Leading Stories, Articles
DMH initiative aims to expedite psychiatric inpatient admissions
By Phyllis Hanlon
People with mental health conditions routinely experience long wait times in hospital emergency departments. Acknowledging this problem, Executive Office of Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders convened a task force last spring to develop appropriate interventions. EOHHS, together with the Department of Mental Health (DMH), MassHealth and the Department of Public Health (DPH) created the Expedited Psychiatric Inpatient Admission Policy, a multi-pronged approach that launched on February 1. Daniela Trammel, DMH director of communication and community engagement, explained that the EOHHS chaired and partnered with the Division of Insurance (DOI) in convening a task force comprised of insurance carriers, psychiatric [More]
Tags: mental illness, Mental health, Department of Mental Health, hospital, emergency room, DMH, MassHealth, DPH, Department of Public Health, substance misuse, inpatient hospitalization
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Lawmakers seek to strengthen parity in Rhode Island
By Pamela Berard
Rhode Island lawmakers are considering several proposals to strengthen mental healthcare and substance use disorder treatment. Among budget items Gov. Gina M. Raimondo included in her proposal to the state General Assembly in mid-January, are: The creation of an acute mental health crisis center to help people navigate urgent mental health and substance use disorder crises and facilitate better connections to ongoing mental healthcare resources; The development of a benchmarking study under the leadership of the state Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC), to benchmark under-investment in mental healthcare and provide recommendations about investments/policies for improving mental health provided [More]
Tags: mental healthcare, Rhode Island, substance use disorder, treatment, Gov. Gina Raimondo, acute mental health crisis center, employment program, job training, substance use disorder counseling, legislation, parity laws
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New Hampshire to develop 10-year mental health plan
By Catherine Robertson Souter
Looking to design a better system, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recently awarded a contract to Keene University’s Center for Behavioral Health Innovation to develop a 10-year mental health plan for the state. To be released in June, the report will offer a roadmap for the state’s mental health services moving forward. “The last plan was issued in 2008. A lot has changed since that time,” said Katja Fox, director of the DHHS Division for Behavioral Health. “The state wants to be able to look at how services can be delivered to address the needs [More]
Tags: NAMI, mental illness, New Hampshire, NH, mental health system, Seacoast Mental Health Center, NH Community Behavioral Health Association, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, 10-year mental health plan
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Mental health, harassment among Vermont’s priorities
By Eileen Weber
Vermont’s House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-Grand Isle-Chittenden) and Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/Prg-Chittenden) want to collaborate with Governor Phil Scott this year on legislation for education, clean waterways, a $15 minimum wage, better mental healthcare and stronger sexual harassment policies and procedures. In the wake of rampant opioid addiction and the #MeToo movement, the two relevant issues are mental health and sexual harassment. Ashe and Johnson are in favor of legislation that not only addresses the high cost of prescription drugs but also limits prescription pain killers. Johnson said the opioid epidemic may account for the rise in [More]
Tags: sexual harassment, opioid addiction, Mental health, Vermont, prescription drugs, prescription pain killers, Jody Herring, Steven Bourgoin, Marijuana, fentanyl, benzodiazepine, PTSD, Sexual misconduct
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Psychologists grapple with issues of racism, diversity in therapy
By Pamela Berard
As the world becomes more diverse, it’s a good time for psychologists to have a social justice philosophy for their practices, according to Charmain F. Jackman, Ph.D. Everybody benefits when we’re all working toward cultural competency,” said Jackman, a licensed clinical/forensic psychologist whose metro-Boston area private practice, Innovative Psychological Services, recently hosted a panel discussion, “Join the Conversation: Navigating Racism & Other ‘Isms’ in Therapy.” Attendees discussed strategies for mental health professionals to effectively address issues such as racism, xenophobia and heterosexism, whether working with clients who have experienced discrimination, with clients who express offensive comments in sessions or through [More]
Tags: therapy, psychologists, racism, diversity, MeToo movement, sexual harassment, sexual assault, discrimination, microaggression, cultural diversity, client-therapist interaction, different backgrounds, political issues, social issues, racial epithet
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Rural Massachusetts experiences psychiatric bed increase
By Phyllis Hanlon
Across the Commonwealth, particularly in rural areas, the need for more inpatient care for patients with mental health issues continues to grow. In recent months, small towns in the central part of the state have seen an uptick in the number of psychiatric inpatient beds and services. In October 2015, Heywood Healthcare in Gardner purchased a former teaching convent in Petersham that had housed the Sisters of Assumption. Rebecca Bialicki, Ph.D, vice president for Community Health and Chief Change Agent at Heywood Healthcare, noted that the property encompasses 21 acres and a 75,000 square foot building with two wings. “It [More]
Tags: adolescents, Heywood Healthcare, psychiatric inpatient beds, mental health issues, patients, Harrington HealthCare System, TaraVista, SAMHSA, residential dormitory, detox unit, Quabbin Retreat
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Psychologists help people navigate life transitions
By Phyllis Hanlon
Psychological intervention can help ease life’s transitions–everything from positive events like marriage, a new baby or career advancement to more dire situations such as divorce, chronic illness, injury or the death of a loved one. Emily Mohr, Ph.D, defines life transition as anything that shifts someone’s sense of self or identity that is not temporary, but happens because of the passage of time.” Mohr, public education coordinator for the Massachusetts Psychological Association (MPA), southern regional representative for the MPA Board of Directors and practitioner at Child & Family Psychological Services, PLLC, in Weymouth, Massachusetts noted, “Both happy and unhappy events [More]
Tags: Psychological intervention, therapy, counseling, marriage, new baby, new job, divorce, chronic illness, injury, death of a loved one
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Grants to NAMI Rhode Island fund youth programs
By Pamela Berard
Two recent grants will help NAMI Rhode Island, the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, continue to enhance mental health education programs for young people. A $15,000 Rhode Island Foundation grant will allow NAMI to increase training opportunities and add presenters for Ending the Silence, a classroom program that was first developed by an Illinois NAMI chapter and is now one of the national organization’s signature education and support programs. “We were trained up on this program for the first time last year and we saw the promise in it, because it offers some new things that [More]
Tags: adolescents, NAMI Rhode Island, mental health education programs, youth, middle school children, middle-schoolers, high school students, Ending the Silence, Parents and Teachers as Allies, mental health awareness
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Trauma training, reality TV all in a day’s work for Jessica Griffin, Psy.D
By Catherine Robertson Souter
When a television producer first asked Jessica Griffin, PsyD, if she would consider taking an on-air consultant role on an upcoming reality show, she scoffed at the idea. An associate professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at UMass Medical School and executive director of UMASS Medical School’s Child Trauma Training Center with a private clinical practice in the Worcester area, Griffin did not see herself as the reality-show type. Still, with some prodding from Hollywood and much discussion with colleagues, friends and family, Griffin decided to jump in. She first served as a consulting psychologist on the show, “Seven Year Switch,” [More]
Tags: Jessica Griffin PsyD, Linked Kids, Married at First Sight, Lifetime, Catherine Robertson Souter, trauma, traumatization, resilience, psychological training, communication skills
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Report documents problems at Maine detention center
By Janine Weisman
Understaffing has contributed to “dangerous and unhealthy conditions for both youth and staff” at Maine’s only state juvenile detention center, an independent report finds. Seven vacant Juvenile Program Worker positions at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland led to the use of regular forced overtime last year when the report by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Children’s Law and Policy (CCLP) was compiled. The overtime was necessary to achieve a required staff to youth ratio of 1:8 during waking hours and 1:16 during overnight hours. The report made public in December was commissioned by the Maine Juvenile [More]
Tags: youth, juvenile detention center, Maine, understaffing, residential facilities, Long Creek Youth Development Center, forced overtime, transgender death, suicide prevention, kids, self-harming behavior
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