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Total Wellness: The Key to Behavioral Health
The term “behavioral health” is often used to describe the connection between behavior and the health and well-being of the body, mind, and spirit. Substance use disorders, mental illness, homelessness – these are all behavioral health problems that need a multi-faceted treatment approach....
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A New Era in New York’s Behavioral Health System
On his first public appearance after the 2010 election, Governor-Elect Andrew Cuomo visited Manhattan Psychiatric Center on Wards Island, New York City. During this visit, the Governor-Elect made clear the priorities which he hoped would define his administration; the provision of high-quality...
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The Future of Behavioral Healthcare in New York State
The future of behavioral healthcare in NYS is promising and full of great opportunity. While we understand that the future of all Medicaid care being managed creates some anxiety for providers, Governor Cuomo’s Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) recommendations ensured that the NYS behavioral health...
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Promoting Integrative Behavioral Healthcare: Gradualism and the Mechanisms of Change
The behavioral healthcare field is currently going through a period of transition – a time of increasing emphasis on the use of integrative approaches in the treatment of substance use and mental health problems. This change is not only being driven by economic necessity, but also by innovations...
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It’s About Time
Back in the height of what was called the “Humane Care” period, state hospital institutions took care, to the limits of their abilities, of the full spectrum of people’s needs. While one can certainly look back and question the quality of the care and the enormous personal consequences of...
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The Three A’s of a Successful Agency
In a time of diminishing resources and ever-changing regulations, today’s providers are entering a new era of care characterized by increased oversight activity and a shift in service delivery from volume-based to value-based, among other changes. Success in the new environment will require more...
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The Structure of a Revolution in Obesity Treatment
Although Katherine used to enjoy hiking and skiing, if given a choice between elevators or stairs she now selects elevators. Katherine is 81 pounds overweight, has prescriptions for gastro-esophageal reflux and high blood pressure, and has avoided her primary care physician for 2 years. Katherine...
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Parachute NYC: A New Approach for Individuals Experiencing Psychiatric Crises
Think back to the last time you had a really bad day. One that even now you shudder to recall—a day characterized, perhaps, by heartache, or disappointment, or loss. Or even physical pain. A day you were glad to get to the end of, which left a mark on you somehow, and which you hope never to...
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Peer Counseling Effectiveness in Acute Care at Kings County Hospital
Peer counseling is not new to Kings County Hospital Center (KCHC). In fact, it began more than ten years ago when a former patient—a tireless advocate and pioneer of the consumer mental health recovery movement—was hired as a part-time intern to work on inpatient services. In 2004, through a...
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Finding the Right Tools for the Job
As a provider of mental health services, offering a person-centered approach to recovery calls clinicians to not only be flexible, but also objective in order to systematically address the needs unique to each individual. Recovery is not always smooth and positive. When a consumer is marked as...
