Thursday, July 10, 2003
Evidence Concerning the Effectiveness of Psychotherapies With Children and Adolescents Current Opinion in Psychiatry article at
Medscape - "Psychotherapies play an important role in the treatment of psychopathological disorders in children and adolescents. While there is no doubt that, in principle, psychotherapy can be effective in this age group, this does not apply to all psychotherapeutic interventions. It is therefore essential to find out which psychotherapies are effective in which patients and under which conditions. Recent studies investigating this question have focused on empirically supported psychotherapeutic treatments carried out in efficacy and effectiveness studies. A selection of these studies are discussed in this review." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Welfare: Crime and punishment -- state pays both ways (New Zealand) National Business Review article by Dr. Muriel Newman, Act New Zealand MP - "New figures, released to me last week by Associate Social Services Minister Parekura Horomia, show that in 2002, some 3203 people had their benefits cancelled due to imprisonment. This means that almost half of all offenders who committed a crime serious enough to warrant a prison sentence came off a benefit. ... Some of the most violent offenders in our prisons are those in urgent need of mental health treatment. It has been estimated that some 10% of the entire prison population is in that category. However, the prison system is such that providing mental health treatment to someone in jail is virtually impossible. ... In reality, these offenders should not be in prisons but in a forensic mental health facility, where they can have access to appropriate medical treatment. The problem is that the only such facility Auckland's Mason Clinic has only 84 beds."
Studies Clarify Diagnosis, Identify Possible Treatment For Adults With ADHD And Bipolar Disorder
Science Daily News article - "Two studies from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) address the challenges of diagnosing and treating individuals with both attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder (BPD). Published in the July, 2003, issue of
Biological Psychiatry, one report clearly identifies symptoms of both disorders in study participants, supporting the theory that some individuals truly suffer from both disorders. The second study in the same issue finds that the antidepressant bupropion may be helpful in treating those with both ADHD and BPD."
Citizens lobby for center (Maryland) Owings Mills Times story - "Residents of the community surrounding the Rosewood Center will begin a letter-writing, phone-calling and e-mailing campaign to urge state officials to keep the facility open, an official said. ... Nelson J. Sabatini, secretary of the Maryland Department of Mental Health, said this week no decision has been made on closing any state facility for the developmentally disabled."
Voucher Program Detailed by SAMHSA; Senate Unimpressed Feature article at
Join Together - "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently offered a first glimpse of what President Bush's addiction-treatment voucher program might look like in practice. But the Senate dealt the proposal a heavy blow when it refused last week to fund the program, citing tight budgets and concerns about implementation." See also the SAMHSA fact sheet on the
Access to Recovery program and the background document
How It Will Work.
