do, but I will definitely remember not to come to work on national holidays. And, as penance for that Halloween thing, I’ve decided to help others like me prepare for this most joyous season.

Here are some links to articles that offer holiday tips for people who have mental illnesses and those who love us, or at least pretend to on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year's, and, in some cases, even Superbowl Sunday:

Mental Illness: Coping with the holidays
Holiday Stress: Tips By a social worker who has mental illness and whose family is not as sympathetic as she would like.
Bipolar Disorder: Holiday Tips for Family and Friends

Those who have nowhere to go on the holidays and want to be around people may find festivities planned by local mental health groups. You might call the closest Mental Health Association or National Alliance on Mental Illness affiliate and ask if they've planned something. You can also search the Clearinghouse's Directory of Consumer-Driven Services for peer-run organizations, such as drop-in centers, that may welcome you at their get-togethers.

If you feel unbearably lonely, try calling a helpline. A warmline is great, if your area has one, but you can also call a crisis line. Just explain that you're not in danger, but that you have a mental illness and you need to talk to someone. Unless the operators are very busy, they're unlikely to turn you away. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

posted by Daniele Sadres

New Nominee for Head of SAMHSA

NYAPRS reports that Terry L. Cline, of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, will be the president's nominee for Administrator of SAMHSA. Should he be confirmed by the Senate he would replace Acting Deputy Administrator Eric Broderick.

Here's the announcement from Whitehouse.gov:

The President intends to nominate Terry L. Cline, of Oklahoma, to be Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Cline currently serves as the Oklahoma Secretary of Health and Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Prior to this, he served as a Health Care Policy Fellow at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Earlier in his career, he served as Clinical Director of the Cambridge Youth Guidance Center. Dr. Cline received his bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma. He received his master's degree and PhD from Oklahoma State University.

Here's some background information from when Cline was appointed as Oklahoma's Secretary of Health in 2004:

Gov. Henry Names Terry Cline Secretary of Health (May 27th, 2004)

posted by j. melinn

Everything you ever wanted to know about Psychiatric Advance Directives

Looking for infomation about Advance Directives?

Duke University and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law have teamed together to launch the National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives (NRC-PAD). You'll find PAD forms, links to statutes, educational webcasts, discussion forums, FAQs, and current research. Use the map on the homepage to locate information specific to each state.

http://www.nrc-pad.org

Therapy on the Tube

Here's a story about the increasing use of therapy via video for consumers who have limited access to treatment where they live. I interview a lot of people in my job and many, many say lack of transportation is a major barrier to getting treatment. Some largely-rural states have very few doctors, let alone psychiatrists, so telemedicine provides a good opportunity for people who wouldn't otherwise get treatment. Check out the Newsday.com story if you're interested, and feel free to call the Clearinghouse if you want more information.

posted by Daniele Sadres

Addendum to T.O. blog

I wrote a blog entry T.O.: Feel better, OK? when reports first surfaced that NFL star Terrell Owens might have attempted suicide. In that blog, I stated: "…statistics show that African-Americans attempt suicide at lower rates than Caucasian and Hispanic Americans." Well, researchers announced this week that the results of a new study indicate African- and Caribbean-Americans are about as likely as white Americans to have attempted suicide at least once in their lives. The findings appear in the Nov. 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Check out this news story for more info.:
Black suicide attempts worse than thought

posted by Daniele Sadres

Free Online Therapy

The UK Mental Health Foundation is advertising a free trial of online depression therapy. Offered through The Wellness Shop, you can get up to 4 weeks of free cognitive behavioral therapy online. I'm not sure how I feel about online therapy in general, and I find the idea of a free trial in this context a little odd, but I thought I'd offer it up here anyway. If you decide to try it I'm sure the Clearinghouse would be interested in consumer feedback. Just how does this work anyway?

Here's the Mental Health Foundation's ad for the trial. You have to register with the trial code between November 1st and January 3rd to be eligible.

And the Wellness Shop who's offering the service.