Columnists, Articles
500 million, but the need still grows
By John Grohol, Psy.D.
Psych Central just reached an amazing milestone in our 23 years online. We’ve just passed 500 million visitors who’ve come to our site to learn more about mental illness symptoms and treatments, psychology, personality, parenting, or a relationship issue. We’re proud of this achievement, but we also realize we have a much longer road to travel. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the annual suicide rate in the United States has increased 24 percent since 1999. During this same time period, the availability of mental health information and support online has increased dramatically. We went from [More]
Tags: Psych Central, Dr. Grohol, mental illness, suicide, editorial, mental health website, support groups, psychology, personality, parenting, relationship issues
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Goldwater Rule is re-visited
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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Connecticut’s troubled adolescents lack coverage
By Eileen Weber
One in every five children between 13 and 18-years-old have or will have a serious mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Based on its statistics in 2015, only a little over half of children aged eight to 15 received mental health services. Laura Whitmore, associate minister at Southport Congregational in Southport, Conn., has first-hand experience with this situation. With approximately 100 kids and teens in the church’s middle and high school youth groups, she has seen an uptick in issues like stress, anxiety, and depression. But, there have been more alarming problems as well. “I [More]
Tags: children, mental health professionals, mental illness, kids, Connecticut, behavior problems, psychiatry, diagnosis, Lawmakers
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Psychologists weigh benefits, challenges of working in inpatient hospital settings
By Phyllis Hanlon
Psychologists today have opportunities to pursue several different professional career paths. New England Psychologist spoke to psychologists who practice in inpatient settings and found that this venue offers both rewards and challenges. Before retiring, Robert J. Kamman, Ph.D, of Raymond, Maine, spent 32 years working at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center in New York, where he conducted initial screenings on every admission and determined the necessity for assessments. His responsibilities also included administering tests, running group therapy sessions, collaborating with the art and music therapist, occasionally treating patients on an individual basis and frequently working with families. Throughout his career, the [More]
Tags: psychologist, mental illness, hospital, administering tests, group therapy sessions, inpatient, aggressive behavior, suicidal tendencies, burnout
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Transitional housing bridges gap for people with mental illness
By Eileen Weber
For a number of years, New Hampshire Hospital, the only psychiatric hospital in the state, has been massively overcrowded with too many patients and not enough beds. Patients had little choice but to leave the hospital only to find themselves living on the streets or seeking treatment in already crowded emergency rooms. “There needs to be an array of treatment that used to exist,” said Ken Norton, M.D., executive director of the New Hampshire chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “Right now, when patients are discharged, there’s very little step-down.” That’s starting to change. Legislation was recently passed [More]
Tags: patients, mental illness, New Hampshire, Transitional housing, emergency rooms, psychiatric hospital, treatments, legislations, Harbor Homes
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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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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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