Major Constituents Quarrel about How to Implement Mental Health Parity Law
Art Exhibit of Artists with Disabilities Calls for Entries
Psychiatric Hospitalizations among U.S. Troops Top Those for Any Other Cause in 2009
American Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan Have Higher Levels of PTSD than British Troops
Singer Connie Francis Headlines Mental Health America Campaign Promoting Trauma-Informed Care
New Cognitive Therapy Intervention Reduces Self-Stigma among Mental Health Consumers
More Bad News about Smoking and Mental Health Conditions and Good News about Smoking Cessation
New Web Resources Now Available Through Boston University and the University of Illinois at Chicago
New Tool for Employers Studying Nondiscrimination Laws Now Online
Latest issue of JAMA Dedicated Entirely to Mental Health
SAMHSA Webinar on Program and Workforce Development to Air in Early June
Recovered Dignity Traveling Exhibit Now Available for Consumer Events
Congressional Briefing Supports Timely Benefits Restoration for Recently Released Prisoners
Do You Operate, or Know of, a Warm Line?
Consumer-Driven Services Directory
Medical insurance companies and some employer groups are fighting the Obama administration’s new rules for implementing equal treatment of mental health disorders with physical illnesses. The Obama administration has determined that the new law requires parity not just in the quantity of treatment, but also in reimbursement rates for providers. Unlike insurance companies and employer groups, the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and many patient advocates support the new regulations.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/health/policy/10health.html?scp=4&sq=mental%20health%20parity&st=cse
Organizers of the CORE exhibit – which highlights art, performances, and writing by artists with disabilities – are calling for entries for this year’s event, which will be held from October 29, 2010, to November 29, 2010, at the EdgeMar Center for the Arts, in Santa Monica, California. The deadline for submissions is August 20, 2010; there is no fee to submit a proposal.
Send submissions (in the form of slides, jpegs, CD/CD-ROMs, written materials, cassettes, or video cassettes) to CORE 6, c/o Sommer Sheffield, Arts and Services for the Disabled, Inc., 1903 169th Street, Gardena, CA 90247. For further information, contact: Sommer Sheffield, exhibits@artsandservices.com
Source:
http://www.artsandservices.org/includes/downloads/callforentriescore6.pdf?PHPSESSID=a85d18374d9bc9c985da8f44774046e1
Courtesy of Carol Coussons de Reyes
For the first time, the number of hospitalizations for mental health problems among American troops was higher than the number of hospitalizations for any other cause, according to the Department of Defense’s Medical Surveillance Monthly Report http://www.afhsc.mil/viewMSMR?file=2010/v17_n04.pdf#Page=16. There were 17,538 hospitalizations for psychiatric issues, 17,354 for pregnancy and childbirth, and 11,158 for injuries and battle-related wounds. Mental health hospitalizations accounted for nearly 40 percent of all days spent in hospitals.
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2010-05-14-mental-health_N.htm
Ten percent to 15 percent of American servicemen and women returning from Iraq or Afghanistan have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a new study. This level of illness is much higher than the percentage found among British troops. Levels of illness were higher still among reservists, who make up 30 percent of U.S. forces. U.S. troops do tours of over one year and return to five years of free medical care. British troops, on the other hand, do tours of only six months and are covered free for life.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/world/17trauma.html
With Connie Francis as its star attraction, Mental Health America is kicking off a campaign to draw America’s attention to the effects of trauma on people’s mental and physical disorders. The campaign is called “S.T.A.R. of Mine” (in which the letters S.T.A.R. stand for Stress, Treatment, Awareness, and Recovery), and will focus on reducing the prejudice associated with psychiatric disabilities, and on new treatments. Trauma-informed care respects the individual’s learned responses to trauma and encourages people to talk about the trauma and their responses to it. Learn more about the campaign at its Web site, www.mentalhealthamerica.net/STAR.
Source: http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/index.cfm?objectid=B16ECF08-1372-4D20-C84CC5059A442E72
Researchers at the University of Haifa, the City University of New York and Indiana University have developed a new cognitive behavioral therapy intervention designed to help people with a psychiatric history identify and cope with the self-stigma that many people with mental health conditions feel. Together they ran a pilot course of the treatment in locations in the United States and Israel. They found that people who took part in the treatment had less self-stigma and more self-esteem than a control group who did not participate, according to a press release.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-05/uoh-nit051310.php
Two new studies give more evidence of the adverse physiological effect smoking has on people with psychiatric disabilities. First, people who have bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder and who smoke have poorer outcomes, according to a new study. Smoking may aggravate the cycles of bipolar disorder by interfering with nicotinic receptors in the brain. Smoking may also interfere with the absorption of psychiatric medications. A second study shows that children of women who smoke during pregnancy have an increased incidence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and depression. (Mental health consumers are two to three times more likely to smoke than non-consumers.) The good news is that nicotine replacement and behavioral therapies doubled the success rate of smoking cessation among mental health consumers who have relief from their symptoms.
Sources:
http://www.internationalbipolarfoundation.org/smoking-worsens-outcomes-bipolar-patients
http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=638749
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100520131445.htm
The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University and the University of Illinois Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy are both unveiling new Internet curricula promoting rehabilitation and community integration. In June and July, Boston University will present a series of four webinars, each on different aspects of rehabilitation. The University of Illinois at Chicago’s new curriculum consists of a six-part course on community integration and how to support consumers in pursuing their hopes and dreams. The curriculum was prepared by the UPenn Collaborative on Community Integration. To register for the Boston University Webinar Series, go to www.bu.edu/cpr/training/workshops
To register for the University of Illinois online course, go to http://www.cmhsrp.uic.edu/nrtc/upenn.course.asp
The U.S. Department of Labor has recently inaugurated a new online legal advisor that helps employers become familiar with federal disability nondiscrimination laws. Employers answer a few questions about their organization and staff size and whether it receives any federal monetary assistance, and then helps them determine which laws apply to them. To access this tool, go to http://www.dol.gov/elaws/odep.htm
Source: Consumer Affairs E-News, May 5, 2010
The May 19, 2010, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association focuses completely on mental health issues. The edition includes six write-ups of major studies, several commentaries, and a story about painter Vincent Van Gogh’s psychiatric hospitalizations. Mental health disorders account for more disability cases for people from age 15 to age 45 than any other cause. At any one time, 7 percent of the population of the United States has an acute mental illness. There are twice as many suicides as homicides per year in the U.S., and more deaths from suicide than from AIDS. One possible solution, according to Dr. Richard Glass, editor of this issue, is “collaborative care,” in which primary care physicians and mental health specialists work together to deliver care. To view the contents of the issue, go to: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/303/19/1887
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/722045_print
On June 8, 2010, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will host a free webinar on new trends in workforce development. The webinar is the first in a series focused on strategies for implementing recovery-oriented services. Those interested in registering can do so by navigating to: https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/8000963084/Registration.aspx?pageName=s66vt30dfrz417cc
Source: Consumer Affairs E-News, May 17, 2010
Together with numerous national organizations representing consumers/survivors, providers and advocates, OptumHealth has created a traveling exhibit that commemorates the lives of the hundreds of thousands of individuals buried on the grounds of state hospitals around the country. This exhibit – available from OptumHealth upon request by consumer organizations sponsoring conferences or other gatherings – supports the National Consumer Memorial on the grounds of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C. The exhibit consists of a booth with a flat-screen TV, a DVD developed by consumers, and brochures about the memorial. OptumHealth is also seeking personal stories from individuals working on cemetery-related projects in their own locales, and/or stories related to those buried on the grounds of state hospitals. E-mail these stories to peter.ashenden@optumhealth.com
Source: www.memorialofrecovereddignity.org/index/html
On May 12, 2010, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the American Correctional Association, and other organizations held a congressional briefing advocating prompt restoration of health benefits to people just released from jail or prison. Currently, the Recidivism Reduction Act is under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives. The briefing was called “The Case for Timely Federal Benefits Assistance upon Re-Entry.” Proponents argue that a delay in receiving health benefits for people with serious mental health conditions after release increases the likelihood of recidivism.
Source: Mental Health Weekly, May 17, 2010
http://www.nyaprs.org/pages/View_ENews.cfm?ENewsID=8684
Courtesy of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services
The National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse is assembling a list of warm lines around the country. If you operate or know of a warm line, please share this information with us by e-mailing info@mhselfhelp.org or calling 800-553-4539.
topThe Clearinghouse welcomes all programs in which consumers play a significant role in leadership and operation to apply for inclusion in its Directory of Consumer-Driven Services. The directory, accessible at www.cdsdirectory.org, is searchable by location, type of organization, and targeted clientele and serves as a free resource for consumers, program administrators and researchers.
Apply online, via fax at 215-636-6312, or by phone at 800-553-4KEY (4539). To receive an application by mail, write to info@cdsdirectory.org or NMHCSH Clearinghouse, 1211 Chestnut Street, Suite 1100, Philadelphia, PA 19107
The Key Update is the free monthly e-newsletter of the National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse Volume 6 No.8, May 2010, http://www.mhselfhelp.org
To subscribe send a message to: subscribe thekey. To unsubscribe send a message to: unsubscribe thekey. For content, reproduction or publication information, contact Susan Rogers at 215-751-1800 x288 or srogers@mhasp.org.
