Thursday, June 17, 2004
Therapy in AmericaResults of a Harris poll sponsored by Psychology Today and PacifiCare Behavioral Health and published in April, available at the
Open Minds web site - " Two surveys were conducted as part of this study: 1) a telephone survey of a nationally representative cross-section of 500 adults ages 18 and over, and 2) an online survey of 1,730 members of the Harris Poll Online Panel who have needed or received treatment for a mental health problem within the past two years. The telephone data were weighted to ensure that the data accurately represent the national population of adults ages 18 and over. The data from the online survey were weighted to ensure that the data are representative of all adults who have needed or received mental-health treatment at some point within the past two years. All survey interviews were conducted between February 16 and March 5, 2004."
NAMI Establishes New Multicultural Action CenterJune 2 NAMI press release - "NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) today announced creation of a Multicultural Action Center (MAC) in conjunction with a national forum offering multicultural perspectives on President Bush’s New Freedom Commission Report. The new center replaces the NAMI Multicultural & International Outreach (MIO) Center established in 2002."
FDA Panel Backs Implant To Counter Depression Washington Post story - "A surgical implant that stimulates the brain should get government approval to treat chronic depression, an expert panel of federal experts said yesterday -- marking the first time an implanted device has been recommended for the treatment of a psychiatric disorder. Using a technique known as vagus nerve stimulation, the device uses electrodes implanted in the neck to activate brain regions that are believed to regulate mood. The decision by an expert advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration came after a day of clashing scientific opinions about whether the data submitted by the manufacturer were adequate for approval. Proponents of the device prevailed, citing the desperate need of patients with chronic depression that does not respond to existing treatments." [Viewing
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Grand jury critical of mental health agency management (California)Santa Rosa Press Democrat story - "Citing potential risk for mental patients, the Sonoma County grand jury wants the county mental health division to address deteriorating morale and improve working conditions. In an interim report released Wednesday, the grand jury said discontent with management and perceptions of interference in medical decisions are so widespread that key staff members are likely to leave..."
North Carolina overhaul of mental health services is laggingWilmington Star story - "Plans to change the state's mental health system, including closing wards at Dorothea Dix hospital, have fallen behind because patient demand is up and private services are refusing to take more difficult patients, officials say. Patient numbers in the geriatric ward at Dix were supposed to be cut nearly in half by July 1, but the new date to move some of the 33 patients has been pushed to next July. The child and adolescent unit was supposed to close in January, but it will remain open until Dix closes in 2007 because of an increase in patients. Dix Director Terry Stelle, in a memo about the delays, said 'community services have not come on line to serve many of these patients, and it may be several years before specialized facilities are developed.' " [Viewing
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Drug Firms Trying to Make Painkillers Less Abusable June 13
Washington Post story - "Millions of Americans suffer from intense but poorly treated pain that could be helped by today's broad array of morphine-based prescription painkillers. Millions of others abuse prescription narcotics, using them to get high rather than to ease pain, and many become addicted. This dilemma -- that legal painkillers are both under-used and abused -- has become a pressing issue since the introduction in the mid-1990s of the extended-release opioid OxyContin. The drug has provided enormous relief to many pain sufferers and could help many more, but it has also become a drug of choice for many addicts, who promptly discovered how to disable the extended-release aspect of the drug to get high on the enhanced dose. With the problem now clearly identified, dozens of researchers have embarked on a difficult and high-stakes race to find ways to keep the benefits of prescription painkillers available to pain sufferers while eliminating or reducing the possibility for abuse..." [Viewing
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Mental health courts encounter some criticismStory in the
Courier-Post (New Jersey) - "In some areas of the country, mentally ill people charged with low-level offenses are being paid attention by "mental health courts" where their needs are recognized and their cases are set aside for special consideration. But the idea, being tried in Ohio, New York, Florida and Alaska, is facing strong criticism from New Jersey mental health advocates. 'There are mixed feelings about mental health courts,' said William Waldman, former state Human Services commissioner who is writing a report on how 250 mentally ill prisoners can be better treated at the Camden County Jail. 'There's some controversy about their effectiveness,' said Waldman. 'They're not a magic bullet.' Nancy Wolff, a Rutgers University researcher, is expected to head a new state task force in New Jersey to find ways to treat and protect the mentally ill in jails and prisons throughout the state. Wolff is a critic of mental health courts, saying they effectively serve only 10 to 20 percent of the mentally ill in jails and prisons."
Communities around state start teen mental health screening programs (Pennsylvania)Wilkes-Barre Times Leader story on a 10-minute computer-assisted survey that "... could identify students who need further evaluation for depression, anxiety, substance abuse and other problems ... Based on the success of the university's TeenScreen Program at sites around the country, including in Erie, program organizers hope to expand into more high schools and recreational programs. The program is meant to identify teenagers who need a more detailed assessment. The survey asks a variety of questions about mental well-being, including how feelings of anxiety impair daily activities. Students also answers questions about suicide attempts, alcohol and drug use."
Mental health emergency room crisis to get funding relief (South Carolina)Story in
The State - "Mental health patients waiting in emergency rooms for proper treatment are getting roughly $11.5 million in funding to help remedy an impending crisis, health officials said Wednesday. The new money, announced as a collaboration between the state Mental Health Department and Health and Human Services, will be used to add 70 new treatment beds as well as fund law enforcement officers and medical teams to handle situations involving mental health patients."
