Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Filling a training gap  Article in the January APA Monitor - "A growing number of psychology training programs are homing in on the treatment of serious mental illness--an area where relatively few psychologists are specialized despite evidence that their psychosocial interventions boost recovery rates. Indeed, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, in a report issued in July 2003, called for more empirically validated rehabilitation programs and recommended that they focus on recovery and resilience instead of symptom management--all recommendations drawn from psychological research and practice. Bringing that shift to fruition, however, requires that more psychologists be specifically trained to provide and study serious mental health (SMI) treatments."  
  

Serious rehabilitation   Article in the January APA Monitor - "Serious mental illness (SMI) affects 5.4 percent of the U.S. adult population each year, but only about 15 percent receive proper medication, counseling and community integration interventions, according to research in the Journal of Public Health (Vol. 92, No. 1). The other 25 percent who are treated at all receive high doses of medication that reduce their symptoms--but also compromise their life functioning and fail to address underlying problems. ... In particular, a number of treatment programs are drawing on the work of psychologists Gordon Paul, PhD, of the University of Houston, and Robert Lentz, PhD, a private consultant in Champaign, Ill., who in the 1970s developed a social learning method of rehabilitation. The method encourages patients to learn and demonstrate social skills that allow them to function in a community. Programs using the social learning approach teach outpatient clients coping skills, catch and tackle problems early, and even treat the most severely ill patients."  
  

Building a mentally healthy work force   Article in the January APA Monitor - "Psychologists and occupational health leaders highlighted programs aimed at alleviating work-family conflicts and workplace stress at a recent conference organized by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and more than 20 co-sponsors, including APA. The 2004 Steps to a Healthier U.S. Workforce Symposium brought together leaders from the occupational safety and the health promotion communities to explore ways to improve employees' health and safety..."  
  

Benefits of Childhood Social Intervention   Ivanhoe Newswire story - "Childhood social development programs lead to more positive adulthood functioning, according to a recent study. Researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle, examined the long-term effects of a childhood social development program when participants reached 21 years of age. The program included teacher and parent training, and child social and emotional skill development. Children in a full-intervention group received about four years of intervention throughout elementary school. Those in a control group received no intervention."  
  

Psychiatric Diagnosis Does Not Hamper AIDS Treatment   Reuters Health story at Medscape - "AIDS patients who are receiving treatment for a psychiatric disorder benefit from antiretroviral therapy, and appear to be more likely to start antiretroviral therapy earlier and to have it prescribed for at least 6 months than their counterparts without a psychiatric disorder, according to a report in the December 1st issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes." "med"  
  

Clozapine, Olanzapine May Increase Risk of Insulin Resistance   Medscape Medical News story - "Use of clozapine and olanzapine is associated with a significantly higher risk of developing insulin resistance than is use of risperidone, according to the results of a cross-sectional study published in the January issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. 'While the incidence of new-onset diabetes mellitus may be increasing in patients with schizophrenia treated with certain atypical antipsychotic agents, it remains unclear whether atypical agents are directly affecting glucose metabolism or simply increasing known risk factors for diabetes,' write David C. Henderson, MD, from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues." "med"  
  

Mental health catastrophe looms after tsunami terror   AFP story reprinted at Yahoo - "Beyond the massive toll in human life, tsunamis which tore apart Indian Ocean coastlines are set to pose a global mental health catastrophe as thousands of people live haunted by the sudden, ferocious wall of water. From tourists whose holidays turned apocalyptic to survivors gnawed by guilt, to many outsiders whose only connection to the horror was watching its aftermath on television, the scale of the tsunamis has few modern comparisons."  
  

Judge in Mental-Disability Case Is Now Focus of One   New York Times story - "A retired federal judge who has dementia and lives in a nursing home is at the center of a legal debate that could have a far-reaching effect on the care of patients with Alzheimer's disease. More than 20 years ago, Judge Bruce M. Van Sickle of United States District Court in North Dakota issued a sweeping ruling that the state's institutions for the mentally disabled were systematically violating the rights of their patients. He ordered that the disabled be moved to places where they could be given the 'least restrictive' appropriate care. One of Judge Van Sickle's sons is now asking the North Dakota Supreme Court to release him from his Bismarck nursing home so he can be given the same individual care that he once ordered for other disabled people." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Anticonvulsant drug found to help bipolar alcoholics Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story - "Researchers have found that an anticonvulsant drug may help reduce alcohol use in people with bipolar disorder. A study published in this month's issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry found that patients with both alcoholism and bipolar disorder who took the drug valproate drank less heavily and less often than people with those disorders who did not take the drug. If confirmed by other studies, the finding could have a significant impact on treatment and lead to broader use of the drug, physicians say. Forms of valproate are marketed under several trade names, including Depakote..."  
  

Mental health department seeks to downsize facilities Story in the News Advance - "Virginia’s mental health and substance abuse department has proposed to rebuild and downsize some of its facilities, including the Central Virginia Training Center, Amherst County’s biggest employer. Several of the 97 buildings on the campus are outdated, department officials said, and it would be cheaper to build new ones than to renovate. If the plan is approved by the General Assembly next year, there would be fewer patients and employees at the center. The 350-acre campus also might shrink, because department officials are considering selling some of the land."  
  

Police urged to use services of mental-health experts in crises (California) Monterey Herald story - "Police agencies in Monterey County should review their policies regarding deadly force in the wake of the police shooting of a mentally disturbed man in Salinas last year, according to the county grand jury. Also, the county Board of Supervisors should consider providing on-call mental health professionals to deal with police standoffs, the grand jury suggests in its annual report released Monday..."  
  

OAP mental health service wins praise (UK) Birmingham Evening Mail story - "A service for older people with mental health problems in Birmingham and Solihull has been singled out for praise in the NHS's annual report. Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust helps patients aged over 65 recover in the community rather than in hospital, supported by a special team of mental health workers. The trust is one of only a handful highlighted in the report by NHS chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp. The community rehabilitation team covers south Birmingham and looks after about 150 patients..."