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Focus on Addiction Psychiatry: An Interview with Petros Levounis, MD, President of the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
The following are excerpts of an August 21, 2023, conversation with Petros Levounis, MD, current President of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). This interview has been edited for clarity. Rachel Fernbach: First congratulations on your new position as President of the American...
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Jorge R. Petit, MD, Appointed to SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment National Advisory Council
We are thrilled to announce that Jorge R. Petit, MD, was recently appointed to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) National Advisory Council. Dr. Petit will be joining the SAMHSA CSAT National Advisory Council...
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New York Vulnerable: A Look at the Governor’s New Mental Health Plan
Gov. Hochul’s new mental health initiative proves that there’s strength in acknowledging vulnerability - but one area of oversight is cause for concern. New York’s last governor may have adopted the motto “New York tough,” but current Governor Kathy Hochul’s new mental health...
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BHN Summer 2023 Issue
"Serious Mental Illness: History and Challenges Ahead" Articles in This Issue Serious Mental Illness: History and Challenges Ahead Addressing the Intersection between Severe Mental Illness and Homelessness Basic Research Has Had a Major Impact on Developing New...
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The NYSPA Report: Overdose Prevention Centers Keep Our People Alive
People with opioid use disorder (OUD) have a high prevalence of a serious mental illness (SMI). Nearly 27% of people with an OUD had a co-occurring SMI (Jones and McCance-Katz 2019), which complicates care when access to dual diagnosis treatment is limited. Overdose deaths have steadily increased...
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Just Another Day
What does mental illness feel like? It feels like drowning, alone and helpless, surrounded by nothing but inky black water, and deafening silence. As an icy chill creeps down your spine, a paralyzing numbness begins to set in. Breathing is very difficult now as you feel a sudden scalding hot...
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Interview with Arthur Y. Webb for His New Book “Honorable Profession: My Years of Public Service”
Arthur Webb recently published a book titled, Honorable Profession: My Years in Public Service. Mr. Webb prepared responses to questions that colleagues and interested readers have asked him about the book. Mr. Webb’s previous book was published in January 2022 titled, Dangling on a String: The...
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Mental Healthcare in America: An Industry on the Mend
America’s healthcare industry accounts for one fifth of its Gross National Product (GNP) and produces mediocre outcomes at best. Innumerable factors are implicated in this dysfunction, most of which are borne of a capitalist structure designed to maximize profits for its principal agents. This...
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Basic Research Has Had a Major Impact on Developing New Treatments for Serious Mental Illnesses
Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, with an estimated $2 trillion annual economic impact. The cost in terms of human suffering is, of course, incalculable. Each year about 8% of adults—nearly 20 million Americans—experience major depression; 8% of adolescents experience at...
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Outcome of Schizophrenia in Later Life: Conceptual Changes and Implications for Treatment and Policy
In tandem with the greying of the general population, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of older adults with schizophrenia (OAS). Since 2000, there has been a doubling of persons aged 55 and over with schizophrenia and they now comprise about one-fourth of all persons with...
