Leading Stories, Articles
UMaine athletes to get mental health resources
By Pamela Berard
The University of Maine (UMaine) is adding a mental health program to its athletic department. UMaine is receiving $640,000 in a one-time distribution from the NCAA, which this spring distributed funds to nearly 350 Division I schools for the purpose of providing better support to student-athletes. The money had to be used for new programs or to enhance existing programs (not to buy more equipment, increase salaries, or hire more coaches, for example). Each school was required to submit a spending plan. UMaine, which has more than 450 student-athletes, chose to use the funding to prioritize mental health care for [More]
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Study looks at connection between mental illness, opioid addiction
By Catherine Robertson Souter
As the country reels under the spread of opioid addiction and overdosing, a recent study conducted by Dartmouth-Hitchcock and the University of Michigan has brought a new focus to a possible connection between mental illness and addiction. According to the study, the rate of opioid prescriptions in the United States has quadrupled in the past 15 years. The researchers found that more than half of all prescriptions for opioids in the U.S. each year are given to Americans with two of the most prevalent mental health disorders. That means that 60 million of 115 million prescriptions for opioids distributed go [More]
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Vermont to compensate for first responders’ mental health issues
By Catherine Robertson Souter
Although one of the smallest states, especially by population, Vermont has taken the lead in mental health public policy. With a multi-partisan bill that was signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott, (R), the state became the first in the nation to provide coverage under workers’ compensation for mental health issues and illnesses. First introduced by Rep. Sarah Copeland-Hanzas (D-Orange) and representatives from the Republican, Independent and Progressive parties in February, the bill became law as of July 1. Opponents raised concerns over the ultimate cost of the bill. According to the state’s Joint Fiscal Office, the law should cost [More]
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Clark team committed to address disparity issues
By Catherine Robertson Souter
For minorities and the poor in this country, the rates of access to and use of mental health care services remain far lower than those of majority whites. At Clark University, Esteban Cardemil, Ph.D., and his team of undergraduate and graduate students in the Mental Health, Culture and Community Research Program are working to shine a light on the disparity faced by minority and economically disadvantaged groups in the United States. An associate professor in the department of psychology, Cardemil is also editor of the Journal of Latina/o Psychology, a collaboration between the National Latino Psychological Association and APA. Cardemil [More]
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Creativity: The path to identity
By Phyllis Hanlon
Museums house innumerable works from masters such as Renoir, Monet, Rodin and Jackson Pollock. But creativity doesn’t stop there. The family refrigerator might feature the creative renderings of a three-year old mind. And the fields of technology, science, health, education and more have produced their share of creative geniuses and innovation. Area psychologists helped to unravel the underpinnings of creativity and how it shapes a person’s identity. The research community defines creativity as something new or novel, original and task-appropriate, according to James Kaufman, Ph.D., professor of educational psychology at the NEAG School of Education at the University of Connecticut. [More]
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Dept. of Public Health approves bed closure
By Susan Gonsalves
The Department of Public Health conditionally approved UMass Memorial Medical Center’s plan to eliminate 13 of 27 inpatient psychiatry beds as part of a $30 million renovation project designed to increase the number of medical/surgical beds instead. In late April, hospital officials responded to a DPH request to outline how it would accommodate the region’s psychiatric patients following the bed reduction. In an 11-page letter, they described how they would address concerns about other facility options, patient insurance and transportation to alternate sites. UMMC CEO and President Eric Dickson has said that the remaining 14 beds in the “8 East,” [More]
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New Hampshire legislation expands mental health care
By Phyllis Hanlon
On May 11, the New Hampshire Senate unanimously passed an amendment to House Bill (HB) 400, which is intended to significantly improve access to beds for psychiatric patients and reorganize the state’s Division for Children, Youth and Families. Senate President Chuck Morse (R-Salem) and Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) originally brought the mental health component to the legislation, which was introduced in January 2017. Citing a shortage in the capacity to provide emergency mental health care and long-term treatment for patients, the Senators proposed that the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services undertake and complete specific actions. [More]
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Shortage of prompt care for children highlighted
By Pamela Berard
Appointment availability is low – and wait times, long – for a family seeking care for a child with depression, according to a recent study. The study, published by the International Journal of Health Services, from Harvard Medical School researchers and others, found that access to outpatient pediatric mental health care, whether with a child psychiatrist or a pediatrician, in the five metropolitan areas used in the study was limited, even for those with private insurance or willing to pay out of pocket – although it was even more difficult for those on Medicaid. The authors used the Blue Cross [More]
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Study: Military with mental issues discharged for misconduct
By Catherine Robertson Souter
According to a federal study, a high number of military personnel are given less-than-honorable discharges in spite of the fact that they had been diagnosed with conditions such as PTSD and traumatic brain injury. In 2010, Congress passed a law requiring the military to assess the impact of a PTSD or TBI diagnosis before separation for misconduct and the DOD issued policies to address separations for misconduct that involve PTSD or TBI. The study, mandated as part of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), also found that Department of Defense policies on addressing the impact of these injuries are [More]
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“13 Reasons Why” sparks controversy
By Pamela Berard
Mental health professionals have expressed concern about “13 Reasons Why,” the Web television series on Netflix that tells the story of Hannah, a teen who leaves behind tapes outlining 13 reasons why she committed suicide. The National Association of School Psychologists issued guidance for educators and families about the series and said in a statement, “We do not recommend that vulnerable youth, especially those who have any degree of suicidal ideation, watch this series. Its powerful storytelling may lead impressionable viewers to romanticize the choices made by the characters and/or develop revenge fantasies.” The Society of Clinical Child & Adolescent [More]
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