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TO CONTACT: THE CLEARINGHOUSE: SELFHELPCLEARINGHOUSE@GMAIL.COM … SUSAN ROGERS: SUSAN.ROGERS.ADVOCACY@GMAIL.COM … JOSEPH ROGERS: JROGERS08034@GMAIL.COM
THE KEY UPDATE IS COMPILED, WRITTEN, AND EDITED BY SUSAN ROGERS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH CONSUMERS’ SELF-HELP CLEARINGHOUSE.
NOTE: THE "FROM PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE KEY UPDATE BUT STILL FRESH!" DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS DIRECTLY BELOW THE MONTHLY CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM DIGEST, INCLUDES ITEMS THAT HAD BEEN POSTED "ABOVE THE FOLD" IN EARLIER EDITIONS BUT ARE STILL RELEVANT. THESE INCLUDE ONGOING RESEARCH STUDIES THAT ARE STILL SEEKING PARTICIPANTS, AS WELL AS UPCOMING WEBINARS AND CONFERENCES, AND OTHER ITEMS OF CONTINUED INTEREST. DON'T MISS IT!
Deadline Alert! Under OPPORTUNITIES, July 25 is the deadline to respond to HSRI’s Grassroots Project Survey. Under WEBINARS (etc.), SAMHSA is beginning a four-part webinar series on July 24. There are also other upcoming events in July! And under CONFERENCES, don’t miss the August 1 deadline to apply for a scholarship to attend the annual conference of the Alliance for Rights and Recovery.
NEWS
“HHS Assessments of Assisted Outpatient Treatment Have Yielded Inconclusive Results”
A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) “reaffirms what we have always known: the supposed effectiveness of AOT lies not in the mandate itself, but in the access to services that comes with it. People improve when they are connected to quality support — not because they are forced into treatment by a court order,” according to an analysis by the Alliance for Rights and Recovery. The report indicates that AOT had “no proven benefit over voluntary support”; “the assessments heavily relied on self-reported data–which are prone to inaccuracies…”; and “AOT implementation varies dramatically from state to state, making consistent evaluation nearly impossible,” according to the Alliance. For the GAO report, click here.
ISPS-US Issues New Report on the Dangers of Involuntary Commitment
“A Danger to Self and Others: Health and Criminal Consequences of Involuntary Hospitalization” is a brand-new publication from ISPS-US. For the “Plain Language Summary,” an eight-page FAQ supplement, click here. For the full report, click here for an abstract, which includes a link to the full 82-page report. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak) (Note: “New Study Exposes the Trauma of Involuntary Psychiatric Detention,” previously published in the Key Update “above the fold,” is now in the “...But Still Fresh!” department, below the Criminal Legal System digest.)
“People Are Being Involuntarily Committed, Jailed After Spiraling Into ‘ChatGPT Psychosis’" and “Almost 75% of American Teens Have Used AI Companions, Study Finds”
According to an article in Futurism, “many ChatGPT users are developing all-consuming obsessions with the chatbot, spiraling into severe mental health crises characterized by paranoia, delusions, and breaks with reality. The consequences can be dire.” (For the article, click here.) Futurism also covered this in an earlier article: “People Are Becoming Obsessed with ChatGPT and Spiraling Into Severe Delusions” (click here). (Courtesy of the Wildflower Alliance) Meanwhile, “Almost 75% of American Teens Have Used AI Companions, Study Finds.” For this ScienceAlert article, click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak) (Note: The March-April 2025 edition of the Key Update included “Therapists Warn AI Mental Health Help Could Harm People”; and “Increasing Access to Safe, Effective, and Secure Digital Mental Health Technology Should Be a Federal Priority”)
Antipsychotics and Some Antidepressants Can Make It Harder to Cope with Heat
Two specific types of antidepressants – selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclics (TCAs) – may make it harder to deal with heat. “They could even cause heat intolerance due to how they affect the body's ability to sweat,” according to a recent ScienceAlert article. For the article, click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
“Bazelon Issues Report on Reducing Arrest and Incarceration of People with Mental Health Disabilities”
On June 23, 2025, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law released “Reducing the Arrest and Jailing of People with Mental Health Disabilities, Including Those with Intersectional Identities.” The Bazelon Center writes: “Our paper explains how people with mental health disabilities — including those with overlapping marginalized identities — are disproportionately swept into the criminal legal system, and points to investment in person-centered, community-based solutions as the best way to reduce the arrest and jailing of people with mental health disabilities…The findings are stark: 65%–70% of youth in juvenile detention have disabilities, and two-thirds of Black men with disabilities will be arrested before age 28, and over 2 million people with serious mental illness are booked into jails each year. Disabled people, including those with psychiatric disabilities, and people with various medical conditions face heightened risks of violence and harm while incarcerated.” To download the 34-page report, click here.
“ChatGPT Weakens Your Ability to Think, MIT Study Finds”
“A new study out of MIT has found that those who used large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to write an essay had significantly lower brain activation than those who didn’t. They were also unable to remember anything they had ‘written’ just minutes ago,” Mad In America writes. “And…when switched to having no LLM assistance, those who had previously used LLMs still fared poorly…According to the researchers, this has profound implications for education, creativity, and intellectual development…” For the Mad In America article, which includes a link to the study, click here.
“ECT Proponents Deny Harms as the Tide Begins to Shift”
“Recent guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and American Psychiatric Association (APA) has finally acknowledged the risks of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT),” Mad In America reports. “These organizations focus on ensuring that patients receive informed consent, acknowledging the risks of long-term memory loss and other health concerns due to the procedure, and recommend against the use of ECT in children.” Page 15 of the WHO’s 208-page “Mental health, human rights and legislation: Guidance and practice” notes: “In 2013, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment called on countries to impose a total ban on all forced and non-consensual medical interventions, including the involuntary administration of psychosurgery, electroconvulsive therapy, ‘mind-altering drugs,’ and the use of restraints and solitary confinement.” At the same time, proponents of ECT “cherry-pick data and ignore the large body of research on ECT’s harms [and] ‘directly oppose’ the principle of informed consent, according to their critics.” For the Mad In America article, click here.
“Even a 10-Minute Walk May Be Good for the Brain”
“Ten minutes of mild, almost languorous exercise can immediately alter how certain parts of the brain communicate and coordinate with one another and improve memory function, according to an encouraging new neurological study. The findings suggest that exercise does not need to be prolonged or intense to benefit the brain and that the effects can begin far more quickly than many of us might expect.” For the article, in WRAL News (2018), click here. For the 2018 study, click here. (Note: A New York Times article entitled “How Exercise Fights Anxiety and Depression” with the subhead “Decades of research have established that movement has a positive effect on mental health,” published on July 16, 2025, included a link to information about the 2018 study cited above.)
“Medications Aren’t the Measure of Success in Psychosis Treatment”
“A new study published in the Community Mental Health Journal finds that mental health service users with psychosis in Norway report greater satisfaction with their care when it includes support for employment or education,” according to a recent article by Mad In America. “The researchers, led by Regina Skar-Fröding at Akershus University Hospital, found that programs like Individual Placement and Support (IPS), along with well-coordinated services and helpful general practitioners (GPs), were significantly associated with greater satisfaction, while standard treatments such as antipsychotic medications and cognitive therapy were not.” For the article, click here.
OPPORTUNITIES
July 25 Is the Deadline to Respond to HSRI’s Grassroots Project Survey
“The Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) is seeking responses to its Grassroots Project Survey, which asks people with disabilities and their support networks about (1) their knowledge and perceptions about advocacy; (2) advocacy actions they have taken or will take; and (3) demographic information…The information provided will remain anonymous and private and used to help us with the Grassroots Project’s future activities and project design…For more about the Grassroots Project, click here. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and will be available until July 25, 2025 at this link.”
ACE Asks Everyone Harmed by SSRI and SNRI Withdrawal to Submit a Report to FDA MedWatch
The Antidepressant Coalition for Education (ACE) asks everyone harmed by withdrawal from SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) and SNRIs (Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors) to submit a report to FDA MedWatch. For the MedWatch Online Voluntary Reporting Form, click here. The International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal (IIPDW) writes: “For anyone not personally harmed, but wishing to support this campaign, you can comment publicly, either as an individual or as an organization, on the Citizen Petition from Antidepressant Coalition for Education (click here)...[W]e believe that if the FDA makes the required changes, this will have an impact on SSRI and SNRI labelling worldwide.” (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova)
July 31 at Midnight CT (August 1 at 1 a.m. ET) Is the Deadline to Respond to the 2025 National Survey on Health and Disability
The University of Kansas Institute for Health and Disability Policy Studies invites people with disabilities who are more than 18 years old to take the sixth National Survey on Health and Disability. “Learning about the experiences of people with disabilities directly is very important,” they write. “If you would like more information about the NSHD, you can click here. If you would like information about the results after the NSHD closes, the website will also have that information or you can email us directly at healthsurvey@ku.edu.” For instructions and to take the survey online, click here. Call 855.556.6328 to take the survey over the phone. (The survey has appeared in the Key Update in previous editions.) (Courtesy of the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion)
Wildflower Alliance Hosts Virtual Friends & Family Alternatives to Suicide Group, and Family Feedback Is Requested
On Fridays at 3:30 p.m. ET, the Wildflower Alliance will host a free 90-minute group on Zoom that is “intended for family and friends who are navigating supporting people in their lives who are suicidal.” The group will follow the Alternatives to Suicide framework. See the Alternatives to Suicide Friends and Family Group Charter for more information. To sign up, click here. And “are you a family member who has been supported through one of our family groups, consultations, or trainings? Wildflower would appreciate your feedback by August 6 (click here).
Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma (JAMT) Issues Call for Papers for a Special Edition
August 15, 2025, is the deadline to submit abstracts for JAMT’s special issue on Canceled Interpersonal Violence Science. The editors write: “The Trump administration has implemented unprecedented cancellations of federally funded research projects…These funding cuts imperil the future of science on interpersonal violence…Under this call, manuscripts will be solicited from scientists who were working on federally funded interpersonal violence research projects that were canceled by the current administration. Manuscripts should focus on some form of interpersonal violence, including childhood abuse and neglect, intimate partner/dating violence, sexual violence or exploitation, or gun violence. (If your abstract is accepted, the manuscript deadline is December 15, 2025.) For more information, and instructions on submitting an abstract, click here.
Young Adults Are Sought for a Survey of Adolescent Psychiatric Hospitalization
Young adults 18-27 years old who experienced psychiatric hospitalization between ages 12 and 17 and who live in the U.S. and understand English are invited to participate in a study by researchers at Barnard College and at Washington University in St. Louis. The survey “will ask about current and past mental health status, personal background, logistics and experiences of hospitalization, and how hospitalization impacted other areas of [the respondents’] life (for example, school and family dynamics).” For the survey and for more information, including about incentives to participate, click here. Questions? Contact the Principal Investigator, Emma Burris (ecb2214@barnard.edu).
Researchers Are Recruiting for a Study of Sibling Relationships Between Neurotypical Children and Children with Autism
“Are you the parent of a child aged 7 to 11 who has a sibling, also aged 7 to 11, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? [Fordham University researchers] are conducting a study to better understand how parenting behaviors may shape sibling relationships when one child has autism. Your insights can help us explore important family dynamics and improve support for families like yours. You will be asked to complete two short online surveys—one about your child with autism and one about their sibling. Your participating child (aged 7–11) will also complete a brief survey about how they perceive their relationship with their sibling with autism. The entire process takes just 20-30 minutes.” To begin the survey, click here. Questions? Contact pf14@fordham.edu
“Journalists: How to Get Records the Criminal Justice System Doesn’t Want You to Have”
The Marshall Project writes: “Use these tips from investigative reporter Alysia Santo to map out the systems you must unlock to get the documents you need.” For the toolkit, click here.
CONFERENCES
August 1 Is the Scholarship Application Deadline for the Alliance Annual Conference
August 1, 2025, is the deadline to apply for a scholarship to attend the 2025 conference of the Alliance for Rights and Recovery, to be held September 29-October 1 at the Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center in Callicoon, New York. For more information about the conference and to register, click here. To apply for a scholarship, click here.
WEBINARS, TRAININGS, PODCASTS, AND PRESENTATIONS—FREE UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED
SAMHSA to Present Four Upcoming Webinars
On July 24, July 31, August 7, and August 14, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET, SAMHSA will present “a webinar series for behavioral health professionals and providers working in recovery and peer-run organizations.” The four topics, on successive Thursdays, are Financing Models and Federal Resources for Enhancing and Sustaining Peer-Run and Recovery Organizations, Employment Supports: Advancing Opportunities for Recovery, Intergenerational Family Substance Misuse & Recovery, and Science of Addiction and Recovery—A Father’s Perspective, respectively. For details and to register, click on the subject lines. For a single web page where all four webinars are listed with details, click here. (Courtesy of the Alliance for Rights and Recovery)
“Boundaries Without Guilt”
On July 29, 2025, at 2 p.m. ET, Doors to Wellbeing will present a webinar that will “explore how setting and maintaining boundaries is not a betrayal of the peer support values we hold dear — it’s an act of sustainability, self-respect, and even greater service to those we support. Participants will reflect on common barriers to setting boundaries, practice communication strategies to honor their own limits without guilt, and identify personal boundary-setting practices that preserve their energy, passion, and authenticity in peer work…” The webinar will be presented by Amethyst Lee. To register, click here.
“Neuroplasticity: How To Rewire Your Brain”
On July 30, 2025, at 1 p.m. ET, Mad In America will present a two-hour panel on “Neuroplasticity: How To Rewire Your Brain,” and writes: “Our expert speakers will share practical tips and insights on how you can create lasting changes in your brain to enhance your mental well-being and cognitive abilities. Don't miss this opportunity to unlock your brain's full potential and transform your life.” For more information and to register for $13.57, click here. And for more Mad In America events, click here.
“Member Engagement Models Reshaping the Economics of ‘SMI’ Service Delivery”
On July 30, 2025, at 1 p.m. ET, Open Minds invites you to “a complimentary [one-hour] executive webinar examining how emerging consumer engagement models are reshaping both the clinical and financial outcomes of care [of individuals with serious mental health conditions]. Through real-world case examples, this session will explore the current state of treatment challenges, utilization trends, and innovative strategies that are driving measurable improvements in adherence, access, and total cost of care.” For more information and to register, click here.
“Taking Action for Whole Health & Wellbeing” and the Copeland Center Training Calendar
On five successive Thursdays – July 31, 2025, and August 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ET (11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. PT) – The Copeland Center will host an online, highly interactive course “for anyone who wants to learn about how to use Taking Action for Whole Health and Wellbeing in their own personal lives…The curriculum is based on the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s (SAMHSA) Taking Action curriculum and other recovery publications developed with input from individuals with lived experience of recovery from mental health, addictions, and co-occurring challenges.” Tuition is $200; limited scholarships are available. For more information and to register, click here. And for the Copeland Center Training Calendar, which includes trainings in September and October, click here.
Judi’s Room: “Radical Mental Health Education as a Tool for Transformation: Lessons from IDHA's Core Curriculum”
On August 6, 2025, at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT), MindFreedom International will present a Judi’s Room that will feature the Institute for the Development of Human Arts’ “Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum as an example of [Radical Mental Health Education as a Tool for Transformation]. Drawing from…psychiatric survivors, mad pride, peer support, disability justice, and abolition, the curriculum critiques existing models and provides practical skills for building dignified alternatives…The session will include a brief presentation followed by an open discussion, inviting participants to share their experiences and visions for change.” The presenters will be Noah Gokul and Jessie Roth. For more information, including the Zoom link (and to share this event on social media), click here. (For more about IDHA’s Fall 2025 core curriculum, for which enrollment closes on August 29, see below.)
Copeland Center to Present “Foundations of Resiliency”
On August 7, 2025, at 1 p.m. ET, the Copeland Center will present a one-hour session on increasing resiliency as part of its membership program: “$35 to attend this event and all other member events for a calendar year.” The Copeland Center writes: “Want to increase your Resilience but not sure where to begin? Start here! We'll break down the four foundations of resiliency and discuss realistic and intentional ways we can increase our resilience.” To register for “Foundations of Resiliency” and for information about additional Copeland Center trainings as well as trainings provided by other organizations, click here. (Announcements of the three additional Copeland Center trainings were included in the July-August 2025 Key Update, and are included in the August-September 2025 edition in the “...But Still Fresh!” category.) Questions? Contact Amethyst Lee, Peer Empowerment Specialist: alee@copelandcenter.com
MHEP to Present Five Trainings in August 2025
The Mental Health Empowerment Project will present five online trainings in August: “Soul Allies: Exploring the Meaning of Trust,” with Bryant Pugh” (August 8, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. ET); “Language Matters, Part 1,” with Jen Hastings (August 12, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. ET); “Conflict Is Not a Crisis: Peer to Peer Conflict Resolution,” with Shamona Kirkland (August 14, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. ET); “Language Matters, Part 2,” with Jen Hastings (August 26, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. ET); and “Overview of Advocacy,” with Alanna Sears-Mount, (August 28, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. ET). Questions? Ask Alanna Sears-Mount, amount@mhepinc.org or 518.434.1393, ext. 415. To join MHEP in the virtual training room, click here.
August 8 Is the Date of IDHA’s Free Information Session About Its Fall 2025 Core Curriculum; August 29 Is the Deadline to Enroll
Registration is open for the Institute for the Development of Human Arts’ fall curriculum, which includes 22 hours of content and 50 faculty. “IDHA offers accessible pricing; self-paced options are also available.” To register for the free information session, on August 8, 2025, at 12 p.m. ET, click here.
Devva’s Room Will Meet on August 13
On August 13, 2025, at 7 p.m. ET, I Love You, Lead On will host the next meeting of Devva’s Room. The meeting will feature Jennifer Mankoff, who will discuss “Disability Studies Informed Perspectives on Technology,” and Kim Nielsen on “Disabled Women Suffragettes.” “Registration is required to prevent Zoom bombing and other antagonists from disrupting our time together, or you can become a member and be added to the email list (join email list here).” For more information about Devva’s Room, including the schedule through the end of 2025, click here.
“Motivating with Mutuality: An Intro to Motivational Interviewing for Peer Workers”
On August 19 and 20, 2025 (1 p.m.-5 p.m. ET, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. PT), the Copeland Center will present an eight-hour course on Motivational Interviewing (MI). “In this eight-hour interactive workshop, we’ll explore how the spirit and skills of MI naturally align with core Peer Support values such as mutuality, empowerment, and respect for self-determination…We will learn the foundational tools of Motivational Interviewing…We will also explore how these skills can strengthen trust, collaboration, and motivation in any helping relationship.” For more information and to register for the course, which costs $240, click here.
SAMHSA Program to Advance Recovery Knowledge (SPARK) to Host Two Upcoming Webinars and Other Learning Opportunities
SAMHSA writes: “Join the SAMHSA Program to Advance Recovery Knowledge (SPARK) initiative for a learning series to support peer-run organizations to explore and develop readiness strategies and skills that lead to successful contracts with funders.” This series (“Building Peer Service Readiness for Contracting with Funders”) includes “Contracting to Provide Peer Services: Is Your Organization Ready?” (August 20, 2025, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. ET), to register, click here; “The Essentials for Contracting: Models, Contract Negotiation, and Compliance for Peer Organizations” (September 24, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. ET), to register, click here; individual readiness assessment for those interested in participating in the learning community (August 27, 2-3 p.m. ET), to register, click here; learning community event (September 3, 2-3 p.m. ET), to register, click here; and two sessions of individual, targeted technical assistance for those seeking additional support: September 10, 2-3 p.m. ET, to register, click here, and September 17, 2-3 p.m. ET, to register, click here. “The learning community event and targeted technical assistance will provide additional guidance as well as opportunities for organizations that need further preparation before advancing to the second webinar on how to contract with funders.” (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
Wildflower Alliance to Host “When Conversation Turns to Suicide” in September
On September 8, 10, 15, and 17, 12 p.m.-4 p.m. ET, the Wildflower Alliance will host its virtual “16-hour training based in the Alternatives to Suicide approach, and intended as an alternative to ASIST, QPR, and similar approaches that remain rooted in conventional medicalized systems. This training is open to providers, family members, peer supports, first responders, and anyone else who wants to learn how to offer support to someone who is suicidal.” For details, including information about the fee schedule, click here.
“From Forced Psychiatry to Relational Healing: Jim Gottstein, JD, and Dr. Susan Swim”
An interview with distinguished disability rights attorney Jim Gottstein, founder of the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights) and author of “The Zyprexa Papers,” by Dr. Susan Swim, founder and executive director of Now I See a Person Institute (NISAPI), is available on YouTube. “Though working from different fields, Gottstein and Dr. Swim both advocate for a reimagined mental health paradigm — one that restores voice to the silenced and honors healing as a relational process. Their work challenges dominant systems that reduce suffering to symptoms, and instead affirms that recovery begins not with compliance, but with being seen, heard, and respected,” according to the NISAPI announcement. To view the video, click here.
NEC Webinars About the Challenges Faced by Various Communities Are Available to View
“The National Empowerment Center (NEC) hosted a series of webinars about the unique challenges faced by different communities, including those with facial differences, childless and childfree people, and people in larger bodies. Felix Guzman, David Roche, and Sora J. Kasuga presented a webinar on how to best support peers with facial differences. They discussed what it means to live with facial differences and the unique barriers individuals face that significantly contribute to high rates of mental health challenges in this community. Dr. Rachel Millner presented a webinar about the impact of weight stigma and anti-fat bias and how to best support those who may be impacted by this. Katie Maynard’s webinar discussed the intersection of non-parenthood status and mental health…Future topics include Youth MOVE’s approach to youth leadership in peer services, a youth-led collegiate recovery program, and Emotional CPR to assist people in distress.” To view the recordings, click on the links in the word “webinar” above.
“Whistleblowing & Restraints at Worcester State Hospital” Is the First Episode of Wildflower Alliance’s New Podcast
In the first episode of Wildflower’s new podcast — “What’s Blooming with the Wildflower Alliance” — “Wildflower’s Earl Miller and Sera Davidow talk with John Trask, a Massachusetts state employee turned whistleblower who has risked his career to bring to light evidence of misuse of restraints at Worcester State Hospital that has potentially resulted in thousands of hours of patients held in restraints that may have been for little more than staff convenience,” according to Wildflower. “Chris Hansen, co-director of Intentional Peer Support, and journalist Rob Wipond, author of ‘Your Consent Is Not Required,’ also…help unpack John’s work and what’s happening at the hospital and beyond. Wildflower also helped Rob launch…the PsychForce Report. To listen to the podcast, click here.
The August-September 2025 Digest of Articles Offering Healthy Lifestyle Advice
For “Preventing Brain Infection When Swimming” (CDC advice), click here. For “Here’s what you need to know about coronavirus this summer,” click here. For “Mineral or chemical sunscreen: Which should you choose?” click here. For “7 Signs of Heat Stroke,” click here. For “8 Ways Sunlight Can Benefit Your Health,” click here. For “11 Tips for Better Sleep Hygiene,” click here. For “How to Decode Sunscreen Labels,” click here. For “12 Ways to Boost Oxytocin,” click here. For “How To Stay Safe in Extreme Heat: 11 Things To Know,” click here. For “How to Travel with Invisible Disabilities: Advocates provide tips for a smoother travel experience,” click here. For “7 Signs of Heat Stroke,” click here. For “10 Common Misconceptions About Aging,” click here. For “After Miller Gardner’s death, should families bring a carbon monoxide detector on vacation?” click here. For “Maybe it’s not just aging. Maybe it’s anemia,” click here. For “How to reduce arsenic in rice, and why it matters,” click here. For “What to Know About Alcohol as You Get Older,” click here. For “Why You Wake Up Earlier As You Get Older,” click here. For “Physical activity may help slow cognitive decline,” click here. For “How to Slow Down Your Biological Clock: Exercise and diet play a big part in healthy aging, and breakthroughs in anti-aging medicine may not be too far off,” click here. For “Best Way To Keep Weight Off? Walk This Many Steps, Says New Study,” click here. For “Is Flying Damaging Your Hearing? 7 Ways to Reduce the Risk: Why audiologists have concerns about flying (and it has nothing to do with loud engines or screaming babies),” click here. For “‘Japanese walking’ trend may be better than 10,000 steps a day — and you only need 30 minutes,” click here. For “Best ways to recover from a muscle strain: Follow these tips to feel better and get back to the activities you love,” click here. For “The 6 Protein Mistakes You Might Be Making—And What To Do Instead: Registered dietitians dish on how much you need, best sources, and how to make it part of your routine,” click here. For “6 Protein Mistakes You’re Probably Making,” click here. For “Physical Fitness and Risk of Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents,” click here. For “Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1·2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: a cross-sectional study,” click here.
The August-September 2025 Digest of Articles About the Criminal Legal System, in Which Many Individuals with Mental Health Conditions Are Incarcerated (and the Key Update continues after this Digest)
For “This ‘College Protester’ Isn’t Real. It’s an AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops: Massive Blue is helping cops deploy AI-powered social media bots to talk to people they suspect are anything from violent sex criminals all the way to vaguely defined ‘protesters,’” click here. For “Wyoming Is Now Requiring Would-be Voters to Document Their Citizenship: The rules were pushed by Wyoming’s ultraconservative secretary of state despite no pattern of noncitizen voting. A lawsuit warns it risks tripping up eligible citizens who wish to register,” click here. For “Why I Blew the Whistle on Extreme Confinement on Rikers Island: Social worker Justyna Rzewinski saw people with mental illness ‘deadlocked’ in their cells for months without sunlight, human contact — or medication,” click here. For “Fighting in War Still Didn’t Prepare Me for Prison’s Mental Health Crisis: Helping those in distress at my South Carolina prison was much harder than I expected,” click here. For “Inside prison walls, here's how a book program is changing lives: Accessing reading material in prisons is hard, but Freedom Reads co-founder Reginald Betts, a former inmate, went beyond books, creating libraries made by former prisoners,” click here. For “The police militarization debate is over: Quaint disputes about the proper role of police and military have been superseded by a more urgent threat: Donald Trump is creating his own, personal paramilitary force,” click here. For “The FCC won’t enforce a ban on ‘exorbitant’ prison phone call prices: The deadline for compliance has been punted to 2027, FCC Chair Brendan Carr says, because of ‘negative, unintended consequences,’” click here. For “FCC chair decides inmates and their families must keep paying high phone prices: Chairman Carr waives new price caps until 2027, may raise them before then,” click here. For “The Death Penalty Inherently Risks Executing Innocent People. Pennsylvania has already done it. History shows the state cannot be trusted with the power to kill,” click here. For “Birth behind bars: Ten years of U.S. jail births covered in the news highlight horrific experiences and minimal data collection. For some of the thousands of pregnant people entering jails each year, at what might be their moment of greatest need — going into labor — jails turn a blind eye, harming mothers, newborns, and their families. The latest project from our partners at Advocacy and Research on Reproductive Wellness of Incarcerated People, or ARRWIP, illuminates these haunting stories and the dire need for data and education about pregnancy in jails,” click here. For “How a Former Warden Is Disrupting the Prison System—From the Inside Out,” click here. For “‘They're Not Breathing’: Inside the Chaos of ICE Detention Center 911 Calls: Records of hundreds of emergency calls from ICE detention centers obtained by WIRED—including audio recordings—show a system inundated by life-threatening incidents, delayed treatment, and overcrowding,” click here. For “Trump Moved to Dismiss Police Consent Decrees—How Can Judges Respond? Whether the Trump administration unravels this federal civil rights enforcement program 30 years in the making may depend on the judges who oversee them,” click here. For “The Chaos and Cruelty of DVD [a plaintiff’s initials] v. DHS [U.S. Department of Homeland Security]: The litigation over third-country removals highlights the Trump administration’s pattern of legalistic noncompliance,” click here. For “Concurrent Inspections of BOP Food Service Operations: The food is still (mostly) terrible inside federal prisons, concludes a new report by the Justice Department’s inspector general” (June 17, 2025), click here. For “The Big Business of Bad Prison Food: A market analysis said the food service industry in U.S. prisons and jails is worth billions — and is forecasted to grow (March 8, 2025),” click here. For “Alabama vs. Science: Confronted with DNA, Alabama offers theory that ‘defies logic’ to keep man on death row,” click here. For “Masked Border Patrol agents detain landscaper after repeatedly hitting him,” click here. For “ICE detains Marine Corps veteran’s wife who was still breastfeeding their baby,” click here. For “Why is Wisconsin’s prison system such a ‘mess,’ and what can be done to fix it? Wisconsin incarcerates more people per capita than the majority of countries in the world, including the United States,” click here. For “The Feds Keep Detaining and Prosecuting Elected Officials Who Get in Trump’s Way: A timeline of authoritarianism,” click here. For “He Spent Years in Federal Prisons. Now He’s Helping to Lead Them. The Bureau of Prisons’ new deputy director’s past incarceration has drawn outrage from some officers — and support from people still inside,” click here. For “How Ohio Prison Staff Open and Read Confidential Legal Mail: An anti-drug smuggling policy has slowed the delivery of time-sensitive court documents as prison staff read letters protected by attorney-client privilege,” click here. For “‘We helped each other. We taught each other the law.’ Calvin Duncan, one of the finest inmate counsels to ever file a writ from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, releases his autobiography today, July 8. The Lens is honored to publish an excerpt from this highly anticipated book, The Jailhouse Lawyer,” click here. For “The First Trans Prisoner Who Took Her Case All the Way to the Supreme Court: From her prison cell, Dee Farmer drafted the lawsuit that became one of the most cited cases of all time, Farmer v. Brennan,” click here.
FROM PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE KEY UPDATE BUT STILL FRESH!
Note: Despite the fact that “on March 27, 2025, RFK Jr., Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services for the Trump Administration, announced that SAMHSA will effectively cease to exist, [and that] the remaining staff at SAMHSA will now be absorbed into a new agency, called the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA),” the links to SAMHSA web pages and resources throughout the “...But Still Fresh!” category continue to work, at least as of July 22, 2025.
And scroll down for ongoing RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES!
WEBINARS, CONFERENCES, EVENTS, AND TRAININGS
“Discover a New Path to Wellness: The Non-Logical Approach”
On August 8, 2025, at 1 p.m. ET, the Colorado Association of Psychotherapists (CAP) will host a one-hour virtual event, presented by David Hoefer, author of “Inner Space Traveler.” CAP writes: “This interactive session will guide you beyond conventional thinking to unlock profound personal growth — without struggle or force…This is not a lecture — it’s a dynamic, participatory conversation!” For the Zoom link, click on https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3032553503#success Questions? mariana@marianaiurcovich.com.
“Advancing Peer Workforce Best Practices in Integrated Care”
The Alliance for Rights and Recovery writes: “Join us for an in-depth look at peer workforce development in the context of integrated healthcare. Over six sessions we will explore best practices and strategies from across the nation.” The first four sessions have already been aired; you can register for either or both of last two sessions: Session 5: Career Advancement and Professional Development Pathways (August 13, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.); to register, click here. Session 6: Multidisciplinary Collaboration and System Integration (August 19, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. ET); to register, click here.
IVAT to Host an International Summit on Violence, Abuse, & Trauma Across the Lifespan
“From August 18 to August 21, 2025, the Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma (IVAT) will host its 30th San Diego International Summit on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma Across the Lifespan. They will also present affiliated trainings on August 17, 2025. For more information, including about hotel reservations, and a link to information about the 23rd IVAT Hawaii Summit, in 2026, click here. Register for the San Diego Summit by June 30th to receive the Early Bird Discount.”
Registration Opens for MHA Annual Conference
Registration is open for Mental Health America’s 2025 conference, October 16-17, 2025, to be held at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, DC. The theme is “Turn Awareness into Action.” For more information, including the fee schedule and a link to register, click here.
“Dangers of Contacting 988 (Update 2025 – It's Worse!)”
“In this episode of PsychForce Report TV, hosts Rob Wipond and Jesse Mangan welcome special guests Nemu and Olka from Safe Hotlines to discuss the latest research on how often 988 callers get unexpected and unwanted visits from law enforcement, the lack of privacy protections for all of the recorded calls and text exchanges, and other risks people should know about before calling 988.” For the recording, click here. (Courtesy of Wildflower Alliance)
“Whats, Whys, and Hows of Community Participation”
“The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusions has just released a new microtraining called the “Whats, Whys, and Hows of Community Participation!...Microtrainings are short, interactive online trainings, focused on a specific topic. Our microtrainings use audio, images, quizzes, and reflection prompts to help you learn about and adopt community participation practices. At the end of each microtraining, you have the option to receive a certificate of completion.” For more information and to access the microtraining, click here.
“Guardianship Abuse: Bad Apples or Tip of the Iceberg?”
A podcast by the National Institute of Justice explores “how the guardianship system is working in the U.S. How many individuals suffer abuse under guardianship? To what extent does guardianship, when properly executed, improve the lives of those it’s intended to serve? We explore those questions and more in the latest episode of the Justice Today podcast.” For more information and to listen to the podcast, click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
NEC’s “Neurodiversity Gifts” Is a Multi-dimensional Encounter Workshop
The National Empowerment Center’s three-hour “Neurodiversity Gifts” course, which you can take at your own pace, “features two hours of immersive video exploration and group discussion, and an hour of exercises to bring the content home to your life,” NEC writes. All proceeds from the $30 fee — scholarships are available — go to the National Empowerment Center. For more about the presenter and the fee schedule for the individual workshop, as well as the “Train-the-Trainer curriculum and license that empowers you to run the full 12-hour “Neurodiversity Gifts” workshop in your community,” click here. (Courtesy of Dan Frey)
IDHA Offers a Self-Paced Course Library
The Institute for the Development of Human Arts (IDHA) writes: “This library offers a range of self-paced courses covering a wide range of essential topics in transformative mental health. Courses are designed to integrate tools and knowledge into your practice and daily life. Most courses were adapted from former live, virtual offerings.” The courses include “Re-Thinking Mental Health: History of the Mad Movement and Alternatives to Biomedical Approaches” and “Our Struggles Are Intertwined: Intersection of Mental Health and Oppression.” For more information and/or to register, click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
“The Promise of Litigation to Decriminalize Mental Illness”
“The Sozosei Foundation held a virtual convening on August 1, 2024, considering the role of litigation in the work to decriminalize mental illness. We were honored to host panelists Sarah J. Gregory, Litigation Counsel, Disability Rights California; Kevin Martone, M.S.W., L.S.W., Executive Director, Technical Assistance Collaborative; Leslie Napper, Mental Health Consumer (Peer) and Senior Advocate for Disability Rights California; Megan Schuller, Legal Director, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; and Luke Sikinyi, Director of Public Policy and Public Engagement, The Alliance for Rights and Recovery. The panel was moderated by New York Times best-selling author Robert Kolker and introduced by Sozosei Foundation Executive Director, Melissa Beck. To watch the recording, click here.” (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
APS Announces Open Enrollment for the New, 5-Part “Honest, Open Proud” Series
“The Academy of Peer Services (APS) is excited to announce open enrollment for the new, five-part, Continuing Education Series ‘Honest, Open, Proud’ (HOP)! Register for these online modules and complete the series at your convenience! For more information about HOP, click here. To enroll in the HOP Modules, you need to create an account on the APS website. To get started, click here. HOP Modules 1 through 4 are eligible for 5 hours of Continuing Education (CE) credit toward the maintenance of the NYS Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) credential. To apply credits earned from these modules to another certification or credential, consult your certification/credentialing entity.”
OPPORTUNITIES
Braver Collective Seeks Young Adult Survivors of Sexual Trauma for “Reflecting Pool”; and Survivor Space Offers Resources for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Allies
The Braver Collective, an inclusive healing community “built by, with, and for survivors of sexual trauma,” is recruiting “a group of six to 10 young adult (ages 18 - 34) survivors, called Reflectors, who meet online five times annually to provide feedback on the Braver Collective platform.” “Reflectors commit to attending five sessions (two hours each) over six months [from June to December, 2025], for which they may be compensated up to $600.” For more information and to apply, click here. For Survivor Space, described as “a safe space where adult survivors of child sexual abuse and those who care about them can learn from other survivors; find information on new rights under the law; focus on self-care and resiliency; read survivor stories; explore civil litigation; access national resources and institutional programs; and connect with others to learn about and discuss a wide range of topics,” click here. (Courtesy of Surviving Spirit newsletter)
August 15 Is the Deadline to Apply for the CURESZ 2025 Mental Health Essay Awards
The CURESZ Foundation is offering two $500 prizes — to an author age 25 or younger and to an author age 25 or older, respectively — for the two best articles related to serious mental health conditions. The essays should be between 1,000 and 1,500 words. The winning articles will be published in CURESZ News, and the authors will have the opportunity to collaborate with the CURESZ Foundation to possibly publish a similar article in a peer-reviewed medical/ scientific journal. A runner-up in each category will be awarded $250. For the submission guidelines and instructions, click here.
Take the Ice Bucket Challenge to Benefit Active Minds
“Ice Bucket Challenge Returns with New Focus on Mental Health” is the headline of an NBC News article. The “viral fundraising campaign that raised millions for ALS research in 2014 has been reimagined by students at the University of South Carolina to tackle a new issue: mental health awareness. The Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) club’s #SpeakYourMIND campaign adapts the challenge’s format to raise funds for Active Minds, a nonprofit whose mission is to mobilize youth and change mental health norms. Participants pour ice water over themselves, post the videos and nominate others to join — all while emphasizing the importance of speaking candidly about mental health. The campaign … has attracted participation from high-profile figures such as former NFL players Peyton Manning and Emmanuel Sanders.” As of July 20, 2025, the campaign has raised $438,384. For more information, click here.
“First-of-Its-Kind Youth Mental Health Corps Trains Young People to Help Their Peers”
“The Youth Mental Health Corps is a collaborative initiative that supports youth mental health in schools and communities while giving over 500 young adults on-ramps into behavioral health careers,” according to its home page. “Young people receive training to work in the community, get a stipend and credentials, and help tackle the youth mental health crisis, the ‘defining public health issue of our time,’” NBC News reports. “The public/private partnership is backed by AmeriCorps, the federal agency for volunteering and national service,” along with other funding sources. According to a Youth Mental Health Corps web page, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, and Texas are current state participants; California, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Utah, and Virginia are planning for a Fall 2025 launch. (While the NBC article calls the initiative the “first of its kind,” half of all Youth MOVE chapters offer informal youth peer support programs (click here); Active Minds has a “near peer mentoring program (click here); and there are many other organizations that sponsor youth peer support. For example, click here and click here.)
Mad in America Invites You to Share Your “Song of the Week”!
“Mad in America wants to know what songs you listen to that relate to your experience of psychiatry, or your thoughts and opinions about it. Check out the Staff Recommendations that have been published over the last few months and add your own by submitting here. Your song may be featured in our Song of the Week highlight and shared on Mad in America’s social media!” For previous songs of the week and the reasons for submitting them, click here.
TU Collaborative Wants to Hear Your Story!
“We are working on a project to better understand social connections among adults with significant mental health challenges,” the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion writes. “We are seeking your stories on your social connections generally” and “what those connections mean to you.” The TU Collaborative will compile these stories based on a series of brief surveys. For details and to share your story, click here.
Mad In America Invites You to Submit Your Personal Story (Within Certain Guidelines)
Mad In America writes: “A ‘personal story’ is defined as your story of being in relationship to psychiatry and/or the mental health system, whatever that means to you. It might involve your opinions and analysis of what happened to you, as well. It can be about a specific event, or about your overall journey, provided it fits the length requirements (1,500 to 3,000 words) and has a narrative arc. The piece should be about your personal experiences, not psychiatry or the mental health system in general. Submissions should fall under the theme of rethinking psychiatry and the mental health system, and should be original works not previously published elsewhere. For examples of the types of stories we publish, view our personal stories archive here.” For more information and/or to submit a personal story, click here.
Hearing Voices Network Is Now Hosting Online Groups
“There are now ONLINE opportunities to connect, share experiences, and find mutual support,” the Hearing Voices Network (HVN) writes. “These groups are accessible via web-based platforms and by phone…Online groups are specifically for those with personal lived experience with hearing voices, seeing visions, and/or negotiating alternative realities. They are voice-hearer facilitated. With further questions and for details on how to access the group[s], please email info@hearingvoicesusa.org.” To read this announcement online and for more information, click here.
Virtual Group Works to Advance Peer Research Capacity, Leadership, and Involvement
Nev Jones, PhD—a strong advocate for building research capacity, leadership, and involvement among peers, survivors, and service users—leads a virtual group dedicated to this effort. Dr. Jones—assistant professor, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh—was part of the team that developed “User/Survivor Leadership & Capacity Building in Research: White Paper on Promoting Engagement Practices in Peer Evaluation/Research (PEPPER),” published by the Lived Experience Research Network. For the white paper, click here. Anyone interested in joining the virtual group can email Nev at nev.inbox@gmail.com.
“Are You a Leader with a CMHC? Partner with the Temple University Collaborative!”
“The Clinical Treatment Act is a new law to encourage participation of low-income and minoritized healthcare recipients in research as a matter of equity. The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion seeks to partner with community mental health centers (CMHCs) across the U.S. to help get information about current and future research studies to service recipients in various programs. In return we are also available to support your organization with free trainings and other supports. Please contact Professor Bryan McCormick (bryan.mccormick@temple.edu) about this important partnership opportunity.” To read this announcement online, click here.
NEWS ABOUT RESEARCH STUDIES
“Antipsychotics Do Not Provide a Clinically Meaningful Benefit Over the Short-Term: A Review of the Evidence”
“Seventy years of RCTs [Randomized Controlled Trials] have failed to provide evidence that antipsychotics provide a clinically meaningful benefit for treating acute psychotic episodes” is the subhead of a June 21, 2025, Mad In America article by acclaimed investigative journalist Robert Whitaker. One of the takeaways of the detailed article is that, “[w]hile there have been hundreds of RCTs in chronic psychotic patients that have found that antipsychotics provide a statistically significant benefit over placebo in terms of reducing symptoms, the drug-placebo difference in these studies does not rise to the level of a ‘minimum clinically important difference.’” For the article, click here.
Older Adults Who Stop Taking Antipsychotics Have Better Outcomes, Study Shows
A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry has found that older adults who discontinue taking antipsychotic drugs (after being given them for “behavioral control” in the hospital) experience better outcomes than those who continue taking the drugs. “Those who discontinued antipsychotics (APMs) had lower rates of rehospitalization, delirium, dangerous falls, urinary tract infections, and death.” For an article about the study in Mad In America, click here.
“For Some Women With Serious Physical Ailments, Mental Illness Has Become a Scapegoat Diagnosis”
More than a third of women who have endometriosis are misdiagnosed with mental health conditions such as anxiety or bipolar disorder, according to a recent article in Smithsonian magazine. Many women “with lupus and other autoimmune diseases have similar stories, with another study finding that 36 percent of patients reported misdiagnoses of mental health or ‘medically unexplained symptoms.’ ” To do better, doctors need to be better trained in diagnosing mental health conditions, learn to listen more attentively to their patients, and be willing to “embrace uncertainty,” experts say. For the article, click here.
“Researchers: ‘We Do Not Suggest’ Antipsychotics for Depression’ ”
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several antipsychotic drugs as an augmentation strategy for ‘treatment-resistant depression,’ including aripiprazole (Abilify), quetiapine (Seroquel), and olanzapine (Zyprexa). But in a new study, researchers found that these drugs were no better than trying another antidepressant—and that they come with increased risk of death.” For the article, in Mad In America, click here. For the Mad In America weekly newsletter, June 16, 2025, click here.
“Emotional Freedom Technique: Research Supports Benefits of Tapping for Mental Health”
“Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as “tapping,” is a method that some individuals have found helpful in managing their emotions,” Purdue University writes. “During EFT, individuals tap certain points on their body – similar to the points used during acupuncture.” “What Is Tapping for Anxiety?” gives some details. “In November 2022, the Tapping School shared an article titled “Why tapping should be avoided: Are the rumors true?” In short, the article debunks the myths surrounding avoiding tapping as a method to help certain behavioral health issues and concerns.” For EFT International’s Free Tapping Manual and other tapping resources, click here for the Purdue University news release.
“Guns Kill More U.S. Children Than Other Causes, But State Policies Can Help, Study Finds” and “Judges Are Throwing Out Gun Restrictions Because of Antiquated Laws From America’s Founding”
“More American children and teens die from firearms than any other cause, but there are more deaths — and wider racial disparities — in states with more permissive gun policies, according to a new study, in JAMA Pediatrics, [which] analyzes trends in state firearm policies and kids’ deaths since 2010, after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago. The ruling struck down the city’s handgun ban, clearing the way for many states to make it easier for people to buy and carry guns,” Stateline reports. In the most permissive states, the largest increase in deaths occurred among Black children. At the same time, four states with strict firearm regulations saw statistical decreases in children’s gun deaths. And for “Musket vs. AR-15: Judges Are Throwing Out Gun Restrictions Because of Antiquated Laws From America’s Founding,” in The Trace, click here. For the Stateline article, click here. And for “11 (More) Books to Help You Understand Gun Violence in the U.S.,” also in The Trace, click here.
“Have We Been Wrong About ‘Psychopaths’?”
“The author of a new book says there is little science behind a diagnosis that pervades criminal justice systems across the U.S. Rasmus Rosenberg Larsen says that reliance on this personality disorder by police and prosecutors in criminal cases skews the system toward harsher punishments. At the heart of his argument is what he considers the flawed use of the so-called ‘Psychopath Test,’ a checklist often used by courts to help determine when a person is entitled to parole or deserving of a capital sentence.” For the article, by The Marshall Project, click here.
“Study Finds Addictive Screen Use, Not Total Screen Time, Linked to Youth Suicide Risk”
“New research shows that youth who become increasingly addicted to social media, mobile phones or video games are at greater risk of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and emotional or behavioral issues.” The study, published June 18, 2025, in JAMA, “demonstrated that the total amount of time spent on social media, mobile phones and video games was not associated with future suicide-related or mental health outcomes. What mattered most was how youth were engaging with screens — especially whether their use showed signs of compulsion, distress or loss of control.” For more information, click here.
Researchers Study “Nature-based Social Interventions for People Experiencing Loneliness: The Rationale and Overview of the RECETAS Project”
“Loneliness is a major social concern with health consequences worldwide for populations across different demographic, cultural, social, economic, geographic, and environmental contexts,” according to researchers studying the RECETAS (Reimagining Environments for Connection and Engagement: Testing Actions for Social Prescribing in Natural Spaces) model in six cities across three continents, including Europe (Barcelona, Helsinki, Marseille, Prague), Australia (Melbourne), and South America (Cuenca). For the full article about the study, click here.
Closing the Healthcare Worker Shortage Gap Could “Avert 189 Million Years of Life Lost to Early Death and Disability and Boost the Global Economy by $1.1 Trillion.”
“A global shortage of at least 10 million healthcare workers is expected in 2030, according to the World Health Organization, with upper estimates at over 78 million.” This is an excerpt from a new report, “Heartbeat Of Health: Reimagining The Healthcare Workforce Of The Future.” Closing the gap “will require transforming healthcare service delivery — reimagining who provides healthcare, how services are delivered, and where care is accessed.” For the report, by the McKinsey Health Institute, click here. (Courtesy of Howard Trachtman)
“Since 988 Launch, Mental Health Crisis Services Have Faltered”; and 988 “Fails the People” in Other Ways
“While calls to the national hotline have continued to increase, fewer psychiatric facilities are offering emergency psychiatric walk-in services, mobile crisis response units, and suicide prevention services,” according to JAMA Psychiatry, STAT has reported. Of the four services monitored, peer support is the only one that has become more available. For the STAT article, click here. See also “The Problem with 988: How America’s Largest Hotline Violates Consent, Compromises Safety, and Fails the People,” a 108-page report that covers how “many crisis hotlines, including all crisis centers within the 988 network, have evolved to adopt policies and practices that compromise the safety, privacy, and autonomy of those seeking help.” For the free report, click here.
“New Study Exposes the Trauma of Involuntary Psychiatric Detention”
“A recent study highlights the negative experiences of involuntary psychiatric hospital admissions, revealing deep-seated issues of racism, discrimination, and lack of support within the mental healthcare system,” Mad In America (MIA) reports. For the MIA article, which includes a link to the Open Access study published in BMC Psychiatry, click here. In addition, studies have shown that “in the week following discharge from a psychiatric hospital, people are at a dramatically high risk for suicide.” For “Suicide Risk in Relation to Psychiatric Hospitalization,” click here.
“Patients on These Antidepressants Were More Likely to Gain Weight, Study Says” and Other Information to Consider Before Taking Antidepressants
A recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine analyzed the data of 183,118 individuals across eight U.S. health systems from 2010 to 2019. It found that some antidepressants were associated with more weight gain than others. Although a correlation with weight gain doesn’t mean the drug directly caused the weight gain, there are still many reasons to be wary of taking antidepressants. Previous editions of the Key Update included “Antidepressants Could Trigger Some Cases of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”: click here; “Warning Over Antidepressants as Top Experts Say They May Raise Risk of Suicide”: click here; “Antidepressants associated with increased risk of suicidal thoughts in healthy adults”; click here; “Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit”: click here; and “Psychotherapy Without Antidepressants Shows Best Results for Depression”; click here. And for the “Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs,” click here.
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
A Survey on “Shared Decision-Making and Medication Use in Psychiatry: Patient Autonomy and Well-Being” Seeks Responses from Care Providers and Researchers
“This research forms part of a doctoral thesis and a broader academic effort to explore patient autonomy and contribute to the ethical evolution of mental health care in Spain. The project focuses on examining the feasibility, clinical value, and operational barriers surrounding shared decision-making and deprescribing practices in psychiatric services, with particular attention to the lived realities and informed perspectives of those actively engaged in the field.” For more information, and the survey, click here. (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova)
UMass Researchers Seek “Young Adults with Mental Health Conditions, Especially Those Who Have Been Marginalized”
Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research at UMass Chan Medical School is recruiting for its “How Do YOU Do Community?” research study “to better understand how young adults [18-30] with mental health conditions, especially those who have been marginalized, define and experience community participation since COVID-19.” Eligible subjects will “participate in a one-time Zoom interview (up to 90 minutes) with a young adult interviewer, receive a $30 Visa e-gift card, and contribute to research on the needs of young adults who have been marginalized and whose voices are underrepresented in research.” For more information and to take an eligibility survey, click here.
Researchers Seek to Understand Experiences with Crisis Intervention Services for Psychological and/or Emotional Distress
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis write: “These services can range from police and 911, 988, and other crisis lines [to] emergency departments, inpatient psychiatric facilities, mobile crisis units, and peer respites. We are recruiting people who have direct lived experience as patients/recipients or providers/clinicians of these types of interventions and those with indirect experience as loved ones to participate in a brief survey and, if eligible and able, an online focus group. Participants will be eligible to receive a $50 gift card if they complete a 1.5-hour focus group. For a 5-minute screening survey, click here. At the end of the survey, you will be asked if you are interested in participating in a 90-minute focus group and will be asked for contact information to facilitate scheduling.”
You Are Invited to Complete a Survey About Helpful and Harmful Mental Health Services
Survivors And Families Empowered for Recovery (SAFE 4 Recovery), “a coalition of psychiatry survivors, families, and mental health professionals who believe in the power of hope and the resilience of the human spirit,” invites psychiatric survivors, family members, service providers, researchers, and others to respond to a survey about their “past experiences with mental health services. What was helpful? What was harmful?” SAFE 4 Recovery writes: “We launch this website to challenge a mental health service system that too often does more harm than good with its absolute reliance on models of care and treatment based on faulty archaic principles.” The website also includes information about “common myths about mental illness that interfere with mental and emotional healing,” and articles including “Confessions of a Noncompliant Patient,” by movement pioneer Judi Chamberlin, and “Never Give Up,” by Ron Bassman, a SAFE 4 Recovery founder. For the website and to respond to the survey, click here.
Hey, Parents/Caregivers & Youth/Young Adults: “Lifting Voices” Needs Your Voice!
Lifting Voices – a coalition of youth, young adult, and family voices – is seeking parents/caregivers and youth/young adults (ages 12-25) to respond, respectively, to two targeted surveys. The goal is “to learn more from those with lived experience about mental health and substance use disorder recovery needs, barriers, what has worked, and what actionable change is needed now, in order to improve the quality of care, advance innovation, and promote equitable access for all,” the organizers write. For the Lifting Voices home page and links to the two surveys, click here. For key principles, goals, and objectives, click here. For a media kit, click here.
TU Collaborative Launches Peer Decision Coaching Research Study
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion writes: “Are you a young adult 18-30 living with a mental health condition? Are you interested in receiving support with making decisions about things you want to do in the community, such as working, going to school, and doing things for fun? We are looking for participants for our Peer Decision Coaching research study!” Peer Decision Coaching is provided by a peer specialist who will talk with you via videoconference about a decision related to your community participation and what could be done to help you with decision-making. Participants will participate in 2 research interviews and participate in the study intervention for 1-3 months. Participants will be compensated with electronic gift cards: $25 for the baseline interview and $30 for the post-intervention interview. Interested? Call 215.204.1699, text 215.664.2870, or email pdc@temple.edu
Lived Experience in Clinical Mental Health Education Survey Project Is Recruiting
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are conducting a study to understand students’ experiences of postsecondary courses on “mental illness/psychiatric disorders.” “We are interested in experiences at all levels (undergraduate, graduate, doctoral), including fields such as psychology, counseling, and social work.” If you are 18+, a current or former student who has taken at least one class in a U.S. college or university pertaining to the understanding, diagnosis, and/or treatment of mental health conditions, and have at least one diagnosed mental health condition that has been covered in a course you took, you are eligible to participate. (There is no monetary compensation.) Questions? Callie Bennet, MSW (CJC204@pitt.edu or 412.525.7375, or Nev Jones, PhD (nevjones@pitt.edu). For the survey, click here.
UIC Is Recruiting for a Research Study on Enhancing Immune Health
Do you want to work on habits to enhance your immune health? University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is testing a program where you work with a personal virtual instructor to learn about immune health and how it can be strengthened. People in the study have a 50/50 chance of entering the new program OR getting an incentive, but everyone will be paid $135 for completing 3 study interviews. To find out if you are eligible, contact enhanceimmune@gmail.com or text 312-725-2966. (Courtesy of Peggy Swarbrick via Jacek Haciak)
Peer Workers Sought for Participation in Doctoral Research
A PhD candidate in the College of Nursing at the University of Central Florida is "seeking to interview peer workers about their professional roles, experiences as part of an interdisciplinary team, and how that role impacts their lives and recovery. [The researcher] would love the opportunity to include peers who are active in advocating for the value peers bring to a recovery experience. Participation involves an approximately one-hour long interview over Zoom. Those who complete the interview will be compensated $30 for their time." To screen for the study, click here. (Courtesy of the N.A.P.S. News Brief)
Latina/o/e/x or Hispanic Volunteers with a Diagnosis of Psychosis Are Sought
University of Pittsburgh and University of Texas/Dallas researchers write: “We are looking for individuals who have been given a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis to participate in a study on everyday social situations. The study will involve a 90-minute virtual interview via Zoom. We will NOT ask you to change medications or any part of your treatment. We will ask you about your Latina/o/e/x culture and have you perform various tasks (for example, answering questions about pictures of people). You will be paid $50 for your time and participation.” Interested? Click here. (Courtesy of Nev Jones)
Researchers Seek Input on “Understanding Psychosis in Asian Diasporas”
“Individuals from Asian diasporas have unique experiences, concerns, challenges, and opportunities when engaging with mental health care in the United States,” University of Pittsburgh researchers write. “This study seeks to interview Asian and Pacific Islander (API) individuals who have experienced psychosis or been diagnosed with a psychotic disorder. The perspectives of the API community are essential to understanding their experiences and creating meaningful supports.” For more information, click here. (Courtesy of Nev Jones)
Learn How to Engage in More Meaningful Activities! Join the TU Collaborative’s Research Study.
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion writes: “We are looking for individuals who are willing to participate in a six-month intervention to get out of the house and engage in more meaningful activities; who are available to meet on the day the intervention takes place; who are experiencing significant mental health issues; who live in the U.S.; and who are at least 18 years old. If you are interested in participating, please contact switch@temple.edu. You may be eligible for compensation of up to $440 for your time and effort.”
Are You Interested in Pursuing Graduate School and/or a Research Career? Read Below.
Stephania Hayes (UC Davis), Shannon Pagdon (Columbia/NYS Psychiatric Institute/University of Pittsburgh), and Nev Jones (University of Pittsburgh) write: “We are gathering information from people with lived experience in the Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) or early psychosis space (including peer specialists, current/former CSC participants, and CSC youth coordinators) who are potentially interested in pursuing graduate school and/or a research career. All of us identify as having lived experience, work in CSC, and are invested in supporting the next generation of scholars who also have lived experience. We would like to create a discussion group and/or other supports for people interested in this career path. The link below leads to a very brief survey that will help us understand the level of interest in such supports, as well as areas of career interest. (Please note that this is not a research study.)” To participate in the anonymous survey, click here.
“Help Us Map the Landscape of Lived Experience and Family Involvement in 988 Policy and Related Crisis Response System Planning!”
“As 988 implementation rolls out alongside additional efforts to strengthen crisis response systems throughout the U.S., it's important to gauge the extent to which direct stakeholders (i.e., individuals who use or have used mental health crisis services and their families) have been involved in related policy, implementation and evaluation at the local, regional, state or federal levels. To map out involvement nationally, Mental Health America (lead: Kelly Davis), Nev Jones (University of Pittsburgh) and Keris Myrick (National Association of Peer Supporters) have developed a survey aimed at documenting the extent of stakeholder involvement, the forms this involvement has taken, and, where available, what concerns stakeholders have raised. Any individual with knowledge of lived experience and family involvement is eligible to participate; individuals completing the survey do not have to have lived experience themselves.” For more information and to access the survey, click here.
Peer Support in Higher Education Survey Seeks Respondents
“Peer support programs are growing on college campuses across the U.S. Mental Health America, Doors to Wellbeing, and the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion want to better understand the availability of peer support in higher education as well as the experiences and needs of students accessing peer support programs…We hope to use this research to support the expansion of peer support in higher education, including developing a national database of peer support programs in higher education and documenting pressing issues in campus programs…You may also indicate if you are interested in having your school’s peer support program listed in a national database of peer support programs in higher education.” For more information and to complete the survey, click here.
Supported Education Survey Needs Your Help
Do you operate a program that provides dedicated supported education services for individuals with psychiatric disabilities/mental health conditions? If so, you are invited to complete the survey at the link below. The primary goal of the survey is to help create a National Supported Education Database (NSEdD) that will be "a searchable listing of diverse supported education programs and services for individuals experiencing psychiatric disabilities and/or mental health challenges...across the US and its territories." The NSEdD project is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and co-administered by the five SAMHSA-funded national consumer and consumer-supporter technical assistance centers, in collaboration with research partners Drs. Nev Jones (University of Pittsburgh) and Mark Salzer (Temple University). For a link to the survey, which includes a definition of supported education, click here. For a flyer with information about the survey, click here.
National Survey on Student Rights, Discrimination, and Accommodations in Higher Education Seeks Respondents
"Have you experienced psychiatric disability-based discrimination or the denial of an accommodation in a postsecondary institution in the United States? Interested in informing national advocacy focus on psych disability rights in higher ed? Mental Health America (lead: Kelly Davis) and collaborators Dr. Nev Jones (University of Pittsburgh), Stefanie Kaufman-Mthimkhulu (Project LETS) and Brit Vanneman Esq. (Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law) have developed "a survey aimed at providing a more comprehensive understanding of student experiences of campus-based discrimination, mandated leaves of absence, and/or denial of academic, administrative and/or student-work accommodations in the U.S. Data will be used to inform national advocacy efforts and future projects, and in reports, presentations and publications." For eligibility and to access the survey, click here.
If You've Had, or Been Labeled with, "Negative Symptoms" in the Context of Psychosis...
"If you have experienced or been labeled with 'negative symptoms' in the context of psychosis, please consider contributing an anonymous account of your views and experiences," Dr. Nev Jones writes. "Currently, there is nowhere one can go to find lived experience perspectives/ accounts on this topic—even though 'negative symptoms' regularly feature in research and clinical trials. Help us change this!" This survey is a companion to Psychosis Outside the Box; for a publication in Psychiatric Services about “Psychosis Outside the Box: A User-Led Project to Amplify the Diversity and Richness of Experiences Described as Psychosis,” click here. For more information and/or to share your story about "negative symptoms," click here.
“Are You Between the Ages of 21 and 60 and Drink Alcohol?”
"Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are seeking adults--[both smokers and non-smokers]--to study whether a gene and smoking may affect drinking alcohol. Volunteers should be healthy and drug-free, and not seeking treatment for alcohol-related problems. Research participation includes three outpatient visits at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD; alcohol consumption; brain scans (MRI), blood draws, and filling out questionnaires. There is no cost to participate and compensation may be provided." For more information, click here. (Courtesy of Fran Hazam)
TU Collaborative Seeks Participants for Its Parenting Through Leisure Project; See Also the TU Collaborative's Parenting Resources, Including Information on Custody Issues
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion is seeking parents with lived experience of a mental health condition to participate in a paid research study. The TU Collaborative writes: "Our program, Parenting Through Leisure, focuses on helping parents with a serious mental illness participate in leisure activities with their child. We are looking for individuals who are 18 and older; are an adult parent with a diagnosis of schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, or depression; have a child who is 7 to 15 years old and is interested in participating in family leisure with you; have legal visitation rights, joint custody or full custody of the child, with at least weekly contact; and have a desire to engage in more leisure activities with their child." For details about the study and the remuneration as well as other benefits to eligible participants, and a link to sign up, click here. Questions? Please contact TUCollab@temple.edu. And for the TU Collaborative's Parenting web page--which includes links to many resources for parents with lived experience, including information about custody laws and a model family reunification statute--click here.
Survey Seeks Respondents Who Are in Administrative/ Leadership Positions in the Mental Health Field
If you are in an administrative/leadership position in the mental health arena, “the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP) Committee on Psychiatric Administration and Leadership invites you to participate in the International Survey on Administrative Psychiatry. The survey has two purposes: 1. To identify the concerns and needs of mental health professionals/psychiatrists in administrative and leadership positions. 2. To determine training needs in administrative psychiatry. We ask you to complete this brief, [15- to 20-minute] questionnaire to help us in developing recommendations for action. We also want to let you know that, if you fill out this questionnaire, you permit the committee to use your anonymous data for scientific work.” Peer providers are included. For the survey, click here. (Courtesy of Oryx Cohen)
RESOURCES
“Involuntary Commitment and Forced Psychiatric Drugging in the Trial Courts: Rights Violations as a Matter of Course”
This article by Jim Gottstein begins with this statement in the Introduction: “The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (“PsychRights”) was founded to mount a strategic litigation campaign against forced psychiatric drugging and electroshock in the United States. The impetus was the book “Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill,” by Robert Whitaker. PsychRights recognized this as a possible roadmap for demonstrating to the courts that forced psychiatric drugging is not achieving its objectives but is, instead, inflicting massive amounts of harm.” For the 55-page article, click here. Jim Gottstein is also the author of The Zyprexa Papers.
“Report on Improving Mental Health Outcomes” Is a Great Resource
The Report’s Executive Summary begins: “The mental health system’s standard treatments are colossally counterproductive and harmful, often forced on unwilling patients. The overreliance on psychiatric drugs is reducing the recovery rate of people diagnosed with serious mental illness from a possible 80% to 5% and reducing their life spans by 20 years or so…” To download the free, 55-page report — by James B. (Jim) Gottstein, Esq.; Peter C. Gøtzsche, MD; David Cohen, PhD; Chuck Ruby, PhD; and Faith Myers — click here. (Note: The Report is intended to be used by advocates and is a modification of an earlier "White Paper," without the Alaska-specific information that it included. The "White Paper" was first included in the Key Update in April 2023, and in every subsequent edition in the “…But Still Fresh!” Department.)
“A Wellness Model Developed By and For Individuals With Lived Experience”
An article in Psychiatric Services by Peggy Swarbrick, Lasheema Sanders-Edwards, and Rita Cronise “explores the use of a wellness model developed by and for individuals with lived experience of mental health or substance use conditions. An overview of the model, including its development and rationale, is provided along with examples of the effective use of tools based on the wellness model. The use of this approach among members of a community wellness center is described. Firsthand experiences of the authors are used to illustrate their personal journeys in using the model for their own recovery and in peer support work.” For the Abstract and information about how to gain full access to the article, click here. (Courtesy of Rev. Luke A. Shootingstar)
“Inpatient Stays Involving Mental and Substance Use Disorders, 2016”
A 20-page report by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, dated March 2019 — “Inpatient Stays Involving Mental and Substance Use Disorders, 2016” — found that “[i]n 2016, nearly 10 million inpatient stays had a principal (2.2 million) or secondary (7.7 million) MSUD [mental and/or substance use disorder] diagnosis, constituting 6.1 and 21.7 percent of all inpatient stays, respectively. In total, stays principally for MSUDs cost $15.3 billion (3.6 percent of total hospital costs). On average, stays for MSUDs cost $7,100 and were 6.4 days.” For the report, click here. (Courtesy of Michelle Colder Carras)
Guides for Journalists Help Them Report About Homelessness and Many Other Topics
ProPublica and Street Sense Media, among other organizations, offer tips about how to report responsibly about homelessness. ProPublica writes, “We’ve compiled some of the tips and lessons we learned from our sources for other reporters pursuing this coverage.” For the ProPublica article, click here. Meanwhile, Street Sense Media writes about its Homeless Crisis Reporting Project: “This guide is a work in progress. … It contains what we believe are the core tenets journalists should keep in mind while reporting on homelessness. We would love to have your feedback.” For The Homeless Crisis Reporting Project, click here. At the same time, Montclair State University’s Center for Cooperative Media has compiled tips for reporters on a wide array of topics, including (alphabetically) but not limited to “Abortion rights,” “Adoption,” “Authoritarian Playbook,” “Copaganda,” “Covering Climate,” “Disabilities,” “Gender Identity,” “Incarcerated People,” and many others, including “Making News Websites Accessible to All”! For the guides, click here.
MHA Has Published a Spanish-language Edition of “Where to Start”
MHA writes that its “Where to Start” publication helps individuals with mental health challenges find some direction and resources. For “Donde Empezar,” for $12.99, click here. For “Where to Start” in English, for $19.99, click here.
“Guide to Peer Involvement & Leadership in Early Intervention in Psychosis Services: From Planning to Peer Support & Evaluation”
The goal of this guide is to provide a range of different stakeholders with information and best practices for peer support and leadership in early intervention for psychosis (EIP) services. There are sections on planning and policy, clinician education, peer support, and evaluation/research. It includes multiple interviews/Q&As with area experts as well as profiles or exemplary programs and initiatives. To download the 106-page manual, by Nev Jones, PhD, click here.
Psychotropic Deprescribing Council Addresses the Rational Deprescribing and Tapering of Psychotropic Drugs
“The Psychotropic Deprescribing Council was founded to bring clinicians, other healthcare professionals, patients, and the general public together to address the rational deprescribing and tapering of psychotropic drugs,” its website says. “Although prescribing psychotropic drugs is common, doctors receive little guidance on how to safely reduce or stop them. Many millions are at risk for sudden discontinuation of drugs such as antidepressants, benzodiazepines, or pain drugs. The Psychotropic Deprescribing Council will gather medical professionals and the public to provide guidance about the process of deprescribing and tapering off these medications when appropriate.” For the website, click here. (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova) For other information about tapering off psychotropic medication, see the Ashton Manual (click here) and the “Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs” (click here.) And for Surviving Antidepressants, “a community of volunteers providing peer support for tapering all psychiatric drugs and their withdrawal syndromes, click here. And “Do Benzodiazepines Cause Alzheimer’s Disease?” Short answer: More research is needed. “Until then, we must assume that appropriate use of benzodiazepines will not lead to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.” For the American Journal of Psychiatry editorial (2020), click here. For the free 234-page “Joint Clinical Practice Guideline on Benzodiazepine Tapering: Considerations when Benzodiazepine Risks Outweigh Benefits,” click here.
“Guide to Equity Terminology: Promoting Behavioral Health Equity through the Words We Use”
“Equitable terminology refers to consciously selecting words that promote inclusivity and respect while also considering who is represented and who is absent from the conversation. It is built on the following guiding principles: person-centered, strengths-based, non-stigmatizing, ever-evolving.” For the brief, free, guide, click here. (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova)
These Six Books Can Help Ease Interpersonal Tensions
A recent New York Times article, “Some People Are Just Difficult. Here’s How to Handle Them,” recommended six books that might help. The Times writes, “We asked therapists, psychologists and other workplace experts to recommend books that can help you get along with difficult people — or at least disagree with them more constructively. Here are six titles that rose to the top of the list.” For those who are blocked by the Times paywall, here are the books, with links: “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” “Why Won’t You Apologize? Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts,” “The Asshole Survival Guide: How to Deal with People Who Treat You Like Dirt,” “The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter—And How to Make the Most of Them Now,” “Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most,” and “The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life.”
LAC Coalition for Whole Health “Protect Medicaid” Report Provides One-Pagers; and National Health Law Program offers “Medicaid Defense”
“Proposed funding cuts and other changes to Medicaid would be devastating for the millions of Americans with mental and/or substance use disorders who depend on the program for access to critical health services,” the Legal Action Center Coalition for Whole Health writes. For its report highlighting “the direct and critical benefits of Medicaid — particularly for individuals with mental illness and/or substance use disorders — through data and beneficiary testimonials, making the case for Congress to oppose all funding cuts and other changes that would reduce access to this lifeline program,” click here. For one-pagers “developed by the Coalition for Whole Health to document the essential role that Medicaid plays in each state,” click here. For the National Health Law Program’s “Medicaid Defense – Resources and Analysis,” click here. (Courtesy of Ron Manderscheid via Alliance Enews)
“WHO Guidance on Mental Health Policy and Strategic Action Plans”
“This publication provides a clear framework for strengthening leadership, governance, service delivery, and workforce capacity. It highlights mental health’s connection to social and structural determinants — such as poverty, housing, education, and employment — offering actionable strategies to address these, combat stigma and discrimination, and expand access to care. It emphasizes the crucial role of people with lived experience in shaping inclusive, responsive systems and advocates for cross-sector collaboration to deliver holistic support, integrating lifestyle, and physical health, psychological, social, and economic interventions while promoting well-being and prevention.” To download the free, 44-page document, click here. (Courtesy of Janet Paleo)
“Framework for an Ideal Behavioral Health System” and “Moving Toward a Human Rights Approach to Mental Health”
“This paper outlines HSRI’s framework for an ideal behavioral health system. The framework details associated system values, expectations, and practices.” For the Human Services Research Institute’s free 16-page paper, click here. (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova) And “[i]n the wake of current health, economic, and social justice crises, as experiences of trauma and loss multiply, mental health professionals have a crucial opportunity to recognize the human experience and rights of those suffering mental distress,” Jim Probert writes. For “Moving Toward a Human Rights Approach to Mental Health (2021),” click here.
NY Times Recommends “Five Books on Healing from Trauma” and Two More
A recent New York Times article suggested five “books that explore trauma” and “that can help us make sense of negative experiences.” For those blocked by the Times paywall, the books are “What Happened to You?” by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey, “No Bad Parts” by Richard C. Schwartz, “Trauma and Recovery” by Judith L. Herman, “Waking the Tiger” by Peter A. Levine with Ann Frederick, and “It Didn’t Start With You” by Mark Wolynn. Two additional books are “Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents,” by Dr. Lindsay C. Gibson; and “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma,” by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk.
“Capacity-Building Strategy for Next-Generation Mental Health Research: Embedding a National Network Infrastructure to Grow Mental Health Researcher Capabilities and Mental Health Lived-Experience Research Leaders”
“This perspective article describes a networked infrastructure for a capacity building strategy of the Australian-based ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation…In 2022, the Centre established the first national, cross-disciplinary mental health Next Generation Researcher Network, including a tailored Lived-Experience Research Collective with the aim to grow future research leaders and establish career pathways embedded within the research activities of the Centre.” For the article, published in BMJ Mental Health on March 24, 2025, click here.
“Cooking Up Youth Engagement” and Latest Edition of the Focus 2.0 Newsletter
The Café TA Center writes: “This document offers a ‘how-to’ for a group of youth, or an organization, to empower young people to plan and implement an engagement in which youth come together for a common purpose, whether it be training, advocacy around a specific issue, relationship-building, fun, entertainment, and connection, activity planning and delivery, or other youth-related activities. By following the right recipe, youth (and those who support youth) will understand how to plan and implement programming in a youth-driven manner that genuinely empowers the youth voice.” For the free 19-page guide, published by the Cafe TA Center and the Family Cafe, click here. And for the latest Focus newsletter, which includes many additional resources, click here.
“Journalists: How to Report on Deaths in Jails and Prisons”
The Marshall Project has created a toolkit for journalists who report on deaths in jails and prisons. They write: “When you get a tip about a death or multiple deaths in your local jail or prison, there are concrete steps you can take to start investigating.” (If you are not a journalist but are in contact with journalists, you can share the toolkit with them.) For the toolkit, click here. And for “How to Investigate Prison Staffing Trends in Your State: Our toolkit helps you report on how the widespread, long-term trend of declining prison staff affects both safety behind bars and state budgets,” click here.
PeerTAC Newsletter Offers Resources and Other Information
PeerTAC writes: “Welcome to the PeerTAC Newsletter! We will be featuring upcoming PeerTAC events and resources about the inclusion of Peer Support Services in MHOTRS (Mental Health Outpatient Treatment and Rehabilitative Service) programs. For questions or a request for technical assistance related to Peer Support Services, send us a message using the Ask PeerTAC feature on our website: https://peertac.org.” For the newsletter, click here.
SAMHSA Launches New Center for Addiction Recovery Support (CARS)
“The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Office of Recovery, in partnership with One World Recovery Network (OWRN), is excited to announce the launch of the new Center for Addiction Recovery Support (CARS). CARS is ready to provide essential training and technical assistance (TTA) to help organizations better support individuals facing substance use and co-occurring mental health challenges.” For details, click here. (Courtesy of Elizabeth R. Stone)
Café TA Center Issues Focus 2.0, Number 16
The latest edition of the Café TA Center newsletter, Focus 2.0, includes a link to a 20-page Resource Kit that “features a diverse collection of trainings, workshops, webinars, and other valuable key deliverables developed by statewide consumer network grantees and national Technical Assistance (TA) centers.” It also includes a “National Overview of the U.S. Certified Peer Specialist Workforce,” as well as other useful information. For Focus 2.0, click here.
“Tools and Tips for Navigating Conflict”
Spring Up writes: “...we often discuss how conflict can be a source of growth, transformation, and a critical site for putting our liberatory values into practice. We’d like to take this opportunity to share some of the core tools and frameworks we use to understand the root causes of conflicts and perceive more choices for how to respond. We know that being able to identify more choices and options is instrumental in living into freedom and de-escalation.” For the article, posted on Medium, click here.
“Forensic Peer Supervision: Supporting Peer Workers in Criminal Justice Settings”
PARfessionals writes: “This comprehensive reference textbook is specifically designed to equip Forensic Peer Supervisors with the requisite tools, knowledge, and best practices for effectively supervising Peer Recovery Support Workers (PSWs) within criminal justice settings. The primary objective is to ensure that supervision is not only effective but also supports the delivery of ethical, trauma-informed, and person-centered peer services across diverse environments, including halfway houses, drug courts, jails and prisons, and social service agencies. The textbook will be available for complimentary download on our official website starting March 13, 2025.” For the PARfessionals website, click here.
“Can Hearing About Someone Else’s Problems Fix Your Own?”
Fello is “a new app that pays people to tell their life stories to others going through the same stuff,” TIME magazine writes. “Fello and other platforms like it are selling something that humans have long gotten for free: peer support. ‘It’s something that people naturally do,’ says Kelly Davis, vice president of peer and youth advocacy at the nonprofit Mental Health America. ‘If you’re having a hard time, you often seek out someone else who went through something similar.’” For the TIME article, click here. For the Fello app, click here. (Courtesy of Braunwynn Franklin)
“Making a Difference in Your Community”
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion writes: “This weekly calendar and journal celebrates the stories of individuals with serious mental illness who have made a difference in their communities. These stories highlight the power of community participation to foster connection and a feeling of mattering. We’re inviting you to explore these stories and reflect on what inspires you to make a difference in your own community.” For the 191-page 2025 calendar, click here.
“Developing Community Participation Stories: Storytelling for StorySlams”
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion has a new storytelling manual, “Developing Community Participation Stories,” which is “your guide to crafting stories of community participation…Included in the manual is a brief background on storytelling research, key elements of community participation stories, and strategies for crafting stories. The manual has strategies to support individuals as well as for facilitating storytelling groups. The overarching aim is to support people to move beyond illness-focused narratives to highlight (and celebrate!) the diverse roles individuals occupy within their communities.” For more information and to download the manual, click here.
NCAPPS Begins 2025 by Offering a Multitude of Resources
The National Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices and Systems (NCAPPS) is ringing in the new year by offering many resources. For the NCAPPS offerings, click here.
“How Do I Find a Good Therapist?”
The American Psychological Association offers some questions to consider if you are looking to find a good therapist. For example, Is the therapist licensed? If you have health insurance, will it cover the therapy from this provider? Are there limits to the number of sessions covered by your insurance? For more information, click here.
“Peer Support and Resistance: Becky Brasfield’s Vision for Mental Health Justice”
Writer, policy researcher, advocate, and peer specialist Becky Brasfield is interviewed in a recent issue of Mad In America: “...Ms. Brasfield has dedicated her career to elevating the voices of service users and dismantling systemic inequities. Her lived experience with psychosis, combined with her leadership in peer support, has made her a powerful critic of traditional psychiatric models that often marginalize those they aim to help.” For the MIA article, click here. Also see “Why Lived Experience, Not Psychiatry, Is Now the New Authority in the Behavioral Health and Wellness Field.” This online publication, by Becky Brasfield, includes links to many additional resources. It is available here.
“Life expectancy and years of potential life lost in people with mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis”
“We aimed to systematically synthesize studies to estimate life expectancy and Years-of-Potential-Life-Lost (YPLL) in people with any and specific mental disorders across a broad spectrum of diagnoses,” the authors write. The interpretation of the results was that “[m]ental disorders are associated with substantially reduced life expectancy, which is transdiagnostic in nature, encompassing a wide range of diagnoses. Implementation of comprehensive and multilevel intervention approaches is urgently needed to rectify lifespan inequalities for people with mental disorders.” For the article, click here.
“A Reduction in Health Care Expenditures Linked to Mental Health Service Use Among Adults With Chronic Physical Conditions”
“The aim was to examine the impact of receipt of mental health services on health care expenditures for U.S. adults with major chronic physical conditions,” the authors write. The conclusions were that “[r]eceipt of mental health services was associated with a reduction in overall health care costs, particularly for office-based visits and prescribed medication, among adults with chronic physical conditions.” For the article click here.
“10 Tips for Incorporating Humor into Your Life”
“Incorporating humor into your daily life has many potential benefits,” Mental Health America (MHA) writes. For the potential benefits of humor and 10 tips for incorporating humor into your life, click here.
Materials from SAMHSA Webinar on “Financing Peer Crisis Respites in the U.S.” Are Now Available
The free report, webinar recording, and webinar slides from SAMHSA’s Webinar on “Financing Peer Crisis Respites in the United States” are now available online. To download the report and slides and view the webinar, click here. For many additional SAMHSA resources, click here. These resources are a product of the Center for Financing Reform and Innovation (CFRI), “a SAMHSA contract that seeks to understand financing mechanisms of behavioral health care to identify opportunities, innovations, and challenges to service delivery and access.”
“The Lived-Experience Research Collective Is a Research Capacity Building Initiative…
…of the ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation [in Australia]. The collective’s purpose is to provide tailored training, mentoring for mental health researchers with lived-experience (both individuals who identify as experiencing mental-ill health and carer/family, kinship group researchers), and lived-experience and carer/family kinship researchers located in community, government or non-government organisations. This includes a place to grow expertise and develop important career pathways in research settings. We do not ascribe to one definition of lived-experience and are inclusive for people who self-identify as having lived-experience.” For the website, click here. (Courtesy of Nev Jones)
“Breaking the Algorithm: Redesigning Social Media for Youth Well-being”
“Mental Health America’s latest report…dives deep into how social media is impacting young people’s mental health, relationships, and daily lives. Born from the Breaking the Algorithm summit and research project, this initiative was led and co-created by young people every step of the way…This report brings together insights from over 900 survey respondents, focus groups with young people, and conversations with our youth co-researchers…” For more information, click here. And to download the free 21-page report, click here.
SAMHSA Launches RecoverMe to Help Young Adults with Substance Use and Mental Health Issues
“SAMHSA is kicking off RecoverMe, a campaign that connects young adults (ages 18-25) to practical and affirming resources to help them navigate their unique challenges with substance use and mental health. RecoverMe provides tools, resources, and a supportive recovery community to help young adults on their personal recovery journey and highlights that recovery is not one size fits all…The RecoverMe Campaign Partner Toolkit page contains resources for partner organizations, including customizable social graphics, logos, a shareable badge and social media content, campaign one-pager, sample newsletter content, and more. For the RecoverMe website, click here. For the RecoverMe Campaign Partner Toolkit, click here. (Courtesy of Edie Mannion)
“Partnership between a consumer-led mental health research network and a large mental health research organisation: an Australian mixed methods case study”
“This paper presents a case study review of an Australian research partnership between an independent mental health lived experience-led research network and an academic organisation established for the research and treatment of [mental health] disorders….The aim of the study was to explore the principles and practical requirements needed for a successful partnership that promotes inclusive research practices and power sharing and provide a framework to improve the operationalization of future similar partnerships.” For the open-access study, click here. (Courtesy of Nev Jones)
“Recovery in the USA: From Politics to Peer Support”
“Efforts to transform the mental health service delivery system to a more consumer-driven and recovery-orientated approach has its roots in a somewhat radical anti-psychiatry and civil-rights movement dating back to the 1970s,” the authors write. “The recovery movement has evolved from a more radical view in the early days, to participatory involvement in systems, to returning to alternative models of care that are more independent. Now as more peer specialists work in systems, there is an increased emphasis on non-medical alternatives and the cycle continues. Regardless, recovery, self-determination, choice, etc. are always at the centre. This paper notes the interesting cycles of recovery-orientation and how they spin around the values/tenets of the movement’s early roots.” For the open-access paper, published in 2012, click here.
“Not Before Time: Lived Experience-Led Justice and Repair”
In May 2022, the Department of Health in Victoria, Australia, commissioned advice to the Minister for Mental Health on how their government could formally acknowledge harms in the mental health system. This became the State acknowledgement of harm project. For the free, 87-page report, “Not Before Time: Lived Experience-Led Justice and Repair,” subtitled “Advice to the Minister for Mental Health on Acknowledging Harm in the Mental Health System,” click here. For information on the context of the report, click here. (Courtesy of Nev Jones)
The Ethics International Press Critical Psychology and Critical Psychiatry Series Offers Its Books at Discounted Prices
“The Critical Psychology and Critical Psychiatry Series presents solicited chapters from international experts on a wide variety of underexplored subjects…The series recognizes and appreciates those who have contributed to the abundance of literature critiquing the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the biomedical model of mental health, and the practice of psychiatric diagnosing.” For more information and to order any of the books – “Critiquing the Psychiatric Model,” “Humane Alternatives to the Psychiatric Model,” “Theoretical Alternatives to the Psychiatric Model of Mental Disorder Labeling,” and “Practical Alternatives to the Psychiatric Model of Mental Illness” – click here. (Ordering via EIP is less expensive than ordering via Amazon.
SAMHSA Launches New Technical Assistance Center to Serve the Needs of Individuals with Serious Mental Health Conditions
On September 26, 2024, SAMHSA announced the launch of its new Serious Mental Illness Training & Technical Assistance Center (SMI TTAC), which “will build upon the work previously done through the SAMHSA-funded SMI Adviser,” according to a SAMHSA press release. “This project will be an invaluable source of information and resources for mental health clinicians, caregivers, advocates, and people living with SMI and early SMI,” the press release notes. For more information, click here.
“The Armory Project (TAP) Helps Prevent Firearm Suicides”
“The Armory Project (TAP) helps prevent firearm suicides by facilitating safe, voluntary, out-of-home firearm storage with trusted firearms dealers and other vetted partners in local communities. Firearm owners, including military members and veterans, now have more options whenever they need to get firearms out of the home, for any reason.” To learn more, click here.
“The Soteria Project Recounted by Mosher and Its Clinical Resonances Today”
“[T]here is today growing and promising scientific evidence validating the principles of the Soteria project. Undoubtedly, this would not have been possible without the pioneering work of [Loren] Mosher, who, imbued with the tenets of interpersonal phenomenology, shook the psychiatric establishment, leading others to follow the path that he had begun.” For the article, click here. (Courtesy of Peggy Swarbrick and Jim Gottstein) For more about Soteria, click here.
“2023 Disability Equality Index Report” and “Government-wide Strategic Plan to Advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce”
“The Disability Equality Index (DEI) has become the leading independent, third-party resource for benchmarking disability inclusion policies and programs inside corporate America, and is now trusted by more than 70% of the Fortune 100 and nearly half of the Fortune 500.” For more information and to download the free 25-page report, click here. On a different note, for the free 23-page “Government-wide Strategic Plan to Advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce” (2021), click here. And for “Government-wide DEIA: Our Progress and Path Forward to Building a Better Workforce for the American People” (2022 Annual Report), click here.
“Stress Reduction: Emotional Health and Wellness” and Results from a National Parenting Survey
“ ‘Stress Reduction: Emotional Health and Wellness’ discusses how you can reduce your stress by taking care of your mental and emotional health,” the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion writes. “Working at staying healthy emotionally will reduce your stress; it might improve your mental health so you have fewer symptoms or less of a need for emergency interventions.” For the 23-page document, targeted to parents, click here. The TU Collaborative continues: “Through research, we hope to better understand the challenges parents face and what supports may be necessary for improving parenting efficacy and overall well-being of parents with mental illnesses. Research from Dr. Katy Kaplan highlights some of the challenges parents with mental illnesses face.” For the visual abstract of the article, click here. For the article, click here. For the U.S. Surgeon General’s 36-page Advisory on the Mental Health & Well-Being of Parents, “Parents Under Pressure,” click here. (Note: “Parents Under Pressure” was included in the September-October 2024 Key Update.)
MHA Offers Complete Set of 2024 “Supporting Young Minds” Guides in Spanish
MHA writes: “Mental Health America’s 2024 Supporting Young Minds guides provide tools for youth to help them feel empowered to address their mental health and support each other. The guides also offer tools for adults to support young people as they explore and navigate complex situations and emotions [where] they live, learn, and play.” For the free guides, click here. For MHA’s complete collection of Spanish resources, click here.
“7 Memoirs Therapists Think You Should Read”
This New York Times article is about suggestions from “mental health experts on the stories that helped them and their patients through tough times.” For those who are blocked by the New York Times paywall, the seven memoirs are “An Unquiet Mind,” “Just Kids,” “The Glass Castle,” “Born to Run,” “Strangers to Ourselves,” “The Noonday Demon,” and “Wave.” For the New York Times article, click here.
“Therapists Share the 1 Tip That’s Changed Their Lives” and “The 7 Books Every Therapist Must Read”
TIME Magazine writes: “Being a therapist means listening to a lot of clients' problems. Between their schooling, reading, continuing-education requirements, workplace mentors, general curiosity, and learnings from patients, therapists are full of practical advice to improve mental health and well-being. But what’s the one mighty mental-health tip that stands out above all others? We tapped psychotherapists and psychologists for the single piece of advice that has changed their own lives for the better.” For the TIME article, click here. And for “The 7 Books Every Therapist Must Read,” click here.
“Listening to the Peer Support Workforce — Top Ten Priorities: An Action Agenda”
“Following more than six years of participatory action activities at peer support workforce conferences, three researchers and practitioners with lived experience — Jeremy Reuling, Rita Cronise, and Jessica Wolf — have developed this agenda identifying ten peer support workforce priorities with recommendations for action based on what they heard from members of the workforce,” the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion writes. For more information, and for the link to download the free, 46-page document, click here.
SAMHSA Offers a Recording of Its Webinar on Psychiatric Advance Directives, and Several Resources
For a link to SAMHSA’s webinar on “Psychiatric Advance Directives to Promote Community Living,” click here. For accompanying resources, click on each title: National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives (NRC-PAD); A Practical Guide to Psychiatric Advance Directives | SAMHSA; Psychiatric Advance Directives | Copeland Center; Olmstead v. L.C. Resources | SAMHSA; National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Early Serious Mental Illness | SAMHSA; Doors to Wellbeing PADs Resources and Webinars; Peer Recovery Center of Excellence; SAMHSA Program to Advance Recovery Knowledge (SPARK). (Courtesy of Mark Karmatz)
Here Are Four Articles That Debunk the “Chemical Imbalance” Theory
These four articles can be used to contradict the widespread but incorrect theory that mental health conditions are caused by a “chemical imbalance” in the brain. In "A Short Guide to Psychiatric Diagnosis," published by Mental Health Europe, it says: “Despite many, often misleading, reports in the media, scientists have yet to discover any genetic markers, chemical imbalances or other differences in brain function which reliably predict or identify mental illness. Clearly there are genetic differences which impact on the way we respond to life events, and distressing experiences can produce consequences in the chemistry of our brains, but this is not at all the same as suggesting that brain diseases ‘cause’ mental illnesses.” And here are three more articles that also debunk this “theory”: “Serotonin and depression: A disconnect between the advertisements and the scientific literature” (click here); “Psychiatry’s New Brain-Mind and the Legend of the “Chemical Imbalance” (click here); and “Is the chemical imbalance an ‘urban legend’? An exploration of the status of the serotonin theory of depression,” click here. (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova)
“Psychometric Adequacy of Recovery Enhancing Environment (REE) Measure: CHIME Framework as a Theory Base for a Recovery Measure”
“The aim of this study was to assess to what extent the recovery elements of the Recovery Enhancing Environment (REE) instrument measured the dimensions proposed by the CHIME framework, (Connectedness, Hope and optimism about future, Identity, Meaning in life and Empowerment dimensions), so as to evaluate personal recovery in people with severe mental illness.” For the study, click here. (See the next item, which refers to CHIME.)
“Personal Recovery: A Guide Towards Good Mental Health for Consumers”
“The aim of this workbook is to help you understand recovery oriented practice and what you can expect from your service provider. It will guide you through the C.H.I.M.E. framework providing a definition and understanding of personal recovery and addresses the working practices which will further strengthen your ability to engage in self-management.” For the free, 40-page workbook, click here.
MHA Issues Report on Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health 2024 Outcomes
“This year, Mental Health America (MHA) celebrates the 5th anniversary of its Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health, the first national certification recognizing U.S. employers committed to supporting a mentally healthy workforce. Since 2019, MHA has received over 500 applications from employers, representing a combined workforce of 4.3 million employees. Sourced from all 2024 applications, the ‘Workplace Mental Health 2024 Report: Trends and Best Practices of Top Employers’ provides benchmarking and identifies emerging trends that can help support all employers' workplace wellness efforts.” For the free, 51-page report, which includes highlights on Page 2, click here.
New HIPAA Administrative Simplification Fundamentals Fact Sheet
“The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a new HIPAA Administrative Simplification Fundamentals Fact Sheet (PDF), located on the HIPAA and Administrative Simplification webpage of the Administrative Simplification website. The new resource provides an overview of Administrative Simplification, its purpose, goals, and how the health care industry benefits from it. Administrative Simplification requirements, which were authorized by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and subsequent legislation, govern how providers, health plans, and clearinghouses—otherwise known as HIPAA covered entities—handle electronic administrative transactions and set standards for transmitting health information.”
“Expanding Peer Support and Supporting the Peer Workforce in Mental Health”
This 20-page SAMHSA Issue Brief, published in June 2024, “summarizes the benefits of peer support and discusses how states can support inclusion of the peer workforce across the behavioral health continuum. Information in this issue brief will enhance states’ knowledge of peer support and assist in the inclusion and expansion of peer support throughout the behavioral health continuum.” To download the free report, click here.
“Reducing the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jail: Six Questions County Leaders Need to Ask”
“This new edition of ‘Reducing the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jail: Six Questions County Leaders Need to Ask’ advances the original Stepping Up framework, published in 2017, by embedding a racial equity lens and uplifting the voices of people with lived experience. It provides six guiding questions for county leaders, offers tips gleaned from counties across the country that answered the call to action, and addresses ongoing challenges.” For more information and a link to the 17-page document from the Council of State Governments Justice Center, click here.
“Unlocking Qualitative Data in Mental Health Research”
The researchers write: “This paper presents the results of a scoping review of qualitative diary methods (QDMs) in mental health research, aimed at clarifying how diary methods are used in mental health research, and outlining key decisions and considerations in planning and conducting a qualitative diary study. Forty-eight papers were reviewed, and the findings highlight different elements of QDMs.” For the website, click here. For the article, published in European Psychologist, click here. (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova)
“The Modern Psychiatrist’s Guide to Contemporary Practice”
“ ‘The Modern Psychiatrist’s Guide to Contemporary Practice: Discussion, Dissent, and Debate in Mental Health Care’ provides an overview of psychiatry, starting with the most fundamental question of all: why does psychiatry exist? Key topics are covered, such as diagnosing mental illness, controversial treatments, involuntary admission, human rights, suicide, and global inequality.” The author, Brendan Kelly, is a professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin. For the Open Access version of this 272-page book, published on July 3, 2024, click here.
“Twenty-five Years of Olmstead: Life in the Community for All”
The Cafe TA Center writes: “This edition of Focus 2.0 looks back on twenty-five years of the Olmstead decision, which effectively ended legal institutionalization and the placement of people with mental health disabilities in segregated settings. How far have we come, and what remains to be done?” For the newsletter, click here.
“Schizophrenia, stigma and systems hold so many back, which made it tough to celebrate my hard-won tenure”
Nev Jones, Ph.D., writes: “17 years passed between enrollment in a graduate program that didn’t want me and receipt of tenure at Pitt. Along the way, I learned the hard way that the mental health system often doesn’t listen closely to its consumers.” For the article, click here.
Artists for Change Picks Up Where Altered States of the Arts Left Off
Artists for Change, created by a team led by movement pioneer Gayle Bluebird, has evolved from Altered States of the Arts, which was co-founded decades ago by Bluebird, Howie the Harp, and others. Artists for Change is a “ ‘home’ for historical works of artists who participated in the Consumer/Survivor Movement,” and “is intended to serve as a remembrance for those who were there, a resource for those who want to know more about the movement, and a place to view some of the art of that period.” The site also provides “historical videos and presentations, information about peer-run art centers, art programs, and art projects that peer specialists can easily do with people to help them use creative expression in healing trauma.” Bluebird writes: “Art that elicits emotions in the viewer–whether shock, surprise, disgust, humor, anger, or joy–requires time to sink in, not only to appreciate what is seen but also to feel at a deeper level what the artist might be communicating.” To view the website, click here.
“Peer-Run Respite Approaches to Supporting People Experiencing an Emotional Crisis”
“Research shows that guests experience peer-run respites as empowering and safe places where they feel more seen, heard, and respected than they do in conventional settings.” So begins a recent article by Lauren Spiro, MA, and Margaret Swarbrick, PhD, FAOTA, published by the American Psychiatric Association. “In a discussion informed by their experiences and the literature, the authors examine how peer-run respites differ from conventional psychiatric crisis response services in their basic philosophy: how emotional crisis is understood, the goal of crisis response, how trauma is viewed, the importance of self-determination, power dynamics, and relationality.” For the article, click here.
MHA Has Published a Free BIPOC Mental Health Toolkit
Mental Health America writes: “July is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month,” and its new toolkit will “provide free, practical resources to help navigate mental health stigma, bridge generational differences, dismantle mental health myths, and encourage meaningful conversations. The toolkit is available for download at mhanational.org/july and a Spanish translation is also available. We’re also working to improve our online BIPOC Mental Health Resource Center.”
“Inpatient Psychiatric Care in the United States: Former Patients’ Perspectives on Opportunities for Quality Improvement”
The researchers write: “We fielded a national survey online in 2021, in which we asked participants to report their recommendations for care improvement through a free-response box….Most responses described negative experiences, with suggested improvements implied as the inverse or absence of the respondent's negative experience. Among 510 participants, we identified 10 themes: personalized care, empathetic connection, communication, whole health approach, humane care, physical safety, respecting patients’ rights and autonomy, structural environment, equitable treatment, and continuity of care and systems….” For the article, click here.
“New NCAPPS Resource: A National Environmental Scan of Technical Assistance Needs for Person-Centered Planning”
NCAPPS writes: “Despite progress, states continue to grapple with how to effectively implement person-centered planning in a way that aligns with the Home and Community-Based Services Final Rule requirements. Many states continue to seek technical assistance to support maintaining or coming into compliance with the requirements. This environmental scan seeks to understand common themes across those states that continue to need technical assistance around person-centered planning.” For the 32-page document, click here.
NCAPPS Offers Resources on Person-Centered Planning
The National Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices and Systems (NCAPPS) is featuring several resources on person-centered planning: “Person-Centered Planning: Choosing the Approach that Works for the Person” (eight pages), “Office of Healthcare Information and Counseling Person-Centered Thinking Toolkit” (39 pages), “Person-Centered Planning,” a 14-page SAMHSA issue brief, and the Community Living Policy Center’s “Association of Person-Centered Planning with Improved Community Living Outcomes” (10 pages). For links to all four documents, click here.
STAT Offers Free E-Book on “Improving Care for the Aging Population”
“Aging populations can often feel lonely, need to make nutritional sacrifices, or find themselves unable to pay essential bills. Many also have difficulty navigating the health care system and government and community resources, all of which pose substantial challenges. This collection of STAT journalism tackles these and other critical issues facing an aging population. STAT reporters spotlight gaps in care, including the absence of tailored food delivery services for Medicare recipients and the hurdles faced in accessing insurance coverage due to AI-based denials.” To download STAT’s free e-book, click here.
SAMHSA Offers Behavioral Health Barometers, Region 1-10, Volume 7: Indicators as Measured in the 2021-2022 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health”
SAMHSA writes: “The ‘Behavioral Health Barometers, Region 1-10, Volume 7: Indicators as Measured in the 2021-2022 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health’ is a series of 10 reports that provide a snapshot of behavioral health in each of the 10 HHS regions. The reports [published in April 2024] present a set of substance use and mental health indicators as measured in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).” To download the report on the Indicators, click here. For a map of the SAMHSA Regional Offices, click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
“Lost in Translation: A Narrative Review and Synthesis of the Published International Literature on Mental Health Research and Translation Priorities (2011–2023)”
The background of this study, published online on March 27, 2024, is that “Priority-setting in mental health research is arguably lost in translation. Decades of effort has led to persistent repetition in what the research priorities of people with lived-experience of mental ill-health are.” From the abstract, the conclusion is as follows: “One lived-experience research led survey was identified. Few studies reported lived-experience design and development involvement. Five of the seven papers reported responses, but no further progress on priorities being met was reported.” For the full paper, click here. (Courtesy of Nev Jones)
“Forced ≠ Treatment: Carceral Strategies in Mental Health”
“...there is a broad recognition that far too often people experiencing mental health challenges encounter the criminal legal system rather than accessing mental health supports. In response, many policymakers have championed policies that aim to divert people experiencing mental health challenges away from prisons and jails and into mental health treatment. However, some of these policies, particularly those involving forced treatment, rely on carceral tactics and replicate incarceration. The following brief analyzes state and local policies that adopt carceral approaches to mental health treatment.” For more information and to download the free 16-page report, published by the Center for Law and Social Policy, click here. (Courtesy of Joe Marrone via Jacek Haciak)
“We Gotta Stop Criminalizin’ Mental Illness” Developed by the University of Chicago
This report, subtitled “Experiences with Mental Health Crisis Response in Chicago,” was developed by a team of sociologists from the University of Chicago, who interviewed 23 residents of Chicago about their experiences with mental health crisis response from July through October 2023. To download the free 34-page report, click here. (Courtesy of Fran Hazam)
The Recent Cafe TA Center Newsletter, Focus 2.0, Issue 13, Highlights “When There’s a Crisis, Call a Peer”
A free 94-page manual published by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and subtitled “How People with Lived Experience Make Mental Health Crisis Services More Effective,” is the focus of Focus 2.0, Issue 13. The Bazelon Center writes: “As state and local governments seek alternatives to a police response to calls involving people with mental health disabilities or who are in crisis, stakeholders are asking critical questions about the effectiveness of alternative approaches. Among these are whether the alternative response will come quickly enough to keep people safe…There is an answer: Make the supports provided by people with lived experience serving as peer support workers, working in peer-led organizations, central to the delivery of mental health crisis services.” (The manual was featured in the February 2024 edition of the Key Update.) To download the free manual, click here. For the newsletter, click here.
CAFÉ TAC Offers Consumer Pathways to Inclusion and Engagement Model (CPIEM)
“The Consumer Pathways to Inclusion and Engagement Model (CPIEM) is a [138-page] guidebook created by peers, for peers, to help them develop the skills they need to turn their lived mental health experience into meaningful change in the mental health system of care.” For more about the guidebook, including a link to download it (or you can click on the link attached to the title, above), click here. A webinar to introduce the guidebook was presented on March 14, 2024. For a recording of the webinar, click here. (Jeremy Countryman writes: “Recordings of all of our webinars are at https://cafetacenter.net/tac-trainings/. Just scroll down to “Recent Trainings and Webinars.”)
A Digital Booklet Explains the UN’s “Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care”
MindFreedom International writes: “Monirul, a MindFreedom member in Bangladesh, has launched a website called MindfulRights in order to promote human rights in various fields in Bangladesh, including mental health care, and to raise public awareness of related issues within the country. Although the site is still a work in progress, it already offers educational resources, such as a digital booklet that Monirul has composed to explain the United Nations' Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care in simple terms...To access these resources, click on the links above.
“Is Psychiatry Working?” The BBC Offers a Series of Eight Episodes Organized Under This Topic
Besides “Is Psychiatric Working?” the topics covered on these half-hour podcasts are, broadly stated, Anxiety, Healing and Recovery, Therapy, Medication, Diagnosis, Detention, and Crisis. To listen to the free podcasts, click here.
Crestwood’s Recovery Resilience Solutions Offers “Welcome to Recovery Practices”
The latest podcast by Recovery Resilience Solutions is about “the power of a recovery-based welcoming practice.” Dr. Lori Ashcraft writes: “In this podcast on welcoming, I give you lots of ideas about how to welcome (not intake) people into your programs. It is so important to get this right because it’s the first and lasting impression the person has of both us and our program. We can set the stage for a solid working relationship, or for a struggle as you try to connect later on.” For a link to the podcast and more information about “Viva La Evolution,” click here.
“The Ethics of Survivor Research: Guidelines for the Ethical Conduct of Research Carried Out by Mental Health Service Users and Survivors”
“Drawing on the experience of survivors and service users, [this accessible manual] considers key issues such as informed consent and confidentiality with particular reference to mental health settings.” For more information and to download the free, 56-page manual, click here. (Courtesy of Konstantina Poursanidou)
WHO Publishes Operational Framework for Monitoring Social Determinants of Health Equity
The World Health Organization writes: “This Operational Framework for Monitoring Social Determinants of Health Equity provides countries with critical guidance on monitoring the social determinants of health–broadly defined as the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, and people’s access to power, money and resources–and actions addressing them, and using data for policy action across sectors to improve health equity. The publication is meant as a resource for national governments and their partners.” For more information and to download the free 140-page manual, click here.
IAAPA Proposes a Pathway to End Coercive Psychiatry
Following up on the landmark report on “Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation”–launched on October 9, 2023, by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights–the International Association Against Psychiatric Assault (IAAPA) has issued a proposal to end coercive psychiatry. For details, click here. (Courtesy of Dan Fisher) To download the 208-page “Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation: Guidance and Practice”—originally reported in the September 23 edition of the Key Update—click here.
SAMHSA’s Overdose Prevention and Response Toolkit
“SAMHSA’s updated Overdose Prevention and Response Toolkit provides guidance to a wide range of individuals on preventing and responding to an overdose. The toolkit also emphasizes that harm reduction and access to treatment are essential aspects of overdose prevention.” For more information and to download the free toolkit, click here.
“Study: To Reduce Jail Populations, Increase Mental Health Services in Communities”
A new study by researchers at George Mason University “concludes that U.S. jails are de facto mental health institutions, with nearly 10 times as many individuals with serious mental health conditions in prisons and jails than in state psychiatric hospitals. The study also found that access to affordable healthcare services and behavioral health treatment in the community changes how the jail is used and reduces the size of the jail population.” For more information and a link to the study, click here.”
“Solving Homelessness Through Better Information”
At the link below are six reports about how to address homelessness in the Portland, Oregon, region. Although the reports, by Homeless Strategic Initiatives of Portland, are geared specifically for the Portland area, many of their lessons are broadly applicable. For the reports, click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
SAMHSA TIP 59: “Improving Cultural Competence”
“The primary objective of this TIP [Treatment Improvement Protocol] is to assist readers in understanding the role of culture in the delivery of behavioral health services (both generally and with reference to specific cultural groups).” For the free, 341-page manual, click here.
“The State of Mental Health in America”
“Millions of adults in the U.S. experience serious thoughts of suicide, with the highest rate among multiracial individuals,” according to Mental Health America’s report on “The State of Mental Health in America.” Among other “2023 Key Findings” is that “[o]ver half (54.7%) of adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment, totaling over 28 million individuals,” and “[o]ver 1 in 10 youth in the U.S. are experiencing depression that is severely impairing their ability to function at school or work, at home, with family, or in their social life.” In addition, “59.8% of youth with major depression do not receive any mental health treatment.” To download a free copy of the report, click here.
World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All
“The World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All is designed to inspire and inform better mental health for everyone everywhere. Drawing on the latest evidence available, showcasing examples of good practice from around the world, and voicing people’s lived experience, it highlights why and where change is most needed and how it can best be achieved. It calls on all stakeholders to work together to deepen the value and commitment given to mental health, reshape the environments that influence mental health, and strengthen the systems that care for mental health.” For the free, 296-page report by the World Health Organization (WHO), click here.
“Mental Health Crisis Services: Promoting Person-Centred (sic) and Rights-based Approaches”
The World Health Organization (WHO), which published this 80-page “Technical Package” in 2021, writes: “By showcasing good practice mental health services from around the world this guidance supports countries to develop and reform community-based services and responses from a human rights perspective, promoting key rights such as equality, non-discrimination, legal capacity, informed consent and community inclusion. It offers a roadmap towards ending institutionalization and involuntary hospitalization and treatment and provides specific action steps for building mental health services that respect every person’s inherent dignity.” For the manual, click here.
Frontiers in Psychology Adds to Its Archive of Articles About Open Dialogue
The latest addition to Frontiers in Psychology’s trove of articles about Open Dialogue is “Open Dialogue services around the world: a scoping survey exploring organizational characteristics in the implementation of the Open Dialogue approach in mental health services.” For the article, published online on November 10, 2023, click here. For all 21 articles, click here. (Courtesy of Ann Kasper)
Prison Activist Resource Center (PARC) Directory Offers Helpful Resources
“PARC mails a free national directory of resources to prisoners, their friends and family members. This year, we have expanded the content and the directory is now 28 pages listing nearly 300 organizations serving folks on the inside!! Thank you to all of our community partners for supporting the mailing of this directory.” For the PARC website, which includes a link to the Directory, click here.
WHO and UN Publish Landmark Report on “Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation”
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have jointly issued an important report on “Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation: Guidance and Practice.” To view a video about the launch, click here. To download the 208-page publication, click here. ACTION ALERT: Share it with elected officials and mental health policymakers! (Courtesy of Janet Paleo) (The October 9, 2023, launch of the joint publication was announced in the September 2023 edition of the Key Update.)
“The Lived Experience of Depression: a Bottom-up Review Co-written by Experts by Experience and Academics”
"This journey in the lived experience of depression can also help us to understand the nature of our own emotions and feelings, what is to believe in something, what is to hope, and what is to be a living human being." For the article, click here. (Courtesy of Ann Kasper)
Movement History of the Consumer/ Client/ Survivor/ Expatient/ Ex-Inmate/ User Community
This 647-page comprehensive history and timeline, mostly compiled by award-winning mental health advocate Pat Risser (b. 1952, d. 2016), begins: “The history of the Consumer/ Client/ Survivor/ Ex-patient/ Ex-Inmate/ User Community is deeply enmeshed in and with other civil and human rights movements. To understand the depth of this intertwining, it is necessary to cover the history of slavery, women, children, people with disabilities, education, labor and other factors that play a role in creating who we are today.” To download the document, click here. (Courtesy of Judene Shelley)
MHA Offers "Evidence for Peer Support"
For Mental Health America's nine-page fact sheet offering evidence of the benefits of peer support, click here and scroll down.
Wellness Activity Manual Helps People Learn Healthy New Behaviors & Habits
The free, 64-page Wellness Activity Manual: A Guide for Group Leaders “focuses on helping people with mental health conditions learn new behaviors and habits to improve their personal wellness. Each lesson has been constructed as a group activity that maximizes learning through building positive interpersonal relationships and actively involving participants. The Wellness Group meets weekly for one hour. The manual contains nine lessons focused on physical, emotional, and intellectual wellness. Each lesson can be used as a stand-alone group or combined into a multi-session series.” For more information and to download the free manual, click here.
“A Manual for Coping with Extraordinary and Remarkable Experiences”
“Extraordinary and remarkable experiences should not interfere with your mood and daily functioning. This manual will help you to keep your extraordinary experiences manageable in daily life, although your extraordinary experiences may be annoying and intruding at times. You can work through this manual with your therapist…Solutions will be sought for your problems. The described method consists of a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and an educational course.” For the free, 34-page manual, copyrighted in 2013 by Mark van der Gaag, Dorien Nieman, and David van den Berg, click here. (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova) Note: This manual has not been reviewed, so no judgment about its value should be inferred from its inclusion in this e-newsletter.
Lived Experience Leadership Offers Numerous Research Studies Focused on Peer Supporters
Lived Experience Leadership features the findings of 12 years of research studies focused on [the peer support] workforce in a range of settings, to foster a better understanding of and respect for Lived Experience as a distinct discipline and build clarity on what makes this work unique and valuable. Importantly, this body of research was led by Lived Experience researchers.” For the website, click here.
International Peer Respite/Soteria Summit Offers Abundant Related Resources
For numerous resources about peer respites, Soteria, and related movements, click here.
“SAMHSA TIP 64: “Incorporating Peer Support into Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services”
“This TIP [Treatment Improvement Protocol’ supports learning about the key aspects, functions, and uses of Peer Support Services (PSS) in recovery from problematic substance use, which will help providers, supervisors, and administrators in SUD treatment programs better understand and respond to these changes.” To download the free, 301-page document, click here.
Resources for Supervisors of Peer Workers Offered by BRSS TACS
BRSS TACS writes: “This group of resources helps supervisors understand how to supervise peer workers in behavioral health services.” For details, click here.
“Podcast: The Rise in Forced Treatment and Abusive Guardianships”
“[M]illions of Americans are subjected to psychiatric detention or forced treatment every year. Often well meaning family members are trying to ‘help,’ but end up traumatizing and permanently damaging their loved ones. Join us as investigative journalist Rob Wipond explains how most states have broadened their criteria for psychiatrically detaining someone far beyond ‘imminent harm’ and that as a practical matter, this could happen to almost anyone.” For the podcast, click here.
“Alternatives to Coercion in Mental Health Settings: A Literature Review”
This 214-page report was commissioned by the United Nations Office at Geneva to inform the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It was published in 2018 by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute. To download the free report, click here.
“Training of Lived Experience Workforces: A Rapid Review of Content and Outcomes”
“Recently, the lived and living experience (LLE) workforce in mental health and alcohol and other drugs (AOD) sectors has expanded,” researchers at La Trobe University and the Self Help Addiction Resource Center in Australia write. “Despite widespread benefit of this inclusion, some LLE practitioners have encountered personal and professional challenges in their workforce roles…[W]e present recommendations for improving training processes for this workforce.” For the article, published in Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services (Springer), click here.
“WHO’s New Series to Enhance the Meaningful Engagement of People with Lived Experience”
The World Health Organization’s “new ‘Intention to Action’ series is tackling both an evidence gap and a lack of standardized approaches on how to include people with lived experience into decision- and policy-making…The first publication—‘People power: Perspectives from individuals with lived experience of non-communicable diseases, mental health conditions and neurological conditions’—includes six detailed case studies from 12 individuals with lived experience of diverse health conditions.” For more information and a link to download the 80-page publication, click here. (Courtesy of Matthew Jackman)
“What Is Mental Illness?”
“This conversation between Justin Garson (philosopher), Nev Jones (community mental health researcher), and Marco Ramos (psychiatrist/historian)”--sponsored by The Philosopher–“will aim to offer a sense of the scope of what is at stake in our understanding of mental illness, considering the place of biology, society, histories of oppression, evolution, and lived experience in such an understanding.” For the video, click here. (Courtesy of Kevin Fitts)
“Optimizing Recovery Funding, Volumes 1 & 2”
“In 2021, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provided the Peer Recovery Center of Excellence (PR CoE) with supplemental funding for a special project to identify and recommend best practices and strategies to optimize funding for high-quality and effective recovery support services. The result was 'Volume 1: Barriers to Acquiring Funding for Organizations in the Ecosystem of Recovery Volume' and 'Volume 2: Strategies for State Funding of Recovery Support Services.'” To download the full, 130-page report, click here.
Common Threads: Stories of Survival & Recovery from Mental Illness
Common Threads: Stories of Survival & Recovery from Mental Illness, a 108-page compendium, includes “tales of survival and recovery” by a number of Floridians. To quote from the Introduction, “Many of the people in these stories have lived significant portions of their lives in psychiatric institutions, and only through their strengths have they found their way back to the community…In these tales, we hear about the importance of education and peer support…” To download the free document, click here.
“Crisis Now” Offers a “Roadmap to Safe, Effective Crisis Care”
The goal of Crisis Now: Transforming Crisis Services—led by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) and developed with the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and RI International—is “to provide all communities a roadmap to safe, effective crisis care that diverts people in distress from the emergency department and jail by developing a continuum of crisis care services that match people’s clinical needs.” Among the resources offered on the website are SAMHSA’s 80-page “National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care Best Practice Toolkit” (2020), an “Overview of Crisis Funding Sources Available to States and Localities” (last updated March 2, 2022), and assessment tools, such as “How Does Your Crisis System Rate?” The Crisis Now partners write: “Are you interested in adding your organization to the list supporting Crisis Now, or do you have questions? Reach out to us at info@crisisnow.com. For the website, click here.
“What Is the Meaning of Life?” This Free Online Collection Offers Answers
Excellence Reporter offers more than “1,200 articles-interviews on ‘What Is the Meaning of Life?’ written by renowned spiritual leaders, mindfulness experts, great thinkers and authors, elders, artists, musicians, CEOs, etc.” The contributors include such renowned figures as Bertrand Russell; Carl Jung; the Dalai Lama; Eleanor Roosevelt; Epicurus; Erich Fromm; Kahlil Gibran; Buckminster Fuller; Robert Louis Stevenson; and Ron Bassman, executive director of MindFreedom International. To browse the free compendium, click here.
The UIC Center’s Solutions Suite for Health & Recovery Offers Free Tools
"The UIC Center offers tools, curricula, and implementation manuals for free use in community-based programs, peer-run programs, or one's own life. You can introduce the entire complement of products to foster improved health, wellness, and mental health recovery. Or, you can choose the ones that will work best for your program or your life. The Suite was developed in collaboration with Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey. The UIC Center is funded by NIDILRR (National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research). For the UIC Solutions Suite for Health & Recovery, click here. (Courtesy of Peggy Swarbrick via Jacek Haciak)
U.S. Surgeon General Creates Community Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation
"The U.S. Surgeon General’s Community Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation, developed in collaboration with the HHS Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES), provides specific guidance and resources for health care providers, educators, librarians, faith leaders, and trusted community members to understand, identify, and stop the spread of health misinformation in their communities." For information about the toolkit (a 22-page overview of health misinformation, and resources to stop it), and links to a “Talk to Your Community About Health Misinformation” Infographic, a “Health Misinformation Checklist” Infographic, and the Surgeon General's press release, click here.
“Psychiatrist with Philosophical Interests” Leads “Conversations in Critical Psychiatry,” a Psychiatric Times Series
Awais Aftab, who describes himself as a "psychiatrist with philosophical interests" in his Twitter bio, leads "Conversations in Critical Psychiatry," which, he says, "explores critical and philosophical perspectives in psychiatry and engages with prominent commentators within and outside the profession who have made meaningful criticisms of the status quo." Among those interviewed are Jim Gottstein, author of The Zyprexa Papers, on “The Fight for Pharma Accountability and Psychiatric Rights”; Allen Frances, M.D., author of Saving Normal; Sandra Steingard, M.D., and G. Scott Waterman, M.D., on "Integrating Academic Inquiry and Reformist Activism in Psychiatry"; Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, on "50 Shades of Misdiagnosis"; Kathy Flaherty, J.D., executive director of the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, Inc., on "Reconsidering Care and Coercion in Psychiatry"; Nev Jones, Ph.D., on "Phenomenology, Power, Polarization, and the Discourse on Psychosis"; Dainius Puras, M.D., on "Global Psychiatry's Crisis of Values"; and many others. For the archived interviews, click here.
U.S. DOL Releases Guidance on FMLA Leave and Mental Health
The U.S. Department of Labor’s newly issued Fact Sheet #280 about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) explains when eligible employees may take FMLA leave to address mental health conditions, and new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) offers additional information. (Although the FMLA covers public and private employers nationwide, only those private employers who have 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks in a year are required to provide their eligible employees with FMLA leave.) For details, click here.
“Where DNA and Medications Meet”
Not all drugs are effective for all people; therapeutic response rates for many drugs are only 50%-75%. “OneOme, co-founded by [the] Mayo Clinic, provides evidence-based pharmacogenomic solutions that help improve patient outcomes and reduce costs through more personalized medication decisions.” OneOme’s RightMed Test is “a doctor-ordered pharmacogenomic (PGx) test that analyzes your DNA and provides your doctors with genetic information to help them determine how you may respond to certain medications. The results may help your doctors reduce medication trial and error, minimize risk of side effects, save you time and money, and make more informed prescribing decisions. Because your DNA doesn’t change over time, your doctors can use your test results to make more personalized medication decisions for you over the course of your lifetime.” For more information, click here. (Courtesy of Robin Osborne)
“New Federal Guidance for Alternatives to Police for People with Behavioral Health or Other Disabilities”
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and the Vera Institute have published a seven-page report entitled “New Federal Guidance for Alternatives to Police for People with Behavioral Health or Other Disabilities.” “Vera and the Bazelon Center agree with the new guidance, from the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS), that ‘jurisdictions should not assume that the proper response to a crisis is always to send law enforcement.’” Boiling down the guidance, they write, “sending police in response to a mental health crisis where there is no immediate safety risk to the public is discriminatory and violates civil rights laws.” For the seven-page document, click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
SAMHSA Publishes Results from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
“This infographic accompanies the more comprehensive NSDUH annual national report. Together, they provide researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the public with data that can be used to better understand and improve the nation’s behavioral health,” SAMHSA writes. For the 21-page infographic, click here. For the 162-page “Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health,” click here.
“New Year’s Resolutions: Building Good Mental Health Habits”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently published some suggestions about building good mental health habits. SAMHSA writes: “Setting New Year’s resolutions can be a positive way to focus on self-improvement, but it's important to approach them in a manner that promotes good mental health and well-being and maximizes our chances of sticking with them.” For SAMHSA’s guidance, click here. And for “Top 8 New Year's Resolutions to Make if You Have Anxiety: Making unrealistic New Year's resolutions can be damaging to your mental health. Here's how to do it right,” click here. And for “9 Mental-Health Resolutions for 2024, According to Therapists,” click here.
Two Mental Health Toolkits Can Help Develop, Maintain, and Expand Rural Mental Health Services
The Rural Health Information Hub offers the “Mental Health in Rural Communities Toolkit,” which “features evidence-based models, resources, and program examples for the successful development and implementation of mental health programs to serve rural communities,” and the “Rural Suicide Prevention Toolkit,” which “highlights innovative, evidence-based models and resources to develop and implement successful suicide prevention programs in rural communities.” For more about rural mental health, click here. (Courtesy of Amy Smith)
DISCLAIMER: The Clearinghouse does not necessarily endorse the opinions and opportunities included in the Key Update.
About the Key Update
The National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse is affiliated with the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion. The Key Update is the free monthly e-newsletter of the National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse. Volume 22, No. 3, August-September 2025. For content, reproduction or publication information, please contact Susan Rogers at selfhelpclearinghouse@gmail.com. Follow Susan on Twitter at @SusanRogersMH