Alternatives Early-Bird Registration Deadline is July 1
Vermont Man Who Was Forcibly Medicated Wins Out-of-Court Settlement
Launching LGBT Pride Month, Obama Extends New Benefits to Same-Sex Couples
Arts Festival Invites Submissions from Trauma Survivors
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day
Children of Lesbian Parents Thrive
Baby Boomers Have the Highest Rate of Suicide
New Report Outlines Benefits of Integrating Primary Care and Behavioral Health Care
Youth with Early Onset Schizophrenia Get Limited Long-Term Benefit from Antipsychotic Medications
Secondhand Smoke Is Associated with Increased Psychiatric Symptoms and Hospitalization
BP Oil Spill Takes a Toll on Gulf Coast Residents’ Mental Health
Boston University to Test Motivational Interviewing for HIV Prevention among People with Serious Mental Health Challenges
New Research Highlights Drawbacks of Psychiatric Medications
New Book Challenges Assumptions of Psychiatric Establishment
Do You Operate, or Know of, a Warm Line?
Consumer-Driven Services Directory
July 1 is the deadline for Early Bird registration ($350) for Alternatives 2010, to be held Sept. 29 - Oct. 3 at the Hyatt Anaheim, California. The theme of the conference is “Promoting Wellness Through Social Justice.” To register online, click on the following link: http://www.power2u.org/alternatives2010/registration.html. Regular registration (July 2-Aug. 31) is $400; Sept. 1-onsite registration is $425.
Source: http://www.power2u.org/alternatives2010/
A Vermont man given medication against his will in Vermont State Hospital in 2008 has won an out-of-court settlement of $20,000 in a dispute with Vermont’s Department of Mental Health. The settlement includes the implementation of new procedures that are aimed at avoiding the use of force. According to lawyer A.J. Ruben of Disability Rights Vermont, the man had been accused by another patient of inappropriate conduct in a bathroom, and was then put in seclusion by the staff. When he started yelling, staff forcibly sedated him, despite the fact that he was not an imminent threat to himself or others. In the settlement, which was accompanied by a letter of apology from the hospital’s executive director, the hospital did not admit wrongdoing. Nonetheless, Disability Rights Vermont believes the settlement will benefit those in similar situations. “Avoiding unnecessary involuntary emergency procedures, particularly forced medication, is crucial to creating a more successful, less coercive and more recovery-oriented treatment environment,” Ruben told the Burlington Free Press.
Source: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010100618031
On June 2, 2010, President Obama issued orders giving new benefits to partners in same-sex couples whose spouses work for the federal government. This modest new benefits package includes day-care eligibility, some inheritance of retirement benefits, and relocation and travel expenses. In addition, the Obama administration announced on June 21 that it will expand the rights of all gay workers – not only federal employees – by allowing them family and medical leave to take care of sick or newborn children of same-sex partners. The Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law in 1996 by President Clinton, prevents extending full equality to same-sex couples.
Sources:
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0610/060210ts1.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/us/politics/22rights.html?ref=us
The Healing Through Creativity Festival seeks survivors of physical and psychological trauma and their supporters who are writers, performers, artists and artisans for its fifth annual festival. The festival will be held in Bramwell, West Virginia, Sept. 17-19, 2010, and Roanoke, Virginia, Oct. 1-3, 2010. For further information, navigate to www.healingthroughcreativity.org or call 304-545-6286.
Source: http://www.healingthroughcreativity.org/
Courtesy of Holly Beck
The International Association for Suicide Prevention and the World Health Organization have designated September 10th as the annual World Suicide Prevention Day. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention http://www.spanusa.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=B5D8B8F4-0956-BAA5-EB4E215D7A32EEBC offers a variety of trainings. For workshops specifically addressing youth suicide prevention, click on the link to the National Center for Suicide Prevention Training http://training.sprc.org/. Other resources are available from the World Health Organization http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/index.html
Source: http://www.iasp.info/wspd/index.php
Children of lesbians do as well as or better than children of heterosexual parents in academic, social or psychological terms. These results are part of a study that recruited expectant mothers between 1986 and 1992. Researchers who undertook the 20-year study followed the children of these mothers until age 17. According to the study’s author, Dr. Nanette Gartrell of the UCLA School of Law, “Moms in the lesbian family are very committed, very involved parents.” Good parenting seems to be the cause of the good outcomes, regardless of sexual orientation, according to family therapist Andrew Roffman at the New York University Langone Medical Center; he said he expected that a study of gay male parents would yield similar results. Dr. Gartrell’s study has been reported in the July edition of Pediatrics.
Source: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2010/06/07/kids-with-lesbian-parents-do-just-fine.html
For the second year running, the rate of suicide among Americans aged 45 to 54 is higher than that of any other age group, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report is based on figures from 2007, the most recent year available. Previously, those over 80 registered the highest rates of suicide. Ninety percent of those who die by suicide have a mental health condition that is often aggravated by substance dependence, noted Dr. Paula Clayton, medical director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. While there are no clear-cut reasons for the increase in suicides of middle-aged individuals, some attribute it to easier access to firearms and prescription opioid painkillers, along with other factors. Clayton called the increased rate among middle-aged individuals “startling.”
Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/us/06suicide.html?scp=3&sq=suicide%20baby%20boomer&st=cse
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/weekinreview/13cohen.html
A new report from the Milbank Memorial Fund describes eight possible models for increasing collaboration between primary health care providers and behavioral health care providers. While the proposed methods of combining primary health care and behavioral health care range from small-scale collaboration to complete integration, each method of integration would provide consumers with a medical “home,” a health care team, and stepped care, i.e., care that is the least disruptive to someone’s life while still being effective, the report notes. Although over one quarter of American adults have a mental health challenge at any given time, the mental health system fails to reach a significant number of people who would benefit from treatment. At the same time, up to 70 percent of primary care visits relate to mental health or substance dependence issues, according to the executive summary of the Milbank report. It is thought that integrating primary care with behavioral health care could better serve the public. To read the complete report, go to http://www.milbank.org/reports/10430EvolvingCare/10430EvolvingCare.html
Sources: http://psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/61/6/635
http://www.milbank.org/reports/10430EvolvingCare/10430EvolvingCare.html#executive
A new study shows that the benefits of either conventional or atypical antipsychotic medications for young people diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia spectrum disorder will reach a plateau after eight weeks. Also, most discontinue the medication during the following maintenance period because of the medications’ side effects, such as weight gain and anxiety, or other changes in metabolism. The National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Early Onset Schizophrenia Study, which examined the longer-term use of antipsychotics, is a continuation of a 2008 study comparing the short-term benefits of conventional antipsychotic medications such as molindone (Moban) and atypical medications such as olanzapine (Zyprexa). To read the results, go to the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at http://www.jaacap.com/article/S0890-8567(10)00294-7/abstract
Source: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2010/effectiveness-of-long-term-use-of-antipsychotic-medication-to-treat-childhood-schizophrenia-is-limited.shtml
Results of a new study indicate that people exposed to secondhand smoke have a higher incidence of hospitalization for psychological distress than people without significant exposure. The researchers, at University College London, England, measured exposure to cigarette smoke from saliva samples and monitored hospitalizations among study subjects for six years. Previous research has shown that smokers have more mental health issues than non-smokers. This particular study, however, adds to the body of evidence that suggests that nicotine exposure itself, whether firsthand or secondhand, might have adverse effects on someone’s mental health. The results were published in the June issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, and can be read online at http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/2010.76v1?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Secondhand+smoke&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/723632
In addition to creating environmental and economic catastrophe in the region of the Gulf of Mexico, the BP oil spill is having an enormous negative impact on the psychological well-being of individuals from the diverse groups of people of the region, The New York Times reports. Local mental health officials have noted increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression and a sense of hopelessness among those affected by the environmental disaster. Officials are bracing for the possibility of a higher incidence of suicide, domestic violence or substance abuse, as happened after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, or post-traumatic stress disorder, as happened after Hurricane Katrina. The following comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, E-News, June 25, 2010: “For our partners affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, we wanted to share the HHS Health Response (http://www.hhs.gov/gulfoilspill/) with you, which provides health information and local resources (http://www.hhs.gov/gulfoilspill/stateresources.html ) for coastal residents (http://www.hhs.gov/gulfoilspill/residents.html), response workers (http://www.hhs.gov/gulfoilspill/workers.html) and health professionals (http://www.hhs.gov/gulfoilspill/healthprofessionals.html). Please also see information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about ‘What to Expect from the Oil Spill and How to Protect Your Health’: http://emergency.cdc.gov/gulfoilspill2010/what_to_expect.asp
Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/us/17human.html?scp=1&sq=oil%20spill%20mental%20health&st=cse
SAMHSA, CMHS E-News, June 25, 2010
Researchers from Boston University’s Mental Health School of Medicine have received a five-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to test the effectiveness of “motivational interviewing” in preventing the spread of HIV among people with serious psychiatric disabilities. Motivational interviewing is more directly goal-oriented than many other talk therapies, and interviewers try to change individuals’ behaviors by helping them explore their choices and goals. Subjects will be followed for a period of a year, and the results will be compared to those of people given standard care.
Source: http://www.bu.edu/today/node/11081
People newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder or major depression and who are otherwise healthy often develop metabolic syndrome soon after beginning a regimen of psychiatric drugs, according to a study published this month in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. All classes of psychiatric medications – antidepressants, mood stabilizers and antipsychotics – appeared to increase the risk. Metabolic syndrome is a disorder in which many vital measures of physical health – blood pressure, serum cholesterol or triglycerides, glucose, and body fat – become elevated at once. People with metabolic syndrome have a poorer general health outlook than those without it, and are at increased risk of developing coronary heart disease. For further information, go to: http://publications.cpa-apc.org/media.php?mid=989. Another study shows that otherwise healthy people who are given an injection of haloperidol (Haldol) almost immediately experience a shrinking in the area of the brain called the striatum and develop impaired motor abilities. The study’s authors, at the University of Heidelberg in Mannheim, Germany, believe that haloperidol might temporarily reduce the size of the synapses between neurons, and that this change is the cause of the reduction in striatum size. The structural changes in the brains of research subjects were caused by dosages a little higher than usual, and appear to be reversible if use of the drug is discontinued. (However, the use of haloperidol over a period of time is associated with the risk of tardive dyskinesia, an irreversible, disabling and disfiguring movement disorder.)
Sources: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100606/full/news.2010.281.html?s=news_rss
http://www.vancouversun.com/story_print.html?id=3156367&sponsor
Examining the huge increase in the use of psychiatric medications in recent years, the author of a recently published book entitled “Anatomy of an Epidemic: The Hidden Damage of Psychiatric Drugs” argues that, beginning with the publication of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual)-III in 1980, the field of psychiatry decided that psychiatric disabilities were biological problems and that long-term use of medications was the most effective treatment. Author Robert Whitaker challenges this assumption with evidence that suggests that more people recover from schizophrenia when off medications than when on; that a significant number of children who are given Ritalin for a long period develop bipolar disorder; and that some individuals who are given antidepressants for a long time become chronically ill.
Source: http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2010/04/27/interview_whitaker_anatomy_of_an_epidemic
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.9, June 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.
