In The News

States Can Now Offer Broader Mental Health Treatment Thanks to Medicaid Changes

Posted on November 15, 2018

Slate.com

Reports on the decision by CMS to allow states to provide more inpatient treatment for people with serious mental illness by tapping Medicaid.

State sued over involuntary psychiatric boarding

Posted on November 13, 2018

Associated Press

Discusses the class action lawsuit filed by the New Hampshire chapter of the ACLU on behalf of psychiatric patients being involuntarily held in hospital emergency departments. 

More Leeway for States to Expand Inpatient Mental Health

Posted on November 13, 2018

Associated Press

The administration on Tuesday allowed states to provide more inpatient treatment for people with serious mental illness by tapping Medicaid, a potentially far-reaching move to address issues from homelessness to violence.

Should Childhood Trauma Be Treated As A Public Health Crisis?

Posted on November 9, 2018

NPR

Reports on a new study published in JAMA that shows how the effects of childhood trauma persist and are linked to mental illness and addiction in adulthood. Researchers suggest that it might be more effective to approach trauma as a public health crisis than to limit treatment to individuals.

Mental health experts declined to commit Thousand Oaks gunman Ian David Long after April disturbance

Posted on November 8, 2018

Discusses the Thousand Oaks gunman’s history of possible PTSD and the fact that there is not a link between mental illness and mass shootings. 

People with serious mental illness tend to die prematurely. We can fix that

Posted on November 8, 2018

STAT

Looks at the fact that people with serious mental illness die 10 to 25 years earlier than the general population. In low- and middle-income countries, 90 percent of people with serious mental illnesses are outside the formal health care system. There is growing global evidence that shows how to change these disparities including new care guidelines released by the World Health Organization.

What to say to someone experiencing anxiety or a panic attack

Posted on November 7, 2018

Today.com

Looks at how everyone experiences anxiety differently, but if you've ever been around someone who is having a panic attack, suggesting "Try not to worry" is not the best idea. 

Using Supportive Housing To Improve Health Outcomes: Evidence From Arizona

Posted on November 2, 2018

Health Affairs Blog

In January 2017, Aetna commissioned an independent evaluation to determine whether certain social determinant-of-health-related interventions offered by Mercy Care, including its scattered site housing program, reduced cost and improved health outcomes for people with a serious mental illness designation. Approximately 600 individuals enrolled in the scattered site housing program met the study criteria and were included in the analysis. 

Navigating Louisiana’s criminal courts with a mental illness is daunting. These people are trying to help.

Posted on November 1, 2018

NOLA.com

“Everything going OK?” It’s a simple question, one 22nd Judicial District Judge Peter Garcia asks each of the dozen or so people who appear before him at his behavioral health court every week. Advocates say this alternative court, which recognizes how a person with mental illness may struggle to comply with court probation, is what many in Louisiana need but only a few receive.

We Need to Talk More About Mental Health at Work

Posted on November 1, 2018

Harvard Business Review

Human capital is the most valuable resource in our economy. As we recognize neurological and emotional diversity in all of its forms, workplace cultures need to make room for the wide range of emotions we experience. We need more flexibility, sensitivity, and open-mindedness from employers. The same treatment and attention they’d give to a broken bone or maternity leave. Because when people get the space and the support they need, it can change their careers, and their lives.