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Virtual Care and Mobile Response: A Must for Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers
There are many factors contributing to the need for mobile technology applications among Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHCs) and other behavioral health providers. First, and perhaps most important, is the vital role that Mobile Crisis Response Teams play in communities. This is...
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Most Reported Substance Use Among Adolescents Held Steady in 2022
The percentage of adolescents reporting substance use in 2022 largely held steady after significantly declining in 2021, according to the latest results from the Monitoring the Future survey of substance use behaviors and related attitudes among eighth, 10th, and 12th graders in the United...
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NIH Launches Harm Reduction Research Network to Prevent Overdose Fatalities
To address the overdose crisis in the United States, the National Institutes of Health has established a research network that will test harm reduction strategies in different community settings to inform efforts to help save lives. The harm reduction research network’s efforts build on existing...
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An Overview of Seasonal Affective Disorder
Many people go through short periods of time where they feel sad or not like their usual selves. Sometimes, these mood changes begin and end when the seasons change. People may start to feel “down” when the days get shorter in the fall and winter (also called “winter blues”) and begin to...
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Families and Suicide: How to Engage Your Child in Conversation
As parents, we must balance our feelings of anxiety and uncertainty, on top of our own emotions with those of our children. There are many aspects to the relationship between suicide and families, especially having conversations to find out if children are thinking about suicide. Many parents are...
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Supporting Families in the Recovery Process
At the New York State Office of Mental Health, our Office of Advocacy and Peer Support Services (OAPSS) – formerly the Office of Consumer Affairs –supports families to play a vital role in the recovery and resilience process. The office is staffed by individuals with expertise gained through...
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The NYSPA Report: The Launch of 988 and Crisis Stabilization Centers Are Among New Efforts in NYS to Help Loved Ones and Family Members
New York State has undertaken significant new efforts in 2022 to continue building a comprehensive crisis response system to help meet the needs of New Yorkers living with a mental illness and their families, including launch of the 988 crisis line and establishment of supportive and intensive...
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Using the Partnership to End Addiction’s Online Risk Assessment Tool to Assess and Combat Children’s Risk of Developing Addiction
As a society, we’re well versed in the factors that can increase our risk for diseases like cancer and diabetes. But what about risk factors for addiction? Addiction, like diabetes and cancer, is a disease. And as a disease, it is caused by a combination of many different factors:...
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The Behavioral Healthcare System’s Response to Families: A Legacy of Unfulfilled Promises
Family members of those with serious behavioral health conditions often encounter innumerable obstacles in the pursuit of effective treatment and other essential services for their loved ones. Navigating a byzantine network of resources, many of which entail restrictive eligibility criteria and...
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The Hidden Effects of Combat-Related PTSD on Spouses
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (2014) reported that approximately 20% of service members who served in Iraq or Afghanistan developed combat-related PTSD. Mental health issues following combat tours are not exclusive to service members. de Burgh et al. (2011) stated that spouses of service...