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Federation of Organizations: A Family Affair
Families have been and continue to be instrumental in the development and implementation of treatment and support options for people with mental illness. Founded by family advocates, for the last 50 years Federation of Organizations (Federation) has been developing an array of community-based,...
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The Integral Role of Families in Promoting Mental Health and Managing Mental Illness
When you think about those at the forefront of managing mental health concerns – psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, counselors, and other professionals may come to mind. However, former Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher released a mental health report in 2000 that declared “families are...
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Exploring the Use of Virtual Reality in Alleviating Loneliness Among Older Adults
Social isolation is a reality for many older adults, and in response, technology is proving a viable avenue worth serious exploration. Virtual reality (VR) may be a solution, as it can transport us to distant lands, expose individuals to novel experiences, and connect to others within a virtual...
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Mental Health and Families: Working Together to Strengthen and Support Loved Ones
Having a family member diagnosed with a mental illness can cause great stress and a deep sense of isolation. Mental health challenges are difficult to open up about because of the fear of judgment, believing that no one will understand. Relationships with family and friends can be difficult to...
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More Than an Acronym: How LGBTQ+ Health is Transforming Industry
It’s a typical scenario: you walk into the doctor’s office, possibly after several postponements, afraid of what they might find. Will your blood pressure be up? Or maybe your cholesterol, you think. A myriad of possible underlying conditions flash suddenly through your head. But what if,...
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Ketamine for Mental Health Treatment: How Promising Is It?
For centuries, we have sought cures for depression. Some discoveries, such as psychotherapy and medication treatment, are now widely accepted. But they don’t work for everyone. More recently, an unorthodox drug has garnered attention as a new, possible intervention: ketamine. Classified as...
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The Lens of Loss: Perspectives of Family Members Following Suicide Loss
When we think about the suicide of a loved one, we think of profound loss, of grief, of finding a way to endure amid unyielding pain. But we gain something in the aftermath, one nearly as burdensome. It is a new perspective: Loss becomes a lens through which life is lived. And it can be difficult...
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From Blame to Burden and Beyond: Changing Perspectives on the Family and Behavioral Health
Over the past 40 years or so, there has been a dramatic shift in the views about the dynamics of families with mentally ill family members, a shift from blaming them to sympathizing with them for the burden they have to bear. 50 years ago, when I was learning to be a clinician, I was taught...
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Tips on Becoming an Antiracist Leader
White institutional culture is most often invisible. It determines the norms and standards in your organization and is damaging to the antiracist journey. It requires training your eyes to see, your ears to hear, and your voice to become racially fluent. The first step for an antiracist leader is...
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Centering the Family: What It Means to Implement Family-Focused Practice (FFP) in Adult Mental Health Care
Providers have an important role and responsibility to engage families when patients have a psychiatric hospitalization. HIPAA is often used to deny patients' families access to critical information. By educating and engaging families along the way, we can significantly reduce patient readmission...
