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Preparing Communities for The Elder Boom: Mental Health Matters
Happily, a number of efforts are now underway to prepare communities and the aging services system for the elder boom. Sadly, mental health doesn’t figure into most of them in any significant way despite the simple and obvious fact that you cannot age well without your mental health. The new...
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Principles of Group Work with Children and Youth Trauma Survivors
Group work is indispensable for children and youth in the aftermath of traumatic events. Group work can serve as a counterforce to bleak outcomes that result from isolation in the aftermath of disaster. It can help to empower young people by restoring human dignity, building coping skills, helping...
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Promoting the Health and Well-Being of Veterans and Their Families
Even though the U.S. has been at war in Afghanistan since 2001 and in Iraq since 2003, it wasn’t until the summer of 2006 that the first reports of unusually high levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among returning veterans were highlighted by the media. In the winter of 2007, the...
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Recent Innovations in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
The integration of technology and medicine is creating exciting possibilities for psychiatry and the behavioral sciences. A particularly intriguing one is the marriage of virtual reality technology to established behavioral principles and interventions for the treatment of anxiety disorders in...
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Responding to PTSD in Our Communities
We see the words Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) everywhere—on the front page of major newspapers, on the shelves of bookstores in the self-help section, on prime-time television, and on the floor of Congress. When you hear ‘PTSD’ what do you think? Veterans? September 11th? Hurricane...
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The Aftermath of Trauma: How a Mental Health Community Responds
Traumatic events are naturally stressful on our bodies and on our minds. Feelings of fear, helplessness, anxiety, and emotional distress are generally common in populations exposed to trauma and these symptoms can last for many months and even years. Whether natural disasters, such as Hurricane...
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The Economics of Recovery: How Consumers Can Help Close the Budget Gap
Speaking before the Greater New York Hospital Association, Governor Paterson said the only way to solve the multi-billion dollar budget crisis was by “—working collaboratively—whether we run the hospital, work in the hospital or have been hospitalized.” While the Government could freeze...
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The Legal Case in Support of Veterans Suffering with PTSD
Initially referred to as being “shell shocked” and now properly diagnosed as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), soldiers returning from combat often suffer from severe psychological injuries as a result of horrific experiences they were exposed to. Today, with this country engaged in two...
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The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Responds to Post 9/11 Public Need
In recognition of the lasting psychological consequences of the WTC attack for many New York City residents, the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene launched the NYC 9/11 Benefit Program for Mental Health and Substance Use Services. This benefit helps cover the costs of services...
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The NYSPA Report: Taking Care of the Mental Health Needs of Active Duty Military, Veterans and Their Families
The prolonged war experiences and multiple deployments of men and women to Iraq and Afghanistan have created emotional as well as physical casualties of war. While more than 4,000 U.S. soldiers have lost their lives in the recent conflicts, multitudes of others have experienced life-altering...
