To subscribe to the monthly Key Update, send an email to selfhelpclearinghouse@gmail.com with Subscribe in the subject line.
The National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse is affiliated with the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion.
DEADLINE ALERT! Please note that, under WEBINARS, there is a webinar tomorrow (September 19), and two webinars on September 20! And there are opportunities, resources, and upcoming deadlines throughout the Key Update, including in “…But Still Fresh!” Check them out! And don’t miss “Listening to the Peer Support Workforce — Top Ten Priorities: An Action Agenda” under RESOURCES!
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.
NOTE: THE "FROM PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE KEY UPDATE BUT STILL FRESH!" DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS DIRECTLY BELOW THE MONTHLY CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM DIGEST, INCLUDES ITEMS THAT HAD BEEN POSTED "ABOVE THE FOLD" IN EARLIER EDITIONS BUT ARE STILL RELEVANT. THESE INCLUDE ONGOING RESEARCH STUDIES THAT ARE STILL SEEKING PARTICIPANTS, AS WELL AS UPCOMING WEBINARS AND CONFERENCES, AND OTHER ITEMS OF CONTINUED INTEREST. DON'T MISS IT!
NEWS
“In Some States, Having a Guardian Means Not Having a Vote”
At least seven states deny the right to vote to anyone under a guardianship agreement unless a judge decides otherwise, The New York Times recently reported. This is despite the fact that the Justice Department has called such blanket policies illegal. And “more than two dozen other states have restrictions that vary by the type of guardianship or level of disability, and often require a judge to decide case by case on the right to vote.” “[T]he effect is to hold people with disabilities to a higher standard than other voters,” according to the National Disability Rights Network. The only other group that can routinely be denied voting rights are people convicted of felonies. For a Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law chart on “State Laws Affecting the Voting Rights of People with Mental Disabilities,” click here. For the New York Times article, click here.
“How a Leading Chain of Psychiatric Hospitals Traps Patients”
“Acadia Healthcare is holding people against their will to maximize insurance payouts, a New York Times investigation found…Acadia, which charges $2,200 a day for some patients, at times deploys an array of strategies to persuade insurers to cover longer stays, employees said. Acadia has exaggerated patients’ symptoms. It has tweaked medication dosages, then claimed patients needed to stay longer because of the adjustment. And it has argued that patients are not well enough to leave because they did not finish a meal.” None of the individuals met the standard of “ ‘danger to self or others’…according to records and interviews,” the Times article noted. For the New York Times article, click here.
“Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury Issue Final Rules Strengthening Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Benefits”
On September 9, 2024, the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury issued final rules to clarify and strengthen protections to expand equitable access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits as compared to medical and surgical benefits, and reduce barriers to accessing these services. “The final rules issued today make it easier for people living with mental health conditions and substance use disorders to get the life-saving care they often need,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. For the press release, click here.
American Scientist: “Is Drug Addiction a Brain Disease? This Popular Claim Lacks Evidence and Leads to Poor Policy”
“Rethinking Addiction as a Chronic Brain Disease” is the headline and “Some researchers argue that the roles of social environment and personal choice have to be considered in order to make progress in treating people addicted to drugs” is the subheading of a recent New York Times article. It was preceded by a 2018 article in American Scientist in which the authors wrote that “there are virtually no data in humans indicating that addiction is a disease of the brain…The existing paradigm is based on intuition and political necessity, not on data and useful clinical results. Yet the diseased-brain perspective has outsized influence on research funding and direction… In such a myopic approach, the socioeconomic and societal factors that contribute to drug addiction are considered a footnote in research, clinical practices, and policy, despite their apparent importance.” For the American Scientist article, click here. For the New York Times article, click here.
“Unhoused People are Being Killed at Alarming Rates”
“At least 88 unhoused people were killed in Maricopa County, Arizona, between 2021 and 2023. Experts say the deaths are a microcosm of a worrying national trend,” according to a recent article in The Appeal. “Advocates…agreed that the best way to prevent unhoused people from being killed on the streets is to provide more permanent housing, jobs with livable wages, and supportive services like mental health and substance use treatment.” “When communities start to criminalize people experiencing homelessness [as happened in the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which held that people can be legally banned from sleeping outdoors], there’s a direct uptick in violence,” according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. For the Appeal article, click here. For “The Endless ‘Churn’ That Keeps People With Mental Health Issues on the Streets,” click here.
“Antidepressants Are Seeping Into Fish Everywhere — And It's Changing Them”
“In recent decades, antidepressants such as Prozac (fluoxetine) have been detected in rivers, lakes and streams across the globe,” according to a recent article in Nature. “The effects of prolonged exposure to such pollutants demands further investigation. This will be crucial if we are to develop effective strategies for protecting and managing sensitive aquatic ecosystems, such as better wastewater treatment processes.” For the article (on ScienceAlert.com), click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
The Surgeon General Calls Parental Mental Health “an Urgent Public Health Issue”
“According to 2023 data: 33% of parents report high levels of stress in the past month compared to 20% of other adults, [and] 48% of parents say that most days their stress is completely overwhelming compared to 26% among other adults.” Stressors include “financial strain, children's health, social media and parental isolation.” To download the 36-page advisory from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murphy, click here. For an interview with him, click here.
WEBINARS
(Webinars are free unless otherwise specified.)
“Promising Practices and Slippery Slopes: The Interface of Peer Support and Person-Centered Planning (PCP)” and SAMHSA’s New PCP Issue Brief
On September 19, 2024, at 1 p.m. ET, The South Southwest MHTTC will present a one-hour webinar that is “a call to action for all behavioral health stakeholders to demand that we move beyond the ‘rhetoric’ of person-centered care to achieve a reality where services and planning are more fully accessible, authentically recovery-oriented, and truly, culturally centered around the individual. Emphasis will be placed on the critical role that people with lived experience, including peer professionals, should play at all stages of PCP implementation and systems change.” For more information and to register, click here. And to download SAMHSA’s new, 14-page “Issue Brief on Person-Centered Planning,” click here.
Using Organizational and Social Capital to Improve Outcomes
On September 20, 2024, at 12 p.m. ET, the Alliance for Rights and Recovery will present a one-hour workshop that “will focus on the concept of social capital and its effectiveness in helping people gain employment. Learn how to deploy this powerful tool to help improve employment outcomes.” Space is limited. For questions and more information: Robert Statham, employment training & technical assistance facilitator at the Alliance, roberts@rightsandrecovery.org. To register, click here.
SAMHSA to Present a Follow-up Webinar on Psychiatric Advance Directives
On September 20, 2024, 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET, SAMHSA’s Office of Recovery will hold a second webinar on Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADs). This is a continuation of the previous PAD webinar, held in June. “This webinar will discuss common details of PADs, how to complete one, as well as how peers and advocates can increase the availability and usage of the tool.” For more information and to register, click here. (And see “SAMHSA Offers a Recording of Its Webinar on Psychiatric Advance Directives, and Several Resources” under RESOURCES.)
“Navigating the Workplace: A Four-Part “Case Scenario” Series”
The Cafe TA Center writes: “Join CAFÉ TAC and Rebel Leadership Group for our new series, “Navigating the Workplace: A Four-Part ‘Case Scenario’ Series.” The first session, on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, is available online. The following three sessions, all beginning at 2 p.m., will take place on the following Wednesdays: September 25, October 2, and October 9. People can join at any point during the series. For more information, including the topics of each session, the publications that will be referenced, the recordings (which will be posted the day after each session), and to register, click here.
“Returning to Our Roots: What is the Purpose of Peer Support?”
On September 24, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET, Doors to Wellbeing will present “a conversation about what it means to stay true to the values of peer support amongst so many different systemic interpretations,” including “bringing people into recovery, building recovery capital, and coaching people through navigating systems. But is that the true purpose of peer support, or is it something more?” For details and to register, click here.
“Navigating Authentic Advocacy: Uplifting Black and Queer Communities”
On September 24, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET, Advocacy in Action will present a 90-minute webinar during which participants “will gain a broader understanding of the stigmas, stereotypes and systemic barriers experienced by [Black and Queer communities]. Explore tangible strategies for how to engage in authentic advocacy that promotes equity, inclusion, justice, and diversity and the pivotal role of peer support. Join us in unraveling the complexities and fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment.” For more information and to register, click here. (Courtesy of Nev Jones)
“The 9 Elements of a Person-Centered System”
On September 25, 2024, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. ET, NCAPPS (National Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices and Systems) will introduce attendees to the 9 Elements of a Person-Centered System framework developed by Support Development Associates. “Panelists will outline how attendees can leverage positive pressures for change, lead and influence change within their organizations and systems, and ultimately align systemic processes and practices to create a person-centered system.” For the NCAPPS newsletter, which includes more information about the webinar and other NCAPPS webinars and resources, and to register, click here.
MHA to Present Webinars in September and October
On September 25, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET, Mental Health America (MHA) will present a one-hour webinar on “Supporting young minds: effective empowerment strategies.” When mental health programs for youth are created, the voices of youth “are often left out of the conversation,” MHA writes. “Teachers, parents, coaches, and other community leaders can foster a sense of agency and empowerment while providing the necessary support for youth to succeed.” For details and to register, click here. And on October 15, 2024, at 12 p.m. ET, MHA will host “a live book discussion [led by Dr. Fredrica Brooks-Davis] about Bebe Moore Campbell’s ‘72 Hour Hold,’ a fictional story inspired by her relationship with a close family member.” To register, click here.
TU Collaborative Newsletter Highlights New Webinar Series on Community Participation and Much More!
On September 26, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET, the Temple University Collaborative on Community Integration will present the first webinar in its new monthly series, the Community Participation Hour! The newsletter also includes a link to a 36-page manual on “Mental Health Disclosure,” along with information on faith-based communities, research opportunities, and more! For the newsletter, which includes links to the above-mentioned information, including a registration link for the webinar, click here.
“Navigating the Behavioral Health AI Journey from Concept to Reality”
On September 26, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET, in association with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, Core EHR Solutions will present a webinar “designed to demystify the intricate process of bringing AI from the drawing board to impactful implementation…[T]his webinar will provide attendees with invaluable insights, practical strategies, and real-world examples of how AI can revolutionize behavioral health and client care.” For more information and to register, click here.
Judi’s Room to Host the Author of Reign of Error: Psychiatry, Authority and Law
On October 2, 2024, at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT), I Love You, Lead On and MindFreedom International will present psychiatrist Lee Coleman, author of Reign of Error: Psychiatry, Authority and Law: A startling exposé of psychiatry’s misrule in the courts, mental hospitals, and prisons. Dr. Coleman now devotes himself to “public education that exposes the individual and public harms from today’s ‘mental health’ industry. He seeks to support a grassroots movement to abolish forced ‘treatment’ and provide tools to amplify the voices of those seeking change.” For more information, including the Zoom link, click here.
“Working with Hearing Voices & Unusual Beliefs”
From October 17 through October 25, 2024, the Wildflower Alliance will host a six-session, online training in which participants “will learn how to better understand and support people to make meaning of their experiences with voice hearing and/or unusual beliefs or what gets called ‘paranoia.’” The training will be led by Peter Bullimore. For more information, including the dates and times and the cost of tuition, click here. Registration is required and space is limited.
“The Promise of Litigation to Decriminalize Mental Illness”
“The Sozosei Foundation held a virtual convening on August 1, 2024, considering the role of litigation in the work to decriminalize mental illness. We were honored to host panelists Sarah J. Gregory, Litigation Counsel, Disability Rights California; Kevin Martone, M.S.W., L.S.W., Executive Director, Technical Assistance Collaborative; Leslie Napper, Mental Health Consumer (Peer) and Senior Advocate for Disability Rights California; Megan Schuller, Legal Director, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; and Luke Sikinyi, Director of Public Policy and Public Engagement, The Alliance for Rights and Recovery. The panel was moderated by New York Times best-selling author Robert Kolker and introduced by Sozosei Foundation Executive Director, Melissa Beck. To watch the recording, click here.” (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
CONFERENCES
The Alliance Announces the Complete Schedule for Its 2024 Annual Conference!
The 2024 Alliance for Rights and Recovery annual conference, to be held September 25-27 at the Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center in Callicoon, New York, has announced its full schedule, which includes many exciting presentations! For the schedule, click here. For more information and to register, click here.
Re-Imagining Behavioral Health: Race, Equity and Social Justice Conference 2024
This free virtual conference, beginning September 26, 2024, at 11 a.m. ET, 8 a.m. PT, and ending on September 27 at 6 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. PT — hosted by the Behavioral Health Institute at Harborview and funded by the Washington State Health Care Authority — “is designed to empower individuals and teams in Washington State and beyond who want to advance health equity and support diversity and inclusion in behavioral health care.” For more information and to register, click here.
Accelerate 2024 Is a Free Virtual Conference on “the Future of Behavioral Health”
On October 8-10, 2024, Continuum Cloud will host Accelerate 2024, which will focus on “how innovative platforms and AI are transforming care and engagement.” For more information and to register, click here.
ISEPP Annual Conference Announces Featured Speakers; and Group Hotel Rates Expire September 30
The 26th annual conference of ISEPP (International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry) – October 25-27, 2024, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Resort in Virginia Beach, Virginia – has announced its featured speakers, and you can take advantage of the group room rate until September 30. Learn more on the conference website (click here).
OPPORTUNITIES
SAMHSA Is Seeking Public Comments for New Data Collection “SAMHSA Unified Client-level Performance Reporting Tool (SUPRT)”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is seeking approval for the new SAMHSA Unified Client-level Performance Reporting Tool (SUPRT) to modify the existing Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) Client-level Performance Instruments into a streamlined, multi-component SAMHSA Client-level Performance Tool. Public comments are due by October 15, 2024. For a brief summary, which includes a link to more information, click here.
University of Illinois Chicago Is Recruiting for Two Research Studies
“Do you want to work on goals for a healthy restart in your life? We’re testing a program where you work with a personal virtual wellness coach to improve your wellbeing and quality of life. You choose what to work on at your own convenience on Zoom! Study participants have a 50/50 chance of entering the new program OR getting an incentive, but everyone will be paid $100 to complete 2 study interviews. To find out if you are eligible, email HealthyReStart2021@gmail.com or text/call 1-312-725-2966. And a second study tests a program called Enhancing Your Immune Health. People in the study have a 50/50 chance of joining the program but everyone will be paid $135 for completing 3 study interviews. To find out if you are eligible, contact enhanceimmune@gmail.com or text/call: 1-312-725-2966. (Courtesy of Peggy Swarbrick via Jacek Haciak)
“How Do You Make a Difference in Your Community? We Would Love to Hear From You!”
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion is “looking to highlight at least 12 people experiencing mental health challenges who would like to share their story of a time when they made a difference in their community.” First, you would answer questions on Zoom about why you got started, your biggest challenge and biggest success, what helped you, and your advice to others. (If your story is used in an online resource, you could choose to be anonymous or use your name/image.) To learn more or to volunteer to participate, email KTPLACE@temple.edu and someone will be in touch.
“Submit a Manuscript to the Journal Culture and Organization for a Special Issue”
For this special issue on Researching and Writing Differently about Dis/ability — Interdisciplinary Inclusion, Perspectives, and Approaches — “we invite scholars to engage in Researching and Writing Differently in relation to dis/ability to extend our understanding of organizations and more inclusive forms of organizing. As such, this special issue offers a space for critical and non-traditional perspectives on dis/ability from a Researching and Writing Differently approach — whether in terms of the focus of the study, the method or the style of writing.” November 11, 2024, is the Abstract deadline; February 17, 2025, is the Manuscript deadline. For more information, click here. (Courtesy of Nev Jones)
BJA and CSG JC Offer Free TA on “National Guidelines for Post-Conviction Risk and Needs Assessment”
“The Bureau of Justice Assistance and The Council of State Governments Justice Center invite all state, local, and Tribal jurisdictions to request technical assistance to adopt the National Guidelines for Post-Conviction Risk and Needs Assessment. Participants in this opportunity will become leaders in improving accuracy, fairness, and transparency in post-conviction assessments with cutting-edge strategies that benefit criminal justice agencies and improve outcomes for individuals in the system and the broader community. Schedule a brief introductory meeting with our staff to learn more about how we can help your jurisdiction become a national leader. Learn more about the National Guidelines, take the Self-Assessment, watch previous webinars, and view resources tailored for a variety of audiences on our website!”
Mad in America Invites You to Share Your “Song of the Week”!
“Mad in America wants to know what songs you listen to that relate to your experience of psychiatry, or your thoughts and opinions about it. Check out the Staff Recommendations that have been published over the last few months and add your own by submitting here. Your song may be featured in our Song of the Week highlight and shared on Mad in America’s social media!” For previous songs of the week and the reasons for submitting them, click here.
RESOURCES
“Listening to the Peer Support Workforce — Top Ten Priorities: An Action Agenda”
“Following more than six years of participatory action activities at peer support workforce conferences, three researchers and practitioners with lived experience — Jeremy Reuling, Rita Cronise, and Jessica Wolf — have developed this agenda identifying ten peer support workforce priorities with recommendations for action based on what they heard from members of the workforce,” the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion writes. For more information, and for the link to download the free, 46-page document, click here.
SAMHSA Offers a National Recovery Month Toolkit
In honor of Recovery Month, an annual observance every September, SAMHSA is offering a Recovery Month Toolkit. For more information, click here. To access the toolkit, click here.
SAMHSA Offers a Recording of Its Webinar on Psychiatric Advance Directives, and Several Resources
For a link to SAMHSA’s webinar on “Psychiatric Advance Directives to Promote Community Living,” click here. For accompanying resources, click on each title: National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives (NRC-PAD); A Practical Guide to Psychiatric Advance Directives | SAMHSA; Psychiatric Advance Directives | Copeland Center; Olmstead v. L.C. Resources | SAMHSA; National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Early Serious Mental Illness | SAMHSA; Doors to Wellbeing PADs Resources and Webinars; Peer Recovery Center of Excellence; SAMHSA Program to Advance Recovery Knowledge (SPARK). (Courtesy of Mark Karmatz)
MHTTC Network Is Closing Its Doors on September 29, 2024
The MHTTC Network, including the Regional Centers and Network Coordinating Office, will be ending at the close of its grant year, September 29, 2024. MHTTC writes: “We encourage you to download resources from our website before September 29, 2024, as they won’t be available past this date. In the upcoming months, SAMHSA will be archiving a small selection of our recorded trainings via their YouTube channel and of our written resources via the SAMHSA Store.” For details on how each Center will make some of their resources available, click here. “Check back regularly for updates and bookmark links to access information after September 29.”
“Why Lived Experience, Not Psychiatry, Is Now the New Authority in the Behavioral Health and Wellness Field”
This online publication, by Becky Brasfield, includes links to many additional resources. It is available here.
“The Soteria Project Recounted by Mosher and Its Clinical Resonances Today”
“[T]here is today growing and promising scientific evidence validating the principles of the Soteria project. Undoubtedly, this would not have been possible without the pioneering work of [Loren] Mosher, who, imbued with the tenets of interpersonal phenomenology, shook the psychiatric establishment, leading others to follow the path that he had begun.” For the article, click here. (Courtesy of Peggy Swarbrick and Jim Gottstein) For more about Soteria, click here.
“Integrating Evidence-Based Treatment and Patient-Centered Strategies for Optimizing Schizophrenia Care”
This “activity,” intended for “psychiatrists and their teams of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and pharmacists,” begins with an “Activity Pre-Survey” which opens with the question “Approximately how many patients with schizophrenia do you treat each month?” and follows with “What are your biggest challenges to managing (emphasis added) patients with schizophrenia? (Select up to 2].” It continues: “This program offers participants a comprehensive review of treatment strategies and cohesive patient-centered engagement via specialized facilitation and real-world patient insights. Also included is a downloadable resource that highlights approaches to motivational interviewing to help guide therapy selection and improve adherence for clinical practice.” To learn more, click here.
Here Are Four Articles That Debunk the “Chemical Imbalance” Theory
These four articles can be used to contradict the widespread but incorrect theory that mental health conditions are caused by a “chemical imbalance” in the brain. In "A Short Guide to Psychiatric Diagnosis," published by Mental Health Europe, it says: “Despite many, often misleading, reports in the media, scientists have yet to discover any genetic markers, chemical imbalances or other differences in brain function which reliably predict or identify mental illness. Clearly there are genetic differences which impact on the way we respond to life events, and distressing experiences can produce consequences in the chemistry of our brains, but this is not at all the same as suggesting that brain diseases ‘cause’ mental illnesses.” And here are three more articles that also debunk this “theory”: “Serotonin and depression: A disconnect between the advertisements and the scientific literature” (click here); “Psychiatry’s New Brain-Mind and the Legend of the “Chemical Imbalance” (click here); and “Is the chemical imbalance an ‘urban legend’? An exploration of the status of the serotonin theory of depression,” click here. (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova)
“Psychometric Adequacy of Recovery Enhancing Environment (REE) Measure: CHIME Framework as a Theory Base for a Recovery Measure”
“The aim of this study was to assess to what extent the recovery elements of the Recovery Enhancing Environment (REE) instrument measured the dimensions proposed by the CHIME framework, (Connectedness, Hope and optimism about future, Identity, Meaning in life and Empowerment dimensions), so as to evaluate personal recovery in people with severe mental illness.” For the study, click here. (See the next item, which refers to CHIME.)
“Personal Recovery: A Guide Towards Good Mental Health for Consumers”
“The aim of this workbook is to help you understand recovery oriented practice and what you can expect from your service provider. It will guide you through the C.H.I.M.E. framework providing a definition and understanding of personal recovery and addresses the working practices which will further strengthen your ability to engage in self-management.” For the free, 40-page workbook, click here.
The September-October 2024 Digest of Articles Offering Healthy Lifestyle Advice
For “Psychedelics May Lessen Fear of Death and Dying, Similar to Feelings Reported by Those Who’ve Had Near Death Experiences,” click here. For “The Working On Wellness Foundation provides FREE online seated exercise sessions,” click here. For “‘It’s okay to poo at work’: new health campaign highlights a common source of anxiety,” click here. For “DeepWell gets FDA clearance for games and interactive media to treat mental health issues,” click here. For “Why Am I So Lonely All The Time? Addressing chronic loneliness and what to do about it,” click here. For “10 Things to Do When You Feel Alone: When you're feeling alone, these ideas can help,” click here. For “High doses of Adderall linked to this rare mental health risk: What to know,” click here. For “10 Signs of a Toxic Friend (and How to Break Up With Them the Right Way),” click here. For “Legumes 101: A Complete Guide,” click here.
The September-October 2024 Digest of Articles about the Criminal Legal System, in Which Many Individuals with Mental Health Conditions Are Incarcerated (and the Key Update continues after this Digest)
For “Representing People with Mental Disabilities: A Practical Guide for Criminal Defense Lawyers, Second Edition,” click here. For “The Domestic Abuse Survivor to Prison Pipeline: Researchers surveyed people who kill their abusers. They found several complicated reasons why survivors end up in prison because of abuse,” click here. For “5 Things to Know About How Survivors Get Incarcerated for Their Abusers’ Crimes: Little-known laws allow people to be punished for crimes they didn’t directly commit. Survivors of domestic violence are especially vulnerable,” click here. For “Doing No Harm: Criminal charges against paramedics in Elijah McClain’s death raise questions about when emergency medical responders should be held accountable for fatalities in police custody,” click here. For “Judge frees Colorado paramedic convicted in death of Elijah McClain from prison,” click here. For “Guns remain leading cause of death for children and teens in the US, report says: More than 2,500 children and teens between the ages of one and 17 died by a firearm in 2022, according to a new report,” click here. For “This Company Promised to Improve Health Care in Jails. Dozens of Its Patients Have Died. Turn Key Health Clinics has quickly expanded to jails in 10 states. Some of its policies and practices have endangered patients,” click here. For “What Do We Owe a Prison Informant? A man in Georgia says he risked his life for years and was abandoned. But there are very few rules protecting those who provide law enforcement with information,” click here.
FROM PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE KEY UPDATE BUT STILL FRESH!
CONFERENCES AND TRAININGS
NAADAC Invites Sponsors, Exhibitors, and/or Advertisers for Its 2024 Annual Conference and Hill Day
The 2024 Annual Conference and Hill Day of the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors will be held October 18-23 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, near Washington, DC. Exhibit dates are October 18-20. For information about the conference, click here. For details of available exhibit, advertising, and sponsorship opportunities, click here.
APHA Annual Meeting and Expo October 27-30
The 2024 Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Public Health Association will take place October 27-30 in Minneapolis. For more information and to register, click here.
ISPS-US 23rd Annual Conference to Be Held November 1-3, 2024
The ISPS-US 23rd annual conference will take place November 1-3, 2024, at the University of Pittsburgh (pre-conference workshop on November 1) and Duquesne University (November 2-3), and hybrid online on November 2-3. The conference theme is “New Beginnings: Reimagining Psychosis Services & Systems in the US.” For more information, click here. (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova)
National Federation of Families Conference to Be Held in Orlando, Florida
Early Bird registration for the 35th annual conference of the National Federation of Families is available until September 30, 2024. The conference will be held November 7-9, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Florida. For details and to register, click here.
The Open Minds Technology & Analytics Institute Is Coming to Philadelphia
The 2024 Open Minds Technology & Analytics Institute will take place at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel on November 12-14. To download the e-brochure, click here.
APS Announces Open Enrollment for the New, 5-Part “Honest, Open Proud” Series
“The Academy of Peer Services (APS) is excited to announce open enrollment for the new, five-part, Continuing Education Series ‘Honest, Open, Proud’ (HOP)! Register for these online modules and complete the series at your convenience! For more information about HOP, click here. To enroll in the HOP Modules, you need to create an account on the APS website. To get started, click here. HOP Modules 1 through 4 are eligible for 5 hours of Continuing Education (CE) credit toward the maintenance of the NYS Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) credential. To apply credits earned from these modules to another certification or credential, consult your certification/credentialing entity.”
RESEARCH STUDY RESULTS AND ANALYSES
“Report on Improving Mental Health Outcomes” Is Published
The Report’s Executive Summary begins: “The mental health system’s standard treatments are colossally counterproductive and harmful, often forced on unwilling patients. The overreliance on psychiatric drugs is reducing the recovery rate of people diagnosed with serious mental illness from a possible 80% to 5% and reducing their life spans by 20 years or so…” To download the free, 55-page report—by James B. (Jim) Gottstein, Esq.; Peter C. Gøtzsche, MD; David Cohen, PhD; Chuck Ruby, PhD; and Faith Myers—click here. (Note: The Report is intended to be used by advocates and is a modification of an earlier "White Paper," without the Alaska-specific information that it included. The "White Paper" was first included in the Key Update in April 2023, and in every subsequent edition in the “…But Still Fresh!” Department.)
“New Study Exposes the Trauma of Involuntary Psychiatric Detention”
“A recent study highlights the negative experiences of involuntary psychiatric hospital admissions, revealing deep-seated issues of racism, discrimination, and lack of support within the mental healthcare system,” Mad In America (MIA) reports. For the MIA article, which includes a link to the Open Access study published in BMC Psychiatry, click here. In addition, studies have shown that “in the week following discharge from a psychiatric hospital, people are at a dramatically high risk for suicide.” For “Suicide Risk in Relation to Psychiatric Hospitalization,” click here.
“Patients on These Antidepressants Were More Likely to Gain Weight, Study Says” and Other Information to Consider Before Taking Antidepressants
A recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine analyzed the data of 183,118 individuals across eight U.S. health systems from 2010 to 2019. It found that some antidepressants were associated with more weight gain than others. Although a correlation with weight gain doesn’t mean the drug directly caused the weight gain, there are still many reasons to be wary of taking antidepressants. Previous editions of the Key Update included “Antidepressants Could Trigger Some Cases of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”: click here; “Warning Over Antidepressants as Top Experts Say They May Raise Risk of Suicide”: click here; “Antidepressants associated with increased risk of suicidal thoughts in healthy adults”; click here; “Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit”: click here; and “Psychotherapy Without Antidepressants Shows Best Results for Depression”; click here. And for the “Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs,” click here.
“Unlocking Qualitative Data in Mental Health Research”
The researchers write: “This paper presents the results of a scoping review of qualitative diary methods (QDMs) in mental health research, aimed at clarifying how diary methods are used in mental health research, and outlining key decisions and considerations in planning and conducting a qualitative diary study. Forty-eight papers were reviewed, and the findings highlight different elements of QDMs.” For the website, click here. For the article, published in European Psychologist, click here. (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova)
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
“International [Anonymous] Survey of People Who Have Had Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), and Their Family and Friends” Will End on September 30
September 30, 2024, is the deadline to respond to the survey of people who have received ECT at any time (except the past month). Researchers at the University of East London (UK) write, “The purpose is to understand the experience of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), in order to enhance the information given to people being offered ECT, and their families. This is your opportunity to share your experiences of this treatment, positive and negative. It is also for relatives or friends of people who have received ECT and are aware of how ECT affected that person.” For details and to complete the survey, click here. The researchers write: “If questions about ECT or about the experiences that led you to having ECT might be distressing for you, please seriously consider not taking the survey. If you have any general inquiries about the study, please contact the lead researcher, Professor John Read: john@uel.ac.uk”
SAMHSA Is Recruiting Peer Grant Reviewers. Do You Qualify?
“SAMHSA's three Centers are always looking for qualified grant peer reviewers who can evaluate applications for discretionary grants,” SAMHSA writes. “SAMHSA peer reviewers must have related program experience and education.” (SAMHSA's Office of Recovery has confirmed that peer reviewers do not need a graduate degree.) One incentive to apply is that “[r]eviewers will receive $140 per application reviewed and returned to SAMHSA in the timeline specified for each program.” For details about qualifications for peer reviewers and how to apply, click here.
ISEPP Seeks Contributions for an Upcoming Volume of Its Series on Critical Psychology and Critical Psychiatry, and Has Published Two More Volumes in the SeriesI
ISEPP (International Society for Ethical Psychology & Psychiatry) seeks “authors to contribute to an upcoming volume of the Ethics International Press Critical Psychology and Critical Psychiatry Series. Don't miss the opportunity to speak your mind.” Contact any of these editors with your ideas for a chapter: Eric Maisel, PhD, ericmaisel@hotmail.com; Arnold Cantu, MSW, Arnold.Cantu@colostate.edu; Chuck Ruby, PhD, docruby@me.com. ISEPP has also released two more volumes in the series: Theoretical Alternatives to the Psychiatric Model of Mental Disorder Labeling: Contemporary Frameworks, Taxonomies, and Models and Practical Alternatives to the Psychiatric Model of Mental Illness: Beyond DSM and ICD Diagnosing.
PENTAC Is Seeking Speakers on Leadership and Professional Development for Peers
“We’re looking for engaging speakers in the Northeast, Southwest, West, and/or Midwest regions,” PENTAC (Peer Experience National TA Center) writes. Topics include “Mapping out a personal career advancement plan,” “Gain and enhance your presentation skills,” “What employers want: resume and interviewing skills,” and “What funders want: how to pitch your ideas.” For more information, email Sherry Warner at sherry@peersupportfl.org
TU Collaborative Wants to Hear Your Story!
“We are working on a project to better understand social connections among adults with significant mental health challenges,” the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion writes. “We are seeking your stories on your social connections generally” and “what those connections mean to you.” The TU Collaborative will compile these stories based on a series of brief surveys. For details and to share your story, click here.
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.
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.
Virtual Group Works to Advance Peer Research Capacity, Leadership, and Involvement
Nev Jones, PhD—a strong advocate for building research capacity, leadership, and involvement among peers, survivors, and service users—leads a virtual group dedicated to this effort. Dr. Jones—assistant professor, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh—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.
TU Collaborative Seeks Input on Its Community Integration Calendars
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion writes: “Each year, we release a calendar resource designed to help individuals engage more in the community!” The TU Collaborative is considering adding a guided component and would like your input on how to structure it. For more information and to participate in an anonymous survey, click here.
“Are You a Leader with a CMHC? Partner with the Temple University Collaborative!”
“The Clinical Treatment Act is a new law to encourage participation of low-income and minoritized healthcare recipients in research as a matter of equity. The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion seeks to partner with community mental health centers (CMHCs) across the U.S. to help get information about current and future research studies to service recipients in various programs. In return we are also available to support your organization with free trainings and other supports. Please contact Professor Bryan McCormick (bryan.mccormick@temple.edu) about this important partnership opportunity.” To read this announcement online, click here.
“Thieves Like Us” Survey Is Recruiting Participants
“The effectiveness of a positive psychology intervention on burnout, compassion fatigue, and the loss of compassion satisfaction among peer support specialists” is the focus of a study by researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso. The study “aims to combat these issues and empower participants through individual character strengths.” Participants, who can be any gender and ethnicity, must work either full-time or part-time as a peer support specialist, and must speak English. Participants can earn “up to $25 in certificates.” For more information, contact Eugene Lopez, 915.316.6158 or elopez48@miners.utep.edu. (Courtesy of Peer Support Coalition of Florida)
Peer Workers Sought for Participation in Doctoral Research
A PhD candidate in the College of Nursing at the University of Central Florida is "seeking to interview peer workers about their professional roles, experiences as part of an interdisciplinary team, and how that role impacts their lives and recovery. [The researcher] would love the opportunity to include peers who are active in advocating for the value peers bring to a recovery experience. Participation involves an approximately one-hour long interview over Zoom. Those who complete the interview will be compensated $30 for their time." To screen for the study, click here. (Courtesy of the N.A.P.S. News Brief)
Latina/o/e/x or Hispanic Volunteers with a Diagnosis of Psychosis Are Sought
University of Pittsburgh and University of Texas/Dallas researchers write: “We are looking for individuals who have been given a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis to participate in a study on everyday social situations. The study will involve a 90-minute virtual interview via Zoom. We will NOT ask you to change medications or any part of your treatment. We will ask you about your Latina/o/e/x culture and have you perform various tasks (for example, answering questions about pictures of people). You will be paid $50 for your time and participation.” Interested? Click here. (Courtesy of Nev Jones)
Researchers Seek Input on “Understanding Psychosis in Asian Diasporas”
“Individuals from Asian diasporas have unique experiences, concerns, challenges, and opportunities when engaging with mental health care in the United States,” University of Pittsburgh researchers write. “This study seeks to interview Asian and Pacific Islander (API) individuals who have experienced psychosis or been diagnosed with a psychotic disorder. The perspectives of the API community are essential to understanding their experiences and creating meaningful supports.” For more information, click here. (Courtesy of Nev Jones)
Learn How to Engage in More Meaningful Activities! Join the TU Collaborative’s Research Study. (The study below is a different study.)
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion writes: “We are looking for individuals who are willing to participate in a six-month intervention to get out of the house and engage in more meaningful activities; who are available to meet on the day the intervention takes place; who are experiencing significant mental health issues; who live in the U.S.; and who are at least 18 years old. If you are interested in participating, please contact switch@temple.edu. You may be eligible for compensation of up to $440 for your time and effort.”
“Interested in Participating in More Meaningful Activities?”
The Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery has “developed a new online peer group workshop called REACH (Resilience, Education, Action, Community, Health) with the goal of bringing activity into, or back into, your life. The Copeland Center is partnering with Temple University on a research study to examine the impact of REACH…You may be eligible for up to $100 in gift cards as compensation for your time.” The study involves a 12-session peer-delivered online intervention. If you are interested, please contact tucollab@temple.edu.
Researchers Seek to Better Understand the Day-to-Day Social Experiences of People Diagnosed with Serious Mental Health Conditions
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion seeks participants diagnosed with serious mental health conditions to participate in a paid research study of their “day-to-day experiences of social isolation and loneliness…so that we can develop better interventions for people in the future.” Eligible participants will complete an intake interview (for a $20 gift card) and an exit interview (for a $30 gift card). Four one-minute surveys will be sent via smart phone in the 14 days between interviews. Questions? Contact drrp@temple.edu or 215.204.9021.
EPICC Works to Help Parents with Mental Health Conditions Connect with Their Kids
Engaging Parents and Increasing Connections with Children (EPICC) is a 10-week program created by the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion that is focused on helping parents with serious mental health conditions connect with their children through meaningful activities. For details and to apply, click here.
Young Adults with Psychiatric Diagnoses Are Sought for Study on Community Participation
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion is recruiting young adults (ages 18-30) with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression to take part in ConnectionsRx, designed to support engagement in meaningful community activities. Participants will be enrolled in the peer-led study for six months, and receive support to help meet community participation goals. Interviews (approximately 60 minutes each) will take place on Zoom. Participants will receive a $30 Amazon or Visa gift card (to a maximum of $90) for each survey completed. For the website, click here. Questions? ConnectionsRx@temple.edu.
Are You Interested in Pursuing Graduate School and/or a Research Career? Read Below.
Stephania Hayes (UC Davis), Shannon Pagdon (Columbia/NYS Psychiatric Institute/University of Pittsburgh), and Nev Jones (University of Pittsburgh) write: “We are gathering information from people with lived experience in the Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) or early psychosis space (including peer specialists, current/former CSC participants, and CSC youth coordinators) who are potentially interested in pursuing graduate school and/or a research career. All of us identify as having lived experience, work in CSC, and are invested in supporting the next generation of scholars who also have lived experience. We would like to create a discussion group and/or other supports for people interested in this career path. The link below leads to a very brief survey that will help us understand the level of interest in such supports, as well as areas of career interest. (Please note that this is not a research study.)” To participate in the anonymous survey, click here.
“Help Us Map the Landscape of Lived Experience and Family Involvement in 988 Policy and Related Crisis Response System Planning!”
“As 988 implementation rolls out alongside additional efforts to strengthen crisis response systems throughout the U.S., it's important to gauge the extent to which direct stakeholders (i.e., individuals who use or have used mental health crisis services and their families) have been involved in related policy, implementation and evaluation at the local, regional, state or federal levels. To map out involvement nationally, Mental Health America (lead: Kelly Davis), Nev Jones (University of Pittsburgh) and Keris Myrick (National Association of Peer Supporters) have developed a survey aimed at documenting the extent of stakeholder involvement, the forms this involvement has taken, and, where available, what concerns stakeholders have raised. Any individual with knowledge of lived experience and family involvement is eligible to participate; individuals completing the survey do not have to have lived experience themselves.” For more information and to access the survey, click here.
Survey Seeks Respondents Who Have Taken Mental Health Courses Involving Their Own Diagnoses
Have you taken a mental health course that covers a diagnosis you have? If so, you are invited to participate in a brief, anonymous, online survey--designed by a University of Pittsburgh MSW student--about what it's like for students with lived experience to study their own diagnoses in a classroom. The survey covers students' experiences of studying such subjects as "abnormal psychology," "psychopathology," and diagnosis and assessment when their own diagnoses are covered. "The goal of the project is to better understand what it feels like to take courses in which someone’s diagnosis is being taught/defined/discussed. There is currently no literature or reporting on the experiences of students in the above circumstances, or the associated impact." Interested? Please click here. Questions? Please email the project lead, Charlie Clement, at cjc204@pitt.edu
Peer Support in Higher Education Survey Seeks Respondents
“Peer support programs are growing on college campuses across the U.S. Mental Health America, Doors to Wellbeing, and the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion want to better understand the availability of peer support in higher education as well as the experiences and needs of students accessing peer support programs…We hope to use this research to support the expansion of peer support in higher education, including developing a national database of peer support programs in higher education and documenting pressing issues in campus programs…You may also indicate if you are interested in having your school’s peer support program listed in a national database of peer support programs in higher education.” For more information and to complete the survey, click here.
Supported Education Survey Needs Your Help
Do you operate a program that provides dedicated supported education services for individuals with psychiatric disabilities/mental health conditions? If so, you are invited to complete the survey at the link below. The primary goal of the survey is to help create a National Supported Education Database (NSEdD) that will be "a searchable listing of diverse supported education programs and services for individuals experiencing psychiatric disabilities and/or mental health challenges...across the US and its territories." The NSEdD project is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and co-administered by the five SAMHSA-funded national consumer and consumer-supporter technical assistance centers, in collaboration with research partners Drs. Nev Jones (University of Pittsburgh) and Mark Salzer (Temple University). For a link to the survey, which includes a definition of supported education, click here. For a flyer with information about the survey, click here.
National Survey on Student Rights, Discrimination, and Accommodations in Higher Education Seeks Respondents
"Have you experienced psychiatric disability-based discrimination or the denial of an accommodation in a postsecondary institution in the United States? Interested in informing national advocacy focus on psych disability rights in higher ed? Mental Health America (lead: Kelly Davis) and collaborators Dr. Nev Jones (University of Pittsburgh), Stefanie Kaufman-Mthimkhulu (Project LETS) and Brit Vanneman Esq. (Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law) have developed "a survey aimed at providing a more comprehensive understanding of student experiences of campus-based discrimination, mandated leaves of absence, and/or denial of academic, administrative and/or student-work accommodations in the U.S. Data will be used to inform national advocacy efforts and future projects, and in reports, presentations and publications." For eligibility and to access the survey, click here.
If You've Had, or Been Labeled with, "Negative Symptoms" in the Context of Psychosis...
"If you have experienced or been labeled with 'negative symptoms' in the context of psychosis, please consider contributing an anonymous account of your views and experiences," Dr. Nev Jones writes. "Currently, there is nowhere one can go to find lived experience perspectives/accounts on this topic—even though 'negative symptoms' regularly feature in research and clinical trials. Help us change this!" This survey is a companion to Psychosis Outside the Box; for a publication in Psychiatric Services about “Psychosis Outside the Box: A User-Led Project to Amplify the Diversity and Richness of Experiences Described as Psychosis,” click here. For more information and/or to share your story about "negative symptoms," click here.
“Are You Between the Ages of 21 and 60 and Drink Alcohol?”
"Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are seeking adults--[both smokers and non-smokers]--to study whether a gene and smoking may affect drinking alcohol. Volunteers should be healthy and drug-free, and not seeking treatment for alcohol-related problems. Research participation includes three outpatient visits at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD; alcohol consumption; brain scans (MRI), blood draws, and filling out questionnaires. There is no cost to participate and compensation may be provided." For more information, click here. (Courtesy of Fran Hazam)
TU Collaborative Seeks Participants for Its Parenting Through Leisure Project; See Also the TU Collaborative's Parenting Resources, Including Information on Custody Issues
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion is seeking parents with lived experience of a mental health condition to participate in a paid research study. The TU Collaborative writes: "Our program, Parenting Through Leisure, focuses on helping parents with a serious mental illness participate in leisure activities with their child. We are looking for individuals who are 18 and older; are an adult parent with a diagnosis of schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, or depression; have a child who is 7 to 15 years old and is interested in participating in family leisure with you; have legal visitation rights, joint custody or full custody of the child, with at least weekly contact; and have a desire to engage in more leisure activities with their child." For details about the study and the remuneration as well as other benefits to eligible participants, and a link to sign up, click here. Questions? Please contact TUCollab@temple.edu. And for the TU Collaborative's Parenting web page--which includes links to many resources for parents with lived experience, including information about custody laws and a model family reunification statute--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)
RESOURCES
Artists for Change Picks Up Where Altered States of the Arts Left Off
Artists for Change, created by a team led by movement pioneer Gayle Bluebird, has evolved from Altered States of the Arts, which was co-founded decades ago by Bluebird, Howie the Harp, and others. Artists for Change is a “ ‘home’ for historical works of artists who participated in the Consumer/Survivor Movement,” and “is intended to serve as a remembrance for those who were there, a resource for those who want to know more about the movement, and a place to view some of the art of that period.” The site also provides “historical videos and presentations, information about peer-run art centers, art programs, and art projects that peer specialists can easily do with people to help them use creative expression in healing trauma.” Bluebird writes: “Art that elicits emotions in the viewer–whether shock, surprise, disgust, humor, anger, or joy–requires time to sink in, not only to appreciate what is seen but also to feel at a deeper level what the artist might be communicating.” To view the website, click here.
“Peer-Run Respite Approaches to Supporting People Experiencing an Emotional Crisis”
“Research shows that guests experience peer-run respites as empowering and safe places where they feel more seen, heard, and respected than they do in conventional settings.” So begins a recent article by Lauren Spiro, MA, and Margaret Swarbrick, PhD, FAOTA, published by the American Psychiatric Association. “In a discussion informed by their experiences and the literature, the authors examine how peer-run respites differ from conventional psychiatric crisis response services in their basic philosophy: how emotional crisis is understood, the goal of crisis response, how trauma is viewed, the importance of self-determination, power dynamics, and relationality.” For the article, click here.
MHA Issues Report on Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health 2024 Outcomes
“This year, Mental Health America (MHA) celebrates the 5th anniversary of its Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health, the first national certification recognizing U.S. employers committed to supporting a mentally healthy workforce. Since 2019, MHA has received over 500 applications from employers, representing a combined workforce of 4.3 million employees. Sourced from all 2024 applications, the ‘Workplace Mental Health 2024 Report: Trends and Best Practices of Top Employers’ provides benchmarking and identifies emerging trends that can help support all employers' workplace wellness efforts.” For the free, 51-page report, which includes highlights on Page 2, click here.
New HIPAA Administrative Simplification Fundamentals Fact Sheet
“The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a new HIPAA Administrative Simplification Fundamentals Fact Sheet (PDF), located on the HIPAA and Administrative Simplification webpage of the Administrative Simplification website. The new resource provides an overview of Administrative Simplification, its purpose, goals, and how the health care industry benefits from it. Administrative Simplification requirements, which were authorized by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and subsequent legislation, govern how providers, health plans, and clearinghouses—otherwise known as HIPAA covered entities—handle electronic administrative transactions and set standards for transmitting health information.”
“Expanding Peer Support and Supporting the Peer Workforce in Mental Health”
This 20-page SAMHSA Issue Brief, published in June 2024, “summarizes the benefits of peer support and discusses how states can support inclusion of the peer workforce across the behavioral health continuum. Information in this issue brief will enhance states’ knowledge of peer support and assist in the inclusion and expansion of peer support throughout the behavioral health continuum.” To download the free report, click here.
“Reducing the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jail: Six Questions County Leaders Need to Ask”
“This new edition of ‘Reducing the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jail: Six Questions County Leaders Need to Ask’ advances the original Stepping Up framework, published in 2017, by embedding a racial equity lens and uplifting the voices of people with lived experience. It provides six guiding questions for county leaders, offers tips gleaned from counties across the country that answered the call to action, and addresses ongoing challenges.” For more information and a link to the 17-page document from the Council of State Governments Justice Center, click here.
“The Modern Psychiatrist’s Guide to Contemporary Practice”
“ ‘The Modern Psychiatrist’s Guide to Contemporary Practice: Discussion, Dissent, and Debate in Mental Health Care’ provides an overview of psychiatry, starting with the most fundamental question of all: why does psychiatry exist? Key topics are covered, such as diagnosing mental illness, controversial treatments, involuntary admission, human rights, suicide, and global inequality.” The author, Brendan Kelly, is a professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin. For the Open Access version of this 272-page book, published on July 3, 2024, click here.
“Twenty-five Years of Olmstead: Life in the Community for All”
The Cafe TA Center writes: “This edition of Focus 2.0 looks back on twenty-five years of the Olmstead decision, which effectively ended legal institutionalization and the placement of people with mental health disabilities in segregated settings. How far have we come, and what remains to be done?” For the newsletter, click here.
“Schizophrenia, stigma and systems hold so many back, which made it tough to celebrate my hard-won tenure”
Nev Jones, Ph.D., writes: “17 years passed between enrollment in a graduate program that didn’t want me and receipt of tenure at Pitt. Along the way, I learned the hard way that the mental health system often doesn’t listen closely to its consumers.” For the article, click here.
MHA Has Published a Free BIPOC Mental Health Toolkit
Mental Health America writes: “July is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month,” and its new toolkit will “provide free, practical resources to help navigate mental health stigma, bridge generational differences, dismantle mental health myths, and encourage meaningful conversations. The toolkit is available for download at mhanational.org/july and a Spanish translation is also available. We’re also working to improve our online BIPOC Mental Health Resource Center.”
“Inpatient Psychiatric Care in the United States: Former Patients’ Perspectives on Opportunities for Quality Improvement”
The researchers write: “We fielded a national survey online in 2021, in which we asked participants to report their recommendations for care improvement through a free-response box….Most responses described negative experiences, with suggested improvements implied as the inverse or absence of the respondent's negative experience. Among 510 participants, we identified 10 themes: personalized care, empathetic connection, communication, whole health approach, humane care, physical safety, respecting patients’ rights and autonomy, structural environment, equitable treatment, and continuity of care and systems….” For the article, click here.
“New NCAPPS Resource: A National Environmental Scan of Technical Assistance Needs for Person-Centered Planning”
NCAPPS writes: “Despite progress, states continue to grapple with how to effectively implement person-centered planning in a way that aligns with the Home and Community-Based Services Final Rule requirements. Many states continue to seek technical assistance to support maintaining or coming into compliance with the requirements. This environmental scan seeks to understand common themes across those states that continue to need technical assistance around person-centered planning.” For the 32-page document, click here.
NCAPPS Offers Resources on Person-Centered Planning
The National Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices and Systems (NCAPPS) is featuring several resources on person-centered planning: “Person-Centered Planning: Choosing the Approach that Works for the Person” (eight pages), “Office of Healthcare Information and Counseling Person-Centered Thinking Toolkit” (39 pages), “Person-Centered Planning,” a 14-page SAMHSA issue brief, and the Community Living Policy Center’s “Association of Person-Centered Planning with Improved Community Living Outcomes” (10 pages). For links to all four documents, click here.
STAT Offers Free E-Book on “Improving Care for the Aging Population”
“Aging populations can often feel lonely, need to make nutritional sacrifices, or find themselves unable to pay essential bills. Many also have difficulty navigating the health care system and government and community resources, all of which pose substantial challenges. This collection of STAT journalism tackles these and other critical issues facing an aging population. STAT reporters spotlight gaps in care, including the absence of tailored food delivery services for Medicare recipients and the hurdles faced in accessing insurance coverage due to AI-based denials.” To download STAT’s free e-book, click here.
SAMHSA Offers Behavioral Health Barometers, Region 1-10, Volume 7: Indicators as Measured in the 2021-2022 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health”
SAMHSA writes: “The ‘Behavioral Health Barometers, Region 1-10, Volume 7: Indicators as Measured in the 2021-2022 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health’ is a series of 10 reports that provide a snapshot of behavioral health in each of the 10 HHS regions. The reports [published in April 2024] present a set of substance use and mental health indicators as measured in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).” To download the report on the Indicators, click here. For a map of the SAMHSA Regional Offices, click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
“Lost in Translation: A Narrative Review and Synthesis of the Published International Literature on Mental Health Research and Translation Priorities (2011–2023)”
The background of this study, published online on March 27, 2024, is that “Priority-setting in mental health research is arguably lost in translation. Decades of effort has led to persistent repetition in what the research priorities of people with lived-experience of mental ill-health are.” From the abstract, the conclusion is as follows: “One lived-experience research led survey was identified. Few studies reported lived-experience design and development involvement. Five of the seven papers reported responses, but no further progress on priorities being met was reported.” For the full paper, click here. (Courtesy of Nev Jones)
“Forced ≠ Treatment: Carceral Strategies in Mental Health”
“...there is a broad recognition that far too often people experiencing mental health challenges encounter the criminal legal system rather than accessing mental health supports. In response, many policymakers have championed policies that aim to divert people experiencing mental health challenges away from prisons and jails and into mental health treatment. However, some of these policies, particularly those involving forced treatment, rely on carceral tactics and replicate incarceration. The following brief analyzes state and local policies that adopt carceral approaches to mental health treatment.” For more information and to download the free 16-page report, published by the Center for Law and Social Policy, click here. (Courtesy of Joe Marrone via Jacek Haciak)
“We Gotta Stop Criminalizin’ Mental Illness” Developed by the University of Chicago
This report, subtitled “Experiences with Mental Health Crisis Response in Chicago,” was developed by a team of sociologists from the University of Chicago, who interviewed 23 residents of Chicago about their experiences with mental health crisis response from July through October 2023. To download the free 34-page report, click here. (Courtesy of Fran Hazam)
The recent Cafe TA Center Newsletter, Focus 2.0, Issue 13, highlights “When There’s a Crisis, Call a Peer”
A free 94-page manual published by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and subtitled “How People with Lived Experience Make Mental Health Crisis Services More Effective,” is the focus of Focus 2.0, Issue 13. The Bazelon Center writes: “As state and local governments seek alternatives to a police response to calls involving people with mental health disabilities or who are in crisis, stakeholders are asking critical questions about the effectiveness of alternative approaches. Among these are whether the alternative response will come quickly enough to keep people safe…There is an answer: Make the supports provided by people with lived experience serving as peer support workers, working in peer-led organizations, central to the delivery of mental health crisis services.” (The manual was featured in the February 2024 edition of the Key Update.) To download the free manual, click here. For the newsletter, click here.
CAFÉ TAC Offers Consumer Pathways to Inclusion and Engagement Model (CPIEM)
“The Consumer Pathways to Inclusion and Engagement Model (CPIEM) is a [138-page] guidebook created by peers, for peers, to help them develop the skills they need to turn their lived mental health experience into meaningful change in the mental health system of care.” For more about the guidebook, including a link to download it (or you can click on the link attached to the title, above), click here. A webinar to introduce the guidebook was presented on March 14, 2024. For a recording of the webinar, click here. (Jeremy Countryman writes: “Recordings of all of our webinars are at https://cafetacenter.net/tac-trainings/. Just scroll down to “Recent Trainings and Webinars.”)
A Digital Booklet Explains the UN’s “Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care”
MindFreedom International writes: “Monirul, a MindFreedom member in Bangladesh, has launched a website called MindfulRights in order to promote human rights in various fields in Bangladesh, including mental health care, and to raise public awareness of related issues within the country. Although the site is still a work in progress, it already offers educational resources, such as a digital booklet that Monirul has composed to explain the United Nations' Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care in simple terms...To access these resources, click on the links above.
“Is Psychiatry Working?” The BBC Offers a Series of Eight Episodes Organized Under This Topic
Besides “Is Psychiatric Working?” the topics covered on these half-hour podcasts are, broadly stated, Anxiety, Healing and Recovery, Therapy, Medication, Diagnosis, Detention, and Crisis. To listen to the free podcasts, click here.
Crestwood’s Recovery Resilience Solutions Offers “Welcome to Recovery Practices”
The latest podcast by Recovery Resilience Solutions is about “the power of a recovery-based welcoming practice.” Dr. Lori Ashcraft writes: “In this podcast on welcoming, I give you lots of ideas about how to welcome (not intake) people into your programs. It is so important to get this right because it’s the first and lasting impression the person has of both us and our program. We can set the stage for a solid working relationship, or for a struggle as you try to connect later on.” For a link to the podcast and more information about “Viva La Evolution,” click here.
“The Ethics of Survivor Research: Guidelines for the Ethical Conduct of Research Carried Out by Mental Health Service Users and Survivors”
“Drawing on the experience of survivors and service users, [this accessible manual] considers key issues such as informed consent and confidentiality with particular reference to mental health settings.” For more information and to download the free, 56-page manual, click here. (Courtesy of Konstantina Poursanidou)
WHO Publishes Operational Framework for Monitoring Social Determinants of Health Equity
The World Health Organization writes: “This Operational Framework for Monitoring Social Determinants of Health Equity provides countries with critical guidance on monitoring the social determinants of health–broadly defined as the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, and people’s access to power, money and resources–and actions addressing them, and using data for policy action across sectors to improve health equity. The publication is meant as a resource for national governments and their partners.” For more information and to download the free 140-page manual, click here.
IAAPA Proposes a Pathway to End Coercive Psychiatry
Following up on the landmark report on “Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation”–launched on October 9, 2023, by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights–the International Association Against Psychiatric Assault (IAAPA) has issued a proposal to end coercive psychiatry. For details, click here. (Courtesy of Dan Fisher) To download the 208-page “Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation: Guidance and Practice”—originally reported in the September 23 edition of the Key Update—click here.
SAMHSA’s Overdose Prevention and Response Toolkit
“SAMHSA’s updated Overdose Prevention and Response Toolkit provides guidance to a wide range of individuals on preventing and responding to an overdose. The toolkit also emphasizes that harm reduction and access to treatment are essential aspects of overdose prevention.” For more information and to download the free toolkit, click here.
“Embracing Authenticity: A Guide to Authenticity and Cultural Awareness at Work”
“This comprehensive guide is designed to support BIPOC employees, allies, and leadership in fostering a more inclusive and supportive workplace environment,” the New England MHTTC writes. “By recognizing and addressing the unique challenges faced by People of Color, promoting allyship, and empowering leadership, we can create a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported, and able to thrive. This guide provides practical strategies, exercises, and resources to enhance well-being and promote equity within your organization.” To download the free 65-page guide and to view a series of webinars for guidance and support for the use and implementation of the guide, click here.
“Study: To Reduce Jail Populations, Increase Mental Health Services in Communities”
A new study by researchers at George Mason University “concludes that U.S. jails are de facto mental health institutions, with nearly 10 times as many individuals with serious mental health conditions in prisons and jails than in state psychiatric hospitals. The study also found that access to affordable healthcare services and behavioral health treatment in the community changes how the jail is used and reduces the size of the jail population.” For more information and a link to the study, click here.”
“Solving Homelessness Through Better Information”
At the link below are six reports about how to address homelessness in the Portland, Oregon, region. Although the reports, by Homeless Strategic Initiatives of Portland, are geared specifically for the Portland area, many of their lessons are broadly applicable. For the reports, click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
SAMHSA TIP 59: “Improving Cultural Competence”
“The primary objective of this TIP [Treatment Improvement Protocol] is to assist readers in understanding the role of culture in the delivery of behavioral health services (both generally and with reference to specific cultural groups).” For the free, 341-page manual, click here.
“The State of Mental Health in America”
“Millions of adults in the U.S. experience serious thoughts of suicide, with the highest rate among multiracial individuals,” according to Mental Health America’s report on “The State of Mental Health in America.” Among other “2023 Key Findings” is that “[o]ver half (54.7%) of adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment, totaling over 28 million individuals,” and “[o]ver 1 in 10 youth in the U.S. are experiencing depression that is severely impairing their ability to function at school or work, at home, with family, or in their social life.” In addition, “59.8% of youth with major depression do not receive any mental health treatment.” To download a free copy of the report, click here.
World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All
“The World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All is designed to inspire and inform better mental health for everyone everywhere. Drawing on the latest evidence available, showcasing examples of good practice from around the world, and voicing people’s lived experience, it highlights why and where change is most needed and how it can best be achieved. It calls on all stakeholders to work together to deepen the value and commitment given to mental health, reshape the environments that influence mental health, and strengthen the systems that care for mental health.” For the free, 296-page report by the World Health Organization (WHO), click here.
“Mental Health Crisis Services: Promoting Person-Centred (sic) and Rights-based Approaches”
The World Health Organization (WHO), which published this 80-page “Technical Package” in 2021, writes: “By showcasing good practice mental health services from around the world this guidance supports countries to develop and reform community-based services and responses from a human rights perspective, promoting key rights such as equality, non-discrimination, legal capacity, informed consent and community inclusion. It offers a roadmap towards ending institutionalization and involuntary hospitalization and treatment and provides specific action steps for building mental health services that respect every person’s inherent dignity.” For the manual, click here.
Frontiers in Psychology Adds to Its Archive of Articles About Open Dialogue
The latest addition to Frontiers in Psychology’s trove of articles about Open Dialogue is “Open Dialogue services around the world: a scoping survey exploring organizational characteristics in the implementation of the Open Dialogue approach in mental health services.” For the article, published online on November 10, 2023, click here. For all 21 articles, click here. (Courtesy of Ann Kasper)
Prison Activist Resource Center (PARC) Directory Offers Helpful Resources
“PARC mails a free national directory of resources to prisoners, their friends and family members. This year, we have expanded the content and the directory is now 28 pages listing nearly 300 organizations serving folks on the inside!! Thank you to all of our community partners for supporting the mailing of this directory.” For the PARC website, which includes a link to the Directory, click here.
WHO and UN Publish Landmark Report on “Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation”
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have jointly issued an important report on “Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation: Guidance and Practice.” To view a video about the launch, click here. To download the 208-page publication, click here. ACTION ALERT: Share it with elected officials and mental health policymakers! (Courtesy of Janet Paleo) (The October 9, 2023, launch of the joint publication was announced in the September 2023 edition of the Key Update.)
“The Lived Experience of Depression: a Bottom-up Review Co-written by Experts by Experience and Academics”
"This journey in the lived experience of depression can also help us to understand the nature of our own emotions and feelings, what is to believe in something, what is to hope, and what is to be a living human being." For the article, click here. (Courtesy of Ann Kasper)
Movement History of the Consumer/ Client/ Survivor/ Expatient/ Ex-Inmate/ User Community
This 647-page comprehensive history and timeline, mostly compiled by award-winning mental health advocate Pat Risser (b. 1952, d. 2016), begins: “The history of the Consumer/ Client/ Survivor/ Ex-patient/ Ex-Inmate/ User Community is deeply enmeshed in and with other civil and human rights movements. To understand the depth of this intertwining, it is necessary to cover the history of slavery, women, children, people with disabilities, education, labor and other factors that play a role in creating who we are today.” To download the document, click here. (Courtesy of Judene Shelley)
MHA Offers "Evidence for Peer Support"
For Mental Health America's nine-page fact sheet offering evidence of the benefits of peer support, click here.
Wellness Activity Manual Helps People Learn Healthy New Behaviors & Habits
The free, 64-page Wellness Activity Manual: A Guide for Group Leaders “focuses on helping people with mental health conditions learn new behaviors and habits to improve their personal wellness. Each lesson has been constructed as a group activity that maximizes learning through building positive interpersonal relationships and actively involving participants. The Wellness Group meets weekly for one hour. The manual contains nine lessons focused on physical, emotional, and intellectual wellness. Each lesson can be used as a stand-alone group or combined into a multi-session series.” For more information and to download the free manual, click here.
“A Manual for Coping with Extraordinary and Remarkable Experiences”
“Extraordinary and remarkable experiences should not interfere with your mood and daily functioning. This manual will help you to keep your extraordinary experiences manageable in daily life, although your extraordinary experiences may be annoying and intruding at times. You can work through this manual with your therapist…Solutions will be sought for your problems. The described method consists of a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and an educational course.” For the free, 34-page manual, copyrighted in 2013 by Mark van der Gaag, Dorien Nieman, and David van den Berg, click here. (Courtesy of Yulia Mikhailova) Note: This manual has not been reviewed, so no judgment about its value should be inferred from its inclusion in this e-newsletter.
Lived Experience Leadership Offers Numerous Research Studies Focused on Peer Supporters
Lived Experience Leadership features the findings of 12 years of research studies focused on [the peer support] workforce in a range of settings, to foster a better understanding of and respect for Lived Experience as a distinct discipline and build clarity on what makes this work unique and valuable. Importantly, this body of research was led by Lived Experience researchers.” For the website, click here.
International Peer Respite/Soteria Summit Offers Abundant Related Resources
For numerous resources about peer respites, Soteria, and related movements, click here.
“SAMHSA TIP 64: “Incorporating Peer Support into Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services”
“This TIP [Treatment Improvement Protocol’ supports learning about the key aspects, functions, and uses of Peer Support Services (PSS) in recovery from problematic substance use, which will help providers, supervisors, and administrators in SUD treatmen tprograms getter understand and respond to these changes.” To download the free, 301-page document, click here.
Resources for Supervisors of Peer Workers Offered by BRSS TACS and Pat Deegan
BRSS TACS writes: “This group of resources helps supervisors understand how to supervise peer workers in behavioral health services.” For details, click here. And the Northwest MHTTC offers a recorded webinar on ”How supervision can help peer specialists remain peer when working on clinical teams,” presented by Pat Deegan. For details, click here.
“Podcast: The Rise in Forced Treatment and Abusive Guardianships”
“[M]illions of Americans are subjected to psychiatric detention or forced treatment every year. Often well meaning family members are trying to ‘help,’ but end up traumatizing and permanently damaging their loved ones. Join us as investigative journalist Rob Wipond explains how most states have broadened their criteria for psychiatrically detaining someone far beyond ‘imminent harm’ and that as a practical matter, this could happen to almost anyone.” For the podcast, click here.
“Alternatives to Coercion in Mental Health Settings: A Literature Review”
This 214-page report was commissioned by the United Nations Office at Geneva to inform the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It was published in 2018 by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute. To download the free report, click here.
“Training of Lived Experience Workforces: A Rapid Review of Content and Outcomes”
“Recently, the lived and living experience (LLE) workforce in mental health and alcohol and other drugs (AOD) sectors has expanded,” researchers at La Trobe University and the Self Help Addiction Resource Center in Australia write. “Despite widespread benefit of this inclusion, some LLE practitioners have encountered personal and professional challenges in their workforce roles…[W]e present recommendations for improving training processes for this workforce.” For the article, published in Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services (Springer), click here.
“WHO’s New Series to Enhance the Meaningful Engagement of People with Lived Experience”
The World Health Organization’s “new ‘Intention to Action’ series is tackling both an evidence gap and a lack of standardized approaches on how to include people with lived experience into decision- and policy-making…The first publication—‘People power: Perspectives from individuals with lived experience of non-communicable diseases, mental health conditions and neurological conditions’—includes six detailed case studies from 12 individuals with lived experience of diverse health conditions.” For more information and a link to download the 80-page publication, click here. (Courtesy of Matthew Jackman)
“What Is Mental Illness?”
“This conversation between Justin Garson (philosopher), Nev Jones (community mental health researcher), and Marco Ramos (psychiatrist/historian)”--sponsored by The Philosopher–“will aim to offer a sense of the scope of what is at stake in our understanding of mental illness, considering the place of biology, society, histories of oppression, evolution, and lived experience in such an understanding.” For the video, click here. (Courtesy of Kevin Fitts)
“Optimizing Recovery Funding, Volumes 1 & 2”
“In 2021, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provided the Peer Recovery Center of Excellence (PR CoE) with supplemental funding for a special project to identify and recommend best practices and strategies to optimize funding for high-quality and effective recovery support services. The result was 'Volume 1: Barriers to Acquiring Funding for Organizations in the Ecosystem of Recovery Volume' and 'Volume 2: Strategies for State Funding of Recovery Support Services.'” To download the full, 130-page report, click here.
Common Threads: Stories of Survival & Recovery from Mental Illness
Common Threads: Stories of Survival & Recovery from Mental Illness, a 108-page compendium, includes “tales of survival and recovery” by a number of Floridians. To quote from the Introduction, “Many of the people in these stories have lived significant portions of their lives in psychiatric institutions, and only through their strengths have they found their way back to the community…In these tales, we hear about the importance of education and peer support…” To download the free document, click here.
“Crisis Now” Offers a “Roadmap to Safe, Effective Crisis Care”
The goal of Crisis Now: Transforming Crisis Services—led by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) and developed with the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and RI International—is “to provide all communities a roadmap to safe, effective crisis care that diverts people in distress from the emergency department and jail by developing a continuum of crisis care services that match people’s clinical needs.” Among the resources offered on the website are SAMHSA’s 80-page “National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care Best Practice Toolkit” (2020), an “Overview of Crisis Funding Sources Available to States and Localities” (last updated March 2, 2022), and assessment tools, such as “How Does Your Crisis System Rate?” The Crisis Now partners write: “Are you interested in adding your organization to the list supporting Crisis Now, or do you have questions? Reach out to us at info@crisisnow.com. For the website, click here.
“What Is the Meaning of Life?” This Free Online Collection Offers Answers
Excellence Reporter offers more than “1,200 articles-interviews on ‘What Is the Meaning of Life?’ written by renowned spiritual leaders, mindfulness experts, great thinkers and authors, elders, artists, musicians, CEOs, etc.” The contributors include such renowned figures as Bertrand Russell; Carl Jung; the Dalai Lama; Eleanor Roosevelt; Epicurus; Erich Fromm; Kahlil Gibran; Buckminster Fuller; Robert Louis Stevenson; and Ron Bassman, executive director of MindFreedom International. To browse the free compendium, click here.
The UIC Center’s Solutions Suite for Health & Recovery Offers Free Tools
"The UIC Center offers tools, curricula, and implementation manuals for free use in community-based programs, peer-run programs, or one's own life. You can introduce the entire complement of products to foster improved health, wellness, and mental health recovery. Or, you can choose the ones that will work best for your program or your life. The Suite was developed in collaboration with Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey. The UIC Center is funded by NIDILRR (National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research). For the UIC Solutions Suite for Health & Recovery, click here. (Courtesy of Peggy Swarbrick via Jacek Haciak)
U.S. Surgeon General Creates Community Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation
"The U.S. Surgeon General’s Community Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation, developed in collaboration with the HHS Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES), provides specific guidance and resources for health care providers, educators, librarians, faith leaders, and trusted community members to understand, identify, and stop the spread of health misinformation in their communities." For information about the toolkit (a 22-page overview of health misinformation, and resources to stop it), and links to a “Talk to Your Community About Health Misinformation” Infographic, a “Health Misinformation Checklist” Infographic, and the Surgeon General's press release, click here.
“Psychiatrist with Philosophical Interests” Leads “Conversations in Critical Psychiatry,” a Psychiatric Times Series
Awais Aftab, who describes himself as a "psychiatrist with philosophical interests" in his Twitter bio, leads "Conversations in Critical Psychiatry," which, he says, "explores critical and philosophical perspectives in psychiatry and engages with prominent commentators within and outside the profession who have made meaningful criticisms of the status quo." Among those interviewed are Jim Gottstein, author of The Zyprexa Papers, on “The Fight for Pharma Accountability and Psychiatric Rights”; Allen Frances, M.D., author of Saving Normal; Sandra Steingard, M.D., and G. Scott Waterman, M.D., on "Integrating Academic Inquiry and Reformist Activism in Psychiatry"; Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, on "50 Shades of Misdiagnosis"; Kathy Flaherty, J.D., executive director of the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, Inc., on "Reconsidering Care and Coercion in Psychiatry"; Nev Jones, Ph.D., on "Phenomenology, Power, Polarization, and the Discourse on Psychosis"; Dainius Puras, M.D., on "Global Psychiatry's Crisis of Values"; and many others. For the archived interviews, click here.
U.S. DOL Releases Guidance on FMLA Leave and Mental Health
The U.S. Department of Labor’s newly issued Fact Sheet #280 about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) explains when eligible employees may take FMLA leave to address mental health conditions, and new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) offers additional information. (Although the FMLA covers public and private employers nationwide, only those private employers who have 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks in a year are required to provide their eligible employees with FMLA leave.) For details, click here.
“Where DNA and Medications Meet”
Not all drugs are effective for all people; therapeutic response rates for many drugs are only 50%-75%. “OneOme, co-founded by [the] Mayo Clinic, provides evidence-based pharmacogenomic solutions that help improve patient outcomes and reduce costs through more personalized medication decisions.” OneOme’s RightMed Test is “a doctor-ordered pharmacogenomic (PGx) test that analyzes your DNA and provides your doctors with genetic information to help them determine how you may respond to certain medications. The results may help your doctors reduce medication trial and error, minimize risk of side effects, save you time and money, and make more informed prescribing decisions. Because your DNA doesn’t change over time, your doctors can use your test results to make more personalized medication decisions for you over the course of your lifetime.” For more information, click here. (Courtesy of Robin Osborne)
“New Federal Guidance for Alternatives to Police for People with Behavioral Health or Other Disabilities”
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and the Vera Institute have published a seven-page report entitled “New Federal Guidance for Alternatives to Police for People with Behavioral Health or Other Disabilities.” “Vera and the Bazelon Center agree with the new guidance, from the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS), that ‘jurisdictions should not assume that the proper response to a crisis is always to send law enforcement.’” Boiling down the guidance, they write, “sending police in response to a mental health crisis where there is no immediate safety risk to the public is discriminatory and violates civil rights laws.” For the seven-page document, click here. (Courtesy of Jacek Haciak)
SAMHSA Publishes Results from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
“This infographic accompanies the more comprehensive NSDUH annual national report. Together, they provide researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the public with data that can be used to better understand and improve the nation’s behavioral health,” SAMHSA writes. For the 21-page infographic, click here. For the 162-page “Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health,” click here.
“New Year’s Resolutions: Building Good Mental Health Habits”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently published some suggestions about building good mental health habits. SAMHSA writes: “Setting New Year’s resolutions can be a positive way to focus on self-improvement, but it's important to approach them in a manner that promotes good mental health and well-being and maximizes our chances of sticking with them.” For SAMHSA’s guidance, click here. And for “Top 8 New Year's Resolutions to Make if You Have Anxiety: Making unrealistic New Year's resolutions can be damaging to your mental health. Here's how to do it right,” click here. And for “9 Mental-Health Resolutions for 2024, According to Therapists,” click here.
Two Mental Health Toolkits Can Help Develop, Maintain, and Expand Rural Mental Health Services
The Rural Health Information Hub offers the “Mental Health in Rural Communities Toolkit,” which “features evidence-based models, resources, and program examples for the successful development and implementation of mental health programs to serve rural communities,” and the “Rural Suicide Prevention Toolkit,” which “highlights innovative, evidence-based models and resources to develop and implement successful suicide prevention programs in rural communities.” For more about rural mental health, click here. (Courtesy of Amy Smith)
Disclaimer: The Clearinghouse does not necessarily endorse the opinions and opportunities included in the Key Update.
About the Key Update
The National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse is affiliated with the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion. The Key Update is the free monthly e-newsletter of the National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse. Volume 21, No. 4, September-October 2024. For content, reproduction or publication information, please contact Susan Rogers at selfhelpclearinghouse@gmail.com. Follow Susan on Twitter at @SusanRogersMH