InvisALERT Solutions – ObservSMART

Archive for the ‘Spring 2022 Issue’ Category

Crisis Intervention: Is the Field Ready?

The comments below are those of Joyce Wale, LCSW and do not reflect the opinions of United Healthcare or others. The New York State Office of Mental Health should be commended for their leadership and insight into the need for a comprehensive behavioral health system that is equipped to respond...

Mental Health Is Essential to Stability

We are seven New Yorkers ranging in age from the 20s to the 70s. We all have a variety of behavioral health needs and have benefited from S:US programs such as housing assistance and supported housing, crisis respite, care coordination, substance use treatment and recovery clinics and services,...

Peer Professionals and the Important Role They Play in the Recovery Process

When two people have something in common, it creates a bond that allows for meaningful discussions and a trusting relationship. This is the foundation of Peer Support and the reason for its success. Peer professionals share the knowledge, skills, and information they’ve learned from their own...

Utilizing Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy When Treatment-Oriented Care is Not Leading to Recovery

Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R) was originally developed by the Beck Institute to promote recovery and resiliency in individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, but it can be applied broadly to individuals with various challenges. The Beck Institute describes CT-R as “highly...

A Case for the Discerning Application of Treatment Models: Proceed with Caution

In recent decades we have witnessed a proliferation of models for the treatment of behavioral health conditions, many of which enjoy robust evidence bases that support their application in accordance with overarching principles and intended outcomes. In many respects, we inhabit a “Golden Age”...

HHS Announces Nearly $44 Million to Strengthen Mental Health and Substance Use Services for Populations at Risk for or Living with HIV/AIDS

Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced three funding opportunities to strengthen mental health and substance use services for individuals at risk for or living with HIV/AIDS. Totaling...

The Department of Health and Human Services Announces Funding for Substance Use Treatment and Prevention Programs

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is announcing two grant programs totaling $25.6 million that will expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and prevent the misuse of...

Virtual Care Platform Supports Text-Based Mental-Health Research Program for Transgender and Nonbinary Participants

Reaching individuals with information designed to help with anxiety and depression can be difficult, especially when they’re in rural areas. Consistent, fast internet is still not available in many of these areas, so text-messaging outreach is highly preferred (about 95% of US residents have a...

Overcoming Silos to Create Better Service Delivery

Over the past two decades, overcoming the silos of clinical practice that predominate how we provide care has become one of the biggest obstacles that healthcare has tried to tackle. Chronic mental, medical, or substance use conditions rarely occur independently, yet the majority of options offered...

The Adolescent Therapeutic Community: An Integrated Model of Care

I was once told early in my career that the Therapeutic Community (TC) takes an hour to explain but a lifetime to master. The traditional Therapeutic Community model has saved countless lives over the past several decades featuring a therapeutic milieu that uses the community as the healer and...