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The Connection Between Tobacco, Depression, and Anxiety
Despite decades of public health efforts, tobacco use remains a persistent public health issue, especially for individuals experiencing depression and anxiety. These two common mental health conditions are closely linked to tobacco use, both in terms of higher smoking prevalence and the emotional...
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Reframing Residential Treatment: Preventing Family Separation and Supporting Women with Substance Use Disorders
According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 70.5 million people used illicit drugs in the past year, and 48.5 million of them met the criteria for a substance use disorder (SUD). In 2022, 32.6 million women reported illicit drug use, and while men have historically shown higher...
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The Impact of Childhood Separation: Parallels Between Children of Parents with Mental Illness and Children of Incarcerated Parents
Family separation is a traumatic experience for children, regardless of the cause. When separation occurs due to parental mental illness or incarceration, children face unique psychological and systemic challenges that are often overlooked. Both groups experience disenfranchised grief, attachment...
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Methadone Offers Hope, Not Harm
For more than a decade, I’ve been caring for patients who struggle with opioid addiction and have seen firsthand the devastating toll it takes on their lives. For many, medications for addiction treatment, including methadone, have given them their lives back. Yet, I see time and again the...
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Understanding the Link Between Trauma and Substance Use in Adolescents
Adolescence is a critical period of development, and exposure to trauma during this stage can impact mental health and behavior. Research consistently shows a strong connection between trauma and substance use among adolescents, with trauma often acting as a risk factor for developing substance use...
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Brain Disease or Moral Failure? Why the Label Matters for Addiction Recovery
When I went to treatment 15 years ago, I was convinced that addiction wasn't a disease. And that, if it were a disease, it was self-inflicted. Many of the patients I care for today often have the same feelings, blaming themselves and living with shame despite the knowledge we have today. If more...
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AI Screening for Opioid Use Disorder Associated With Fewer Hospital Readmissions
NIH-supported clinical trial shows AI tools are as effective as healthcare providers in generating referrals to addiction specialists. An artificial intelligence (AI)-driven screening tool, developed by a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research team, successfully identified...
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Black Veterans’ Silent Battle with Mental Health and Addiction Is Costing Lives
When I returned from serving my country, I was a different person. My kids noticed I was distant, and I turned to alcohol and the party life to cope. Years of service had taken a toll on my mental health, and I no longer recognized the man in the mirror. For many veterans like me, the trauma and...
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10 Behavioral Health Trends for 2025
I hope everyone had a wonderful start to 2025…I am excited about continuing this ongoing dialogue, through my blog Behavioral Health: Matters, on critically important trends in the behavioral health sector. Here are my thoughts on the 10 areas of focus that we should be thinking about and...
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Dutchess County’s Stabilization Center Among New York’s First Licensed Supportive Crisis Stabilization Centers
Dutchess County’s first-of-its-kind Stabilization Center, a partnership between the Dutchess County Department of Mental Health (DCDMH) and People USA, recently became one of the first Supportive Crisis Stabilization Centers licensed by the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYS OMH) and the...
