Monday, February 17, 2003
Exploring Group Therapies Article in the February
Psychiatric Times - "Groups are important throughout the course of a patient's therapy, especially for patients who have substance use disorders. Group therapy's clinical and cost benefit is evaluated for its efficacy in preventing and treating substance abuse."
Restoring the U.S. Health System: A Newsmaker Interview With Floyd E. Bloom Transcript at
Medscape of an interview with Bloom , who delivered the President's Lecture at the American Association for the Advancement of Science 2003 Annual Meeting, "mandating creation of a National Commission to Restore the American Health System. The AAAS will help define the goals for this commission and will recommend that President Bush and Congress approve legislation defining its role in healthcare policy." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Adverse experiences in early childhood cause brain adaptations that can lead to later disorders Emory University Health Sciences Center press release at
EurekAlert - "Adverse experiences both perinatally and during early childhood, including abuse, neglect and severe medical illness, can have both immediate and long-term consequences on the development of the central nervous system, according to accumulating research in rodents and primates." Investigators from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine on Staurday presented evidence detailing neural adaptations to early adverse experiences at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Denver.
Technological advances making life easier for people with physical and mental challenges American Association for the Advancement of Science press release at
EurekAlert - "Screen displays that deliver the written word to people who are sight-impaired, the latest ear implants for those who are deaf, and tools for individuals with mental challenges are on the cusp of a major technological revolution, paralleled by a growing aging population."
VA Heart Attack Care For Mentally Ill Shows Little Disparity Research Communications Services item at
InteliHealth - "Unlike many private hospitals, Veterans Affairs medical centers do a good job of providing equal care for heart attack patients with a history of mental illness or substance abuse, according to a study in the February issue of Health Services Research. Previous research on mentally ill patients in non-VA health systems shows they receive poorer care than those with no mental illness and have higher rates of mortality for several conditions, including heart attacks."
Cognitive Therapy For Schizophrenia: Hope For Those Whom Drugs Haven't Helped American Association for the Advancement of Science press release at
InteliHealth: - "In an about face, the British National Health Service recently adopted cognitive therapy as a valid and reimbursable treatment for schizophrenia, a disease of the mind that traditionally has been thought of as unresponsive to all but powerful drug therapies."
Cruelest Choice Faces Parents of Mentally Ill New York Times story on mothers and fathers who are being urged to "give up custody of their children and turn them over to New York State's child welfare agencies so that they can get the mental health care that they otherwise cannot afford or gain access to." [Viewing
New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].
Magellan Subsidiary Avoids Seizure Washington Post story - "Magellan Health Services ... struck an agreement last week with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance to lift a seizure order on Tennessee Behavioral Health, a Magellan subsidiary. Magellan reported in January that the state of Tennessee had obtained an order to seize the assets of Behavioral Health."
Budget cuts aim at mental health care for children (Maine) Portland Press Herald story - "Thousands of Maine's mentally disabled children would lose some mental health services under Gov. John Baldacci's proposed budget, outraging advocates who say the cuts go too far even in an era of tight budgets and fiscal restraint."
