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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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Will We Need a Separate Mental Health System in the Future?
“If the new federal law equalizing coverage for mental conditions with that for medical-surgical care works as hoped, there may no longer he a need for a public system to handle mental health in the long run,” says Michael Hogan, New York State’s mental health commissioner. This was the...
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Depression and Primary Care
Depression is an arch enemy if you suffer from one of many chronic, physical illnesses. It appears all the time, as an unwelcome intruder, in people with diabetes, heart and lung diseases, cancer, Parkinson’s disease and asthma. It impairs our ability to recover from these, and other, medical...
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The Redesign of Housing
In the Spring of 2007, the NYS Office of Mental Health, reached out to the residential providers in New York State asking them to review and provide feedback to the Guiding Principles for the Re-design of the (OMH) Housing and Community Support Policies. The message from the OMH was that safe,...
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Social Security: Dispelling the Myths
Very often in the human services field we encounter people who want to help but just are not equipped. Their desire to make a difference in another’s life or situation prompts them to pass on bits of information that they themselves have learned, experienced or heard. As often happens in the...
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NYS OMH Engaged in Mental Health Services Restructuring
New York State is engaged in a multi-year initiative to restructure the way the State delivers and reimburses publicly supported mental health services. Over the past 50 years, New York’s public mental health system evolved from one dominated by large State psychiatric hospitals serving tens of...
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A Journey to Employment
As a person with a disability, it is understandable why I might be considered an advocate for people’s rights. Although I am currently the Special Assistant to the Commissioner at the New York State Office of Mental Health responsible for consumer and family affairs, I regularly experience issues...
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Wellness Self-Management
Wellness Self-Management (WSM) is a curriculum-based clinical practice designed to assist adults to effectively manage serious mental health problems. The WSM program was based on Illness Management and Recovery (IMR), one of the nationally recognized evidence-based practices for adults with...
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Building a Responsive, Accountable, Recovery-Focused System of Care
I wish to briefly describe what is on the horizon for the Adult Mental Health system in our state. The New York State public mental health system is among the most well-funded in the country, yet outcomes are of concern. In the middle are people who struggle with mental illness and want to lead...
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Mental Illness Presents Challenges to Individuals, Families and Communities
Mental illness presents great challenges for individuals, families and communities. From stress disorders and depression among an over-stressed military, to incidents of school violence, to the $193 billion in wages lost annually in the United States because of mental illness, mental health issues...
