Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Deep Brain Stimulation May Increase Suicide Risk   Reuters Health story at Medscape - "Patients who have undergone successful deep brain stimulation (DBS) as treatment for movement disorders appear to be at increased risk of suicide, Swiss physicians report in the December 14th issue of the journal Neurology. DBS combined with levodopa dose reductions may also unmask symptoms of restless leg syndrome (RLS), an American research team reports in the same issue." "med"  
  

Screening screen for mental illness, addiction (Indiana)   Warrick Publishing story - "Child Protective Services (CPS) case managers will begin screening children at risk for mental health or addiction problems on Jan. 1 under the expansion of a pilot process already underway in nine Indiana counties. The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) announced today that CPS case managers in all 92 counties have been trained to recognize behavioral health and addiction risk factors in youth and are partnering with local mental health agencies to coordinate assessment and treatment services..."  
  

Benefits Found in Long-Distance Psychotherapy   Newswise press release - "It may seem like a basic necessity of any treatment that the patient and the doctor be in the same room—especially in the case of the very personal process of psychotherapy. But as the January issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter reports, studies are showing that psychotherapy can be effective even when the doctor is “seeing” the patient through phone calls or video. One study done on veterans in Maryland, for example, found that patients who used computer video to make contact with their psychiatrist were just as satisfied with therapy as those who had more traditional sessions. Another study found that symptoms improved in depressed patients who received cognitive behavioral therapy by phone. " The Harvard Mental Health Letter is a fee-based newsletter.  
  

Advocates for children target law on mental-health care (Iowa)    Des Moines Register story - "Advocates for children say it's wrong that the law forces families to relinquish parental rights in order to get guaranteed, fully funded mental-health treatment. Staff members at the Department of Human Services say one of their top priorities this legislative session is to persuade legislators to change this law. As it stands now, parents must get a court order declaring that their child is 'in need of assistance.' This process should be reserved for abused and neglected children, said Human Services Director Kevin Concannon..."