Friday, February 18, 2005

Self-help agencies are significant source of care for people involved with criminal justice system  Item in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - "Alternative service providers such as self-help agencies appear to serve a comparable proportion of clients who have had contact with the criminal justice system as their counterparts in traditional community mental health agencies, according to a study published recently in Psychiatric Services. The authors looked at the characteristics, service needs and involvement with the criminal justice system of new clients at 11 self-help agencies and 10 community mental health centres..."  
  

Muslim clergy report more counselling for mental health issues: study  Story in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - "A study published recently in Psychiatric Services looked at the nature and extent of the counselling role of imams — Islamic clergy — in response to their congregations’ needs across the United States, especially since September 11, 2001. The authors conducted a cross-sectional nationwide survey, mailing questionnaires to 730 mosques across the United States. From the 62 responses, the authors gathered data about the education and counselling skills training of the imams, the reasons imams were approached for counselling, and the ethnicities of the imams and their congregations."  
  

Mental health funding cuts could devastate some (Missouri) St. Joseph News-Press story - "Numbers never cry. And they don’t feel. Their job is to impassively state the facts. And these are the facts. Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt’s budget proposal calls for more than $40 million in cuts from the Missouri Department of Mental Health. If this proposal becomes fact, thousands of Missourians who rely on psychiatric services and alcohol and drug treatment programs would be stranded without treatment. Many trapped on an island between incarceration and death."  
  

Mental health parity bill advances (Iowa) Des Moines Register story - "Legislation is advancing to require that insurance companies provide the same kind of coverage for mental illness as physical ailments, giving hope to supporters that this may finally be the year for progress on the issue. A House committee on Thursday endorsed such legislation, which leaders say could have enough traction to make it into law. The bill goes to the full chamber for debate."