Columnists, Articles
Discovering What Matters Most
By Alan Bodnar Ph.D.
After almost three months into the Coronavirus lockdown in Massachusetts, we are cataloguing our losses and discovering new sources of vitality. So many things that we took for granted have changed or simply disappeared. This is true of our daily routines and of the larger societal rituals that sustained us in ways we may have never even stopped to consider. We are changing the way we work, worship, use our leisure time, and relate to one another, and along the way, we are discovering what matters most. Many of us are working from home using videoconferencing platforms like Zoom, Doxyme, [More]
NHPA Educational Foundation presents first award
By Phyllis Hanlon
In 2009, the New Hampshire Psychological Association (NHPA) created the NHPA Educational Foundation under the leadership of then-executive director Kathryn E. Saylor, Psy.D and in collaboration with several other psychologists. This entity was designed to educate the public and practitioners, publish educational materials, sponsor quality programs that advance the profession, and recognize student achievement with scholarships. However, the Foundation remained dormant until January 2019 when Saylor moved out of state. The new leadership focused on other issues until the current NHPA president Celia Oliver, Ph.D, and incoming executive director, Jena Mottola made reviving the Foundation and establishing the scholarship two [More]
Psychologist shares her experiences working in Haiti
By New England Psychologist Staff
Like many psychologists now, I am spending my time at home, focused on a computer screen. I am talking with people I know well and care about tremendously, who are at a distance, and am seeing clients via the same small square on my lap or the table. What is a little different for me is that many of the people I am “Zooming” with are in Haiti, part of a small college of social work there, and we have been communicating like this for a long time. What is unusual right now is that, in the past, our Zoom [More]
Mass. AG settles with health plans on mental health parity compliance
By Janine Weisman
Seven insurers agree to policy changes, including correcting reimbursement disparities Seven health insurance plans are making policy changes and paying a combined total of nearly $1 million to fund initiatives to increase access to behavioral health care under recent settlement agreements with the Office of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. The policy changes by five health insurance companies and two companies that manage behavioral health coverage for other insurers are outlined in agreements filed Feb. 27 in Suffolk Superior Court. The changes address reimbursement rate disparities, eliminate unnecessary authorization requirements and improve the accuracy of provider directories. These settlements followed [More]
Litigation continues in CT couple’s discrimination lawsuit concerning parental rights removal
By Janine Weisman
The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut will appeal a federal judge’s ruling against a couple who say they were discriminated against because of their mental disabilities when the state’s child welfare agency removed their two infant sons. Joseph Watley and Karin Hasemann are challenging a decision last December by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny dismissing their claims that they were never given the opportunity to show they could be fit parents. Their two sons were taken away at birth in 2005 and 2006 and are now teenagers being raised by adoptive parents. The couple’s parental rights were terminated [More]
Report: New England states fare well in national mental health rankings
By Janine Weisman
In 2012, Rhode Island’s youth mental health care system ranked 29th in the nation in a major survey of mental health data indicators. But in six years, the smallest state rocketed to fourth place because of a dramatic performance in getting adolescents and teens into treatment. Rhode Island reduced the rate of untreated youth with depression aged 12 to 17 from 67.1 percent in 2012 to 39.5 percent in 2017. It also increased the rate of youth with severe major depressive episode (MDE) who received consistent treatment from 23.7 percent to 47.6 percent during this period. Rankings of all 50 [More]
Programs seek to address ME youth suicide
By Eileen Weber
The suicide rate in Maine has become a major issue. It has one of the highest rates in the nation and it is the second leading cause of death among kids and people between the ages of 10 and 35. According to the 2019 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey, there has been a significant increase in students with mental health issues. In Sagadahoc County alone, nearly 36 percent of students reported negative feelings and more than 19 percent considered suicide. Nationally, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. The CDC reports the suicide rate increased a [More]