The National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse is affiliated with the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion!
TO CONTACT: THE CLEARINGHOUSE: SELFHELPCLEARINGHOUSE@GMAIL.COM … SUSAN ROGERS: SUSAN.ROGERS.ADVOCACY@GMAIL.COM … JOSEPH ROGERS: JROGERS08034@GMAIL.COM
The Key Update is compiled, written, and edited by Susan Rogers, Director, National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse.
Ballot Drop Boxes Are Quicker Than the USPS; And in Some States (and Guam) It’s Not Too Late to Register to Vote!
“With the USPS delays, ballot drop boxes are a quicker way to submit completed absentee/mail-in ballots,” according to Marie Claire magazine. “Depending on their location, [locked] ballot drop boxes are often monitored by surveillance cameras or election workers that work specified hours—offering a secure, faster alternative to submitting completed absentee/mail-in ballots,” the article notes. “The best way to find the latest information would be on your state's Board of Elections website or by googling your specific county's drop box locations.” For the Marie Claire article, click here. For ballot return options in every state and the District of Columbia, click here. And as of today (October 15), you can still register to vote in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Guam, Nebraska (deadline Oct. 16!), New Hampshire, North Dakota (voter registration “not required”!), Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont (“no deadline”!), Washington, and Wyoming! For election deadlines in your state, click here.
Action Alert: Urge Your Senators to Oppose the Supreme Court Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, Who Is Hostile to Disability Rights and Human Rights
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has compiled a brief record of Amy Coney Barrett’s decisions on disability rights. Spoiler alert: “Amy Coney Barrett has demonstrated a hostility to disability rights that raises grave concerns about her replacement of Justice Ginsburg on the Supreme Court,” the Bazelon Center writes. For example, “Barrett has written that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) should have been struck down as unconstitutional,” and “Judge Barrett has sided overwhelmingly against workers, including workers with disabilities, and civil rights plaintiffs in her decisions.” For the Bazelon Center paper, click here. To urge your U.S. senators to oppose Barrett’s nomination, click here or call 202.224.3121 and ask to be connected with their offices.
Colorful “Designline” Offers Overview of Peer Support Workforce Timeline
“This ‘Designline’ (Graphic Design Timeline) aims to increase awareness of the rich history, context, and challenges of the mental health peer support workforce,” according to the introduction to this 11-page “infographic,” which spans 12 decades. Its first milestone is the 1908 publication of A Mind That Found Itself, by Clifford W. Beers, who later founded the organization now called Mental Health America. The last is “Digital Peer Support Certification launched by [a] partnership [between] Geisel School of Medicine [at] Dartmouth College and peer specialists; 1,700 people from 30 states and 4 nations trained; 926 certified,” in 2020. In between are numerous mental health peer support landmarks, as well as themes that sum up each time period. “While opinions may diverge about choice of events, our purpose is to increase awareness of peer support workforce history,” writes Jessica Wolf, Ph.D., of Decision Solutions Consulting, who developed the Designline for the Central East Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network. To download the free document, click here.
Free “Creating Welcoming Parks & Recreation Environments” Training Offered by TU Collaborative
“Creating Welcoming Parks & Recreation Environments: A Training for Professionals and Volunteers” is the latest free training by the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion. The training “consists of 7 learning modules focusing on specific strategies to foster parks that are welcoming to everyone, including people with mental health conditions.” Each lesson, posted on the TU Collaborative website, “includes a video, a reading, as well as quiz and discussion questions…This document was developed with input from parks and recreation professionals and draws upon the life experiences of individuals living with mental illnesses.” For more information, including the manual and the trainings, along with links to additional resources, click here.
Free Webinar: “Combating Health Disparities Through Equitable Development”
On October 22, 2020, at 2 p.m. ET, Families USA will host a one-hour webinar on “Combating Health Disparities Through Equitable Development. “[T]he health inequities that impact our communities…are profoundly influenced by legacies of segregation and disinvestment that fueled inequities in opportunity, health, and well-being even before the COVID-19 crisis. The community development industry was originally founded during the civil rights movement in response to discriminatory lending practices, and [is] responsible for investments in health clinics, affordable housing, cooperatively owned grocery stores, and more. Join us to learn what the industry’s role is in our current moment, and how advocates for health and economic justice can better collaborate to address shared goals.” For more information and to register, click here. (Courtesy of Elizabeth Stone)
Here's Your Chance to Help Transform Mental Health Services Research in the U.S.!
If you’ve ever served on an advisory board for a research or evaluation project, provided even limited consultation, or partnered as a peer-run organization in such research, you’re eligible to participate in a national survey aimed at better understanding researchers’ and stakeholders’ experiences of participatory research! The anonymous, 10-20 minute survey includes both closed- and open-ended questions about your experiences with such research, perspectives on barriers, and potential targets for policy change and resource development. Findings will be used to inform future projects focused on building stakeholder research capacity and strengthening participatory research in the U.S. All participants will receive a $20 Amazon gift card. This new study is connected to “Building Capacity for Stakeholder Involvement and Leadership in Mental Health Services Research,” included in the August 2020 Key Update, which involved detailed interviews. Principal Investigator Dr. Nev Jones (genevra@usf.edu) writes, “We are still doing interviews ($50 per interview) so feel free to contact me about that too.” The survey IRB ID# is 001319; the project including this survey was developed with the PCORI-funded PathED Collaborative, co-led by Drs. Nev Jones (genevra@usf.edu) and Linda Callejas (callejas@usf.edu). For more information and/or to participate, click here.
Free Webinar: “Incorporating Youth Leadership into Treatment” on Oct. 27, 2020
On October 27, 2020, at 2 p.m. ET, Doors to Wellbeing will host a free webinar on “Incorporating Youth Leadership into Treatment.” Doors to Wellbeing writes: “Come learn from these experts on how they have incorporated youth leadership into treatment plans to empower youth to see how their resilience is leadership. You will also hear from a youth who received behavioral health treatment and how leadership has helped them thrive.” To register, click here.
The Bazelon Center Will Honor Chacku Matthai on Nov. 17; Chacku’s Free Archived Webinar on “Creating an Anti-Racism Framework” Is Now Available for Viewing
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, “the nation’s premiere advocacy group for the civil rights, full inclusion and equality of adults and children with mental disabilities,” has selected Chacku Matthai as the Advocate of the Year for his “tireless advocacy on behalf of people with psychiatric disabilities, and particularly those who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color,” the NYAPRS E-News reports. The free, virtual Annual Awards celebration will take place on November 17, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. ET. More information will be coming soon at this link. And Chacku’s free webinar on “Creating an Anti-Racism Framework in the Psychiatric Survivors Movement,” hosted by MindFreedom International on September 18, 2020, is now available for viewing. Jim Gottstein, author of The Zyprexa Papers and founder of the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights, writes that the webinar’s “applicability goes far beyond the psychiatric survivor movement to how to heal the divisions tearing the U.S. apart…It is the best thing I have seen in quite a while.” To download the slides, click here. To view the training, click here.
Can We Measure Recovery? Yes, but It’s Complicated
“… the concept of recovery is not well defined, so studies and instrumentation vary widely,” according to the Introduction to “Can We Measure Recovery? A Compendium of Recovery and Recovery-Related Instruments,” published in 2000. “…it must be recognized that this collection is a “point in time” collection, which may or may not reflect the final version of a particular instrument or measure.” To download the 227-page manual, click here. (Courtesy of Judene Shelley) To download the complete text of “A Consumer-constructed Scale to Measure Empowerment among Users of Mental Health Services,” by E. Sally Rogers, Judi Chamberlin, et al. (1997), click here. (Courtesy of Judene Shelley) For the World Health Organization scales: “WHOQOL: Measuring Quality of Life,” click here, and “WHOTQOL-100: The Hundred Questions with Response Scales,” click here. (Courtesy of Laysha Ostrow) For “5 Quality of Life Questionnaires and Assessments,” click here.
National Survey Seeks Input from Certified Peer Specialists
“Routine peer support has shown to increase individuals’ hope, sense of personal control, ability to make positive changes, and decreased psychiatric symptoms,” writes Dr. Karen Fortuna of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. “Despite these benefits, the organizational structure of peer support is not known. Dartmouth College is initiating a national survey of trained Certified Peer Specialists to help us understand the organizational structure of peer support services.” For more information and/or to participate in the 15-minute survey, click here. (Courtesy of Judene Shelley)
New Report of Diverse First-Person Accounts of Psychosis Has Just Been Published
Psychosis Outside the Box includes “diverse accounts of experiences associated with psychosis that have been traditionally neglected,” Dr. Nev Jones writes. She and co-editor Shannon Pagdon “focus on visions and quasi-visual experiences, ‘felt presences,’ and alterations of time and space. The compilation includes both first-person descriptions and, for those who opt to provide this, strategies developed to address any distressing aspects of these experiences.” Dr. Jones adds, “We will add new entries to the compilation periodically.” For a link to download the free report, which is directly below a link that you can use to add your own experience, click here.
Mini-Conference: “Equity in Access, Services, and Outcomes for Children, Youth, and Families During Covid-19
The National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health will host a virtual “mini-conference” on November 10 and November 12, 2020, from 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET. Workshop themes and tracks are “Tackling Mental Health Disparities for Children of Color” and “Mental Health, Substance Use, and Family and Peer Virtual Support Services That Work.” Registration is $50/person or $45/person for groups of 10 or more. For more information and a link to the full conference schedule, click here.
“Who Will Benefit From Psychedelic Medicine?” The Washington Post Asks
“These [psychedelic] substances are being touted as a game-changing intervention for mental health. But it’s not clear if their promise will be accessible to all,” according to a recent story in The Washington Post Magazine. “There is little legal risk in White use of psychedelic substances. But Black and non-White communities have been historically over-policed and heavily incarcerated for possession or sales of some of these substances,” the article notes. For the Washington Post article, click here. For “The Current State of Psychedelics in Psychiatry” (abstract), click here. (The following two articles were included in the June 2020 edition of the Key Update: “We can no longer ignore the potential of psychedelic drugs to treat depression” (click here). And for “My Adventures with the Trip Doctors,” click here.
Covid-19 Is Interrupting Mental Health Services in Most Countries, WHO Survey Shows, While Experts Ask, “Will Drug Firms Cash In on Our Covid Anxiety”?
“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a new WHO survey. The survey of 130 countries provides the first global data showing the devastating impact of COVID-19 on access to mental health services and underscores the urgent need for increased funding.” For the press release, including statistics, click here. (Courtesy of NYAPRS E-News) For “Study: U.S. Families’ Mental, Behavioral Health Worse in Pandemic,” click here. And for “Will drug firms cash in on our Covid anxiety? Experts fear vast numbers of people will end up on antidepressants they don’t need,” click here.
Could This Tiny Home Help Solve Homelessness?
This tiny home, the Boxabl Casita, 20’ ×20’ x 9.6’, is “intended to solve housing issues like affordability, homelessness, disaster relief and sustainability,” according to the manufacturers. “Delivery and unboxing are included in the $50,000 price, though land, permits, or other needs will likely add costs. They will come with plumbing, electricity, and HVAC preinstalled and ready for hookup,” according to Business Insider. “Boxabl buildings are more durable and energy efficient than traditional homes. They are built using a new construction method that makes them resistant to fire, floods, rot, pests, high winds and more,” the company said in a press release. The houses come “complete with fridge, stove, washer/dryer, bathroom, kitchen, and much more,” Boxabl promises. To see a short video of how the house unfolds and then becomes a completely furnished home, which went viral on Twitter, click here. For the Business Insider article, click here.
“Gamifying Interventions May Improve Mental Health,” Researchers Find; In Another Study, Researchers Say Internet Gaming Youth May Be Less Anxious Than Their Non-Gaming Peers
“A mobile mental health intervention may improve resilience and reduces attrition when delivered as a game,” according to a study by researchers in Germany and the U.K. “A new randomized control trial has found that turning mobile mental health intervention into a smartphone game can potentially improve well-being,” ScienceDaily reports. “The five-week study shows that gamifying the content of mobile interventions improved resilience, a key character trait that reduces the susceptibility to depression, stress, and anxiety.” For the press release, click here. For the PLOS One report of the study, click here. And for “Internet gaming youth not more prone to psychiatric disorders: Some passionate gamers may even be less anxious than their non-gaming peers,” click here.
DOD Report on Suicide Shows “Suicide Decedents Are Primarily Enlisted, Male, and Less Than 30 Years of Age” and “Most Firearm Deaths of Service Members (83%) Are the Result of Suicide, not Combat (3.5%)…”
In its recently released “Annual Suicide Report” for Calendar Year 2019, the Department of Defense (DOD) noted that in “CY 2019, 498 members died by suicide. Military suicide rates are comparable with the U.S. adult population, after accounting for age and sex, for Active Component and National Guard, and lower for the Reserve.” The report also noted that there is a “continued heightened risk for young and enlisted members; suicide decedents are primarily enlisted, male, and less than 30 years of age.” “The Department is closely monitoring the potential impacts of the pandemic on death by suicide within the military population,” the DOD writes. “At this time, it is too early to determine whether suicide rates will increase in CY 2020.” The DOD fact sheet also notes: “Most firearm deaths of Service members are the result of suicide (83.0%), as compared to combat (3.5%), accident (2.0%), [or] homicide (9.0%).” For the six-page DOD fact sheet about the report, click here. For the 76-page report, click here. (Courtesy of Janet Paleo)
“FDA Orders Strongers Warnings on Benzodiazepines”; and SAMHSA Issues Latest National Survey of Drug Use and Health
“The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants updated boxed warnings on benzodiazepines to reflect the ‘serious’ risks of abuse, misuse, addiction, physical dependence, and withdrawal reactions associated with these medications,” Medscape Medical News reports. “The FDA also wants revisions to the patient medication guides for benzodiazepines to help educate patients and caregivers about these risks…Overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines jumped from 1,298 in 2010 to 11,537 in 2017—an increase of more than 780%. Most of these deaths involved benzodiazepines taken with prescription opioids.” For the article, click here. And in September 2020, SAMHSA issued the latest annual report of the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), based on NSDUH data from 2019 and earlier years. For more information and the report, click here.
Some Mental Health Cartoons Offer Comic Relief in This Difficult Time
“Discussions about mental health and mental health problems aren’t easy,” according to futurelearn.com. “One way artists are tackling the tricky topic is with cartoons. Personal and confessional cartoons and comics depict mental health problems with sensitivity, honesty and humour.” Note: This article was published in May 2016, before things got even scarier. To view the cartoons, click here.
You’ll Find Some Healthy Lifestyle Advice in This October 2020 Digest
For “Brain Research Shows the Arts Promote Mental Health,” click here. For “Mental health days. Meeting-free times. Companies are adding new benefits to help workers cope,” click here. For “An ‘Awe Walk’ Might Do Wonders for Your Well-Being: Older men and women who took a fresh look at the objects and vistas around them felt more upbeat and hopeful,” click here. For “What All That Touch Deprivation Is Doing to Us: It’s going to be a while before we can hug freely again. What does that mean for our mental health?” click here. For “A walk on the beach or by a lake may boost your mental health, new study finds,” click here. For “Want to Be Happier? Evidence-based Tricks to Get You There,” click here.
The October 2020 Digest of Articles about the Criminal Justice System, in Which Many Individuals with Mental Health Conditions Are Incarcerated (and the Key Update continues after this Digest)
For “Eligible, but excluded: A guide to removing the barriers to jail voting—While people in state or federal prison generally cannot vote, most people in local jails can, although numerous barriers prevent them from doing so,” click here. For “Mental Health and Police Violence: How Crisis Intervention Teams Are Failing,” click here. For “Confinement and Contagion,” click here. For “In Place of Police: The Oregon Experiment,” click here. For “ ‘I Begged Them To Let Me Die’: How Federal Prisons Became Coronavirus Death Traps,” click here. For “This City Stopped Sending Policy to Every 911 Call: Riding along with the civilian ‘crisis responders’ of Olympia, Washington,” click here. For “Credit Overdue: How States Can Mitigate Academic Credit Transfer Problems for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System”—a 55-page manual—click here. For “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Death Penalty Skeptic, Has Died,” click here. For “The 7 minutes of chaos and confusion that led to the police shooting of Juston Root,” click here. For “Unredacted FBI Document Sheds New Light on White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement: A 2006 intelligence assessment reveals that officials had concerns about the infiltration of police departments for years but failed to warn the public,” click here. For “Another Accounting of Justice Ginsburg’s Criminal Justice Legacy,” click here. For “ Q&A: How One Police Department Uses Data to Support Behavioral Health Responses,” click here. For “Policing Studies Measure Benefits to Crime Reduction—But Not Social Costs: Research has shown only that police can be sufficient, not that they are necessary,” click here. For “Second Circuit panel rules unanimously that district courts have broad discretion to consider ‘any extraordinary and compelling reason for release that a defendant might raise,’” click here. For “When Police Violence Is a Dog Bite: An Alabama man killed by a K-9 officer was one of thousands of Americans bitten by police dogs every year. Few ever get justice,” click here. For “Being a Prison Firefighter Taught Me to Save Lives: I first joined the San Quentin fire department to get my own room, eat well and train dogs. It ended up being the most important experience of my life,” click here. For “The Former Prisoners Fighting California’s Wildfires: ‘When people are in need, they don’t give a shit where you’re from or what your history is,’” click here. For “California Bill Clears Path For Ex-Inmates To Become Firefighters,” click here. For “Colorado governor to mass-pardon 2,700-plus marijuana convictions: Action will be automatic for those who qualify,” click here. For “Stop Overpolicing: Excessive traffic and pedestrian stops, especially in black communities, are dangerous and counterproductive,” click here. For “How Losing RBG Could Shape Criminal Justice For Years to Come: Juvenile lifers, victims of police misconduct and immigrants convicted of minor crimes are among those with a lot at stake before the changing court,” click here. For “From Michael Brown to George Floyd: What We’ve Learned About Policing—Stories from The Marshall Project’s archives that shine a light on police, violence and racial inequality in America,” click here. For “Federal judge halts work of Trump's national law enforcement commission after NAACP complaint,” click here. For “Feuding with Donald Trump Is Not Police Reform: Mayors of liberal cities love to criticize the president’s incendiary law-and-order rhetoric, but do precious little to check police violence and bloated budgets in their own backyards,” click here. For “How the Ladd Brothers Helped Rikers Island Inmates Tell Their Story in a Pandemic,” click here. For “Kansas Launches Bipartisan Effort to Address Criminal Justice and Fiscal Challenges,” click here. For “The Prisoners Who Were Convicted by Hung Juries: In Louisiana, at least 1,601 people are still incarcerated on the basis of a Jim Crow–era law allowing for conviction by a non-unanimous verdict,” click here.
FROM PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE KEY UPDATE BUT STILL FRESH!
Celebrating the Extraordinary Life of Mark Davis
The September 2020 edition of the Key Update included a brief notice of the death of Mark Davis, a longtime mental health and LGBTQ rights activist, who died on September 14. For a more complete obituary, including a comments section where you can share your memories of Mark, as well as information about where to make memorial donations, click here. Mark will be greatly missed by his many friends and colleagues.
A Service-User-Led Survey of “Experiences of the Intersections of Psychosis, Difficult Events, and Trauma” Seeks Participants with Firsthand Experience
A study developed by researchers at the University of South Florida “aims to better understand the relationships between prior experiences of trauma or adversity and experiences such as hearing voices, unusual beliefs and paranoia, as well as the ways in which these experiences themselves can contribute to trauma or distress.” The researchers, who themselves have lived experience, are seeking respondents “who self-identify as having current or prior experiences that would conventionally be labeled psychosis.” The anonymous survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete; every 10th respondent will be compensated with a $50 gift card, up to five gift cards. Questions? Contact Dr. Nev Jones at genevra@usf.edu. For more information and/or to participate, click here.
Hearing Voices Network Is Now Hosting Online Groups
“There are now ONLINE opportunities to connect, share experiences, and find mutual support,” the Hearing Voices Network (HVN) writes. “These groups are accessible via web-based platforms and by phone…Online groups are specifically for those with personal lived experience with hearing voices, seeing visions, and/or negotiating alternative realities. They are voice-hearer facilitated. With further questions and for details on how to access the group[s], please email info@hearingvoicesusa.org.” To read this announcement online and for more information, click here. For a discussion of how to bring groups online, recorded by the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community, click here.
Have You Ever Smoked, Drunk, Vaped, or Used Other Drugs? Or Do You Now? New Zealand COVID-19 Study Is Now Open to U.S. Residents
“We want to find out how people are coping [during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown],” writes the New Zealand-based Centre of Research Excellence: Indigenous Sovereignty & Smoking. “We are especially interested in adults aged 18 and over who, before lockdown, regularly drank alcohol, smoked or used other tobacco products, or other drugs. We also want to hear from people who have taken up smoking or drinking or other drugs during this frightening time.” The study has been approved by the U.S.-based independent review board SolutionsIRB and is now open to U.S. residents. “The study website includes helpful Coping in Lockdown tips, tips on Dealing with Cravings, and information on alternatives to smoking tobacco.” To participate or for more information, click here.
Survey Seeks Respondents Who Are in Administrative/Leadership Positions in the Mental Health Field
If you are in an administrative/leadership position in the mental health arena, “the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP) Committee on Psychiatric Administration and Leadership invites you to participate in the International Survey on Administrative Psychiatry. The survey has two purposes: 1. To identify the concerns and needs of mental health professionals/psychiatrists in administrative and leadership positions. 2. To determine training needs in administrative psychiatry. We ask you to complete this brief, [15- to 20-minute] questionnaire to help us in developing recommendations for action. We also want to let you know that, if you fill out this questionnaire, you permit the committee to use your anonymous data for scientific work.” Peer providers are included. For the survey, click here. (Courtesy of Oryx Cohen)
Free Resources for Peer Worker Supervisors Are Posted on the iNAPS Website
The National Association of Peer Supporters (iNAPS) has posted an array of resources for supervisors of peer support staff. The sources of the 18 disparate resources include the Transformation Center, the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), the Café TA Center, the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS), the Carter Center, the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network, SAMHSA-HRSA and the Center for Integrated Health Solutions, and other organizations and individual experts. For the peer support supervision resources, click here.
“Experiences with Hospitalization” Survey Seeks Participants
“The purpose of this survey is to help us understand people's lived experience with voluntary and involuntary treatment because of suicidal thoughts. It was created by people with lived experience…We are planning to use this information to facilitate discussions with suicidologists and the suicide prevention community about the impact of the use of these interventions, particularly within marginalized populations. We feel the voice of people with lived experience with these interventions has not had adequate opportunity to be heard, and hope that by completing this survey anonymously, people who have been most impacted can find a safe way to share their experiences. Please note that this is not a research project.” For more information and/or to participate, click here. (Courtesy of Leah Harris)
International Survey on Antipsychotic Medication Withdrawal Seeks Respondents
“Have you taken antipsychotic medication (such as Zyprexa, Seroquel, Abilify, Risperdal, Haldol, Geodon, Stelazine, and others), for any condition or diagnosis, with or without other medications? And did you ever stop taking antipsychotics, or try to stop taking them? Are you 18 years or older? If yes, you can take this survey about antipsychotic withdrawal and attempts to withdraw, including if you stopped taking them completely or if you tried to come off and still take them. The survey aims to improve mental health services by better understanding medication withdrawal. Lead researcher is Will Hall, a therapist and Ph.D. student who has himself taken antipsychotics. Service users/survivors/consumers from around the world also gave input. The study is sponsored by Maastricht University in the Netherlands; co-sponsors include the International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal. Questions? Please contact will.hall@maastrichtuniversity.nl.” For more information or to take the survey, click on www.antipsychoticwithdrawalsurvey.com
NIMH Launches Study of How COVID-19 Stressors Affect Mental Health Over Time
“Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) are conducting an online research study to learn about how stressors related to the COVID-19 virus affect mental health over time,” NIMH writes. “We hope to better understand the experiences of participants during this difficult time. Participation involves completing online questionnaires every two weeks, for six months. The questionnaires take about 20 minutes to complete. You must be at least 18 years old to participate. Participation is voluntary, and you may withdraw at any time. Compensation is not provided.” Questions? Call 240.665.0697 or email NIMHResearchVolunteer@nih.gov. For more information and/or to begin participating, click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
Virtual Group Is Launched to Advance Peer Research Capacity, Leadership, and Involvement
Nev Jones, Ph.D., and Emily Cutler, a doctoral candidate, have launched a listserv dedicated to building research capacity, leadership, and involvement among peers, survivors, and service users. Dr. Jones, assistant professor, Department of Mental Health Law & Policy, University of South Florida, was part of the team that developed “User/Survivor Leadership & Capacity Building in Research: White Paper on Promoting Engagement Practices in Peer Evaluation/Research (PEPPER),” published by the Lived Experience Research Network. For the white paper, click here. Anyone interested in joining the virtual group can email Nev at nev.inbox@gmail.com.
Do You Supervise Peer Support Workers? Then Researchers Have Some Questions for You
Researchers in the University of South Florida’s Department of Psychiatry and at Magellan Health are investigating the backgrounds, training, and experiences of individuals who currently supervise at least one peer support worker in a behavioral health setting or agency. “To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first comprehensive research study of the landscape of peer support supervision practices in the United States,” writes Dr. Nev Jones, the primary investigator of the study (Protocol Number 00040223). Participants must be at least 18 years old and work in the United States or U.S. territories. An online survey lasting approximately 10 minutes will ask about respondents’ backgrounds, training and preparation for supervision, perspectives and practices, and views on barriers and facilitators to high-quality supervision. There is no monetary compensation. Questions? Contact Dr. Nev Jones (genevra@health.usf.edu) or the co-primary investigator, Dana Foglesong (dfoglesong@magellanhealth.com). To access the survey, click here.
If You Were Prescribed Suboxone, You May Be Eligible for a Payment, FTC Says
“The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued the makers of Suboxone®, a prescription drug to treat opioid addiction, alleging they were preventing patients from choosing lower-priced generic versions of the drug. The companies agreed to pay $60 million to consumers to settle the FTC charges. That means if you got a prescription for Suboxone® film in the U.S. between March 1, 2013, and February 28, 2019, you may be eligible for a payment. Learn more and apply for a payment at ftc.gov/suboxone. The application deadline is December 1, 2020.” (Courtesy of Elizabeth Stone)
Mad In America Invites You to Submit Your Personal Story (Within Certain Guidelines)
Mad In America writes: “A ‘personal story’ is defined as your story of being in relationship to psychiatry and/or the mental health system, whatever that means to you. It might involve your opinions and analysis of what happened to you, as well. It can be about a specific event, or about your overall journey, provided it fits the length requirements (1,500 to 3,000 words) and has a narrative arc. The piece should be about your personal experiences, not psychiatry or the mental health system in general. Submissions should fall under the theme of rethinking psychiatry and the mental health system, and should be original works not previously published elsewhere. For examples of the types of stories we publish, view our personal stories archive here.” For more information and/or to submit a personal story, click here.
Doors to Wellbeing Offers “State Selfies: A Picture of Peer Services Reported by Peers”
Doors to Wellbeing’s “Peer Album” is a directory of nearly 600 peer-run organizations throughout the U.S. They invite updates and offer instructions for providing them and add, “If your entry has not made this first draft, we encourage you to re-submit.” For the 158-page directory, click here.
Disclaimer: The Clearinghouse does not necessarily endorse the opinions and opportunities included in the Key Update.
About The Key Update
The Key Update is the free monthly e-newsletter of the National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse. Volume 17, No. 4, October 2020. For content, reproduction or publication information, please contact Susan Rogers at selfhelpclearinghouse@gmail.com. Follow Susan on Twitter at @SusanRogersMH