October 2nd, 2018
By Phyllis Hanlon
In 2009, the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) opened the Roosevelt Benton Center and the Thomas C. Slater Training School (also called the Youth Development Center) as an “intake and assessment center for non-adjudicated youth,” according to Kerri White, MA, Rhode Island’s DCYF communications director. Last year, Eleanor Slater Hospital acquired and renovated the facility to serve a different population. White explained that, in conjunction with the Youth Development Center, the $62 million Benton Center was intended to house youth for juvenile detention; some of whom may have diagnosed mental health needs. Initially, the Benton Center [More]
Tags: youth, treatment, psychiatric patients, DCYF, mental health assessment, clinical social worker, pyschiatrist, correctional detention, Roosevelt Benton Center
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October 2nd, 2018
By Janine Weisman
On July 1, Connecticut became the 30th state in the country to require behavior analysts to obtain a license to practice what has become the best-known approach to treating children with autism. Behavior analysts help individuals change behaviors associated with negative consequences to improve outcomes. Being licensed will allow behavior analysts to be reimbursed by insurers. And, it ensures that families, public school districts, the state Department of Developmental Services (DDS), private insurance, and Medicaid providers have a means of regulating the practices of behavior analysts. Behavior analysts have earned a graduate degree in behavior analysis, education, psychology or a [More]
Tags: Connecticut, Behavior analysts, license, consumer protection, licensure requirement, Behavior Analysis Certification Board, BACB, change behaviors, negative consequences
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October 1st, 2018
By Catherine Robertson Souter
Shortridge Academy, a private co-ed therapeutic boarding school in Milton, New Hampshire, recently announced a unique enrichment program being offered to its students. As part of a community outreach effort, the school has partnered with Granite State Adaptive Sports, a non-profit organization that provides a variety of physical activities for people with disabilities. In the program, a select group of students from the school are given an opportunity to work with Granite State’s clients, coaching and guiding them in various sports. Granite State works with people from age three and up who have physical, cognitive or emotional disabilities as well [More]
Tags: New Hampshire, interpersonal skills, Shortridge Academy, community outreach, Granite State Adaptive Sports, Mik Oyler, self-confidence, residential school, physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities, emotional disabilities
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October 1st, 2018
By Janine Weisman
A residential treatment program for girls with emotional and behavioral problems in Arlington, Massachusetts, shut down in September after a decision by its parent organization to shift focus to community-based services. That decision impacted 150 staff members at the Germaine Lawrence campus on Claremont Avenue operated by the national private non-profit Youth Villages. The vast majority of positions are direct care staff, including several master’s level and licensed positions, nursing and maintenance staff. The program is licensed to serve a maximum of 72 girls between the ages of 12 and 22. But there were only 48 girls on site when [More]
Tags: suicidal ideation, depression, Youth Villages, Germaine Lawrence campus, residential treatment, educational services, girls behavioral program, physical aggression, self-harm, verbal aggression, truancy
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September 14th, 2018
By Phyllis Hanlon
This project was supported by a grant from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA). In a 2017 Washington Post article, former Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy cited emotional well-being and loneliness as one of today’s big public health worries. While the average American might experience isolation and disconnectedness at various times during their lives because of intense career involvement, age discrimination, geographic remoteness or for other reasons, many youth who identify as LGBTQ endure isolation, broken relationships and disconnections on an ongoing basis, sometimes with devastating results. According to David Oberleitner, Ph.D, chair, department of psychology, University of [More]
Tags: gender identity, LGBTQ, isolation, sexual identity, being different, coming out, self-identity, loneliness, broken relationships
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August 31st, 2018
By Catherine Robertson Souter
In a movement that seems to be growing, a ban on mental health professionals providing conversion therapy for people under 18 has been signed into law in 15 states. There have been five bans this year alone. In June, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed a bill banning the practice in that state. “There has been a real cultural shift,” said Shannon Bader, Ph.D, A.B.P.P., the legislative chair for the New Hampshire Psychological Association. “We were the 14th state with an outright ban.” Historically, conversion therapy has included everything from instruction on why and how to change to shaming the [More]
Tags: New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, conversion therapy, harmful, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, sexual orientation, gender identity
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August 31st, 2018
By Alan Bodnar Ph.D.
You’re sitting in your doctor’s waiting room when the receptionist calls the name of the next patient. No one responds, she calls the name again, and prompted by curiosity, you look up from your magazine to meet her puzzled gaze. She repeats the name, this time adding the surname, and you wonder why she is calling your father. No, wait, Dad is long gone, and then you realize the receptionist is calling you. If you’ve ever had this happen to you, then, like me, you were given a name at birth that no one ever used. In my case, my [More]
Tags: column, first name, middle name, Internal Revenue Service, identification, tax forms, documentation, Biblical names, Puritanical names
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August 30th, 2018
By Eileen Weber
Reports of family separation at the Mexican border set off a firestorm. Video and audio demonstrated the conditions in which the more than 3,000 children lived. An estimated 1,600 parents are still in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. With reunification underway, the Trump administration recently admitted that more than 450 immigrant parents separated from their children may have been deported. “I find Trump’s policy of separating children from parents shocking, appalling, and extremely cruel,” said Richard McNally, Ph.D, professor and director of clinical training in the department of psychology at Harvard University. McNally has focused much of his [More]
Tags: children, PTSD, border separation, family separation, immigrants, parents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, IRIS, war-torn areas
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August 30th, 2018
By John Grohol, Psy.D.
It’s difficult to keep focused on outcomes that are likely to result in the greatest long-term success for your clients. One such example is in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. It’s becoming increasingly less common for clinicians to even see children who present with ADHD, because of the emphasis of medication treatment – stimulants – for this concern. According to 2016 U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention data, 62 percent of children receive medication for treatment, while only 47 percent received a behavioral intervention. The number of children who receive behavioral interventions decreases significantly [More]
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August 29th, 2018
By Phyllis Hanlon
In 1964, presidential candidate Barry Goldwater issued some alarming “extremist” statements, drawing criticism from the general public and some mental health professionals. The uproar prompted FACT magazine to survey 12,356 psychiatrists regarding Goldwater’s mental health status. While none of the respondents had personally spoken with or examined Goldwater, they provided negative opinions on his psychological health, deeming him unfit to serve as president of the United States. In the wake of serious backlash following the release of the survey results, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) passed the “Goldwater Rule,” which made it unethical for a psychiatrist to issue a statement [More]
Tags: mental illness, Mental health, Goldwater Rule, Barry Goldwater, Ethics, Politics, polarizing, celebrities, political figures
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