New York State Office of Mental Health Using Medication-Assisted Treatment and Other Resources to Fight the Opioid Epidemic

Every day, more than 130 people die in the United States as a result of opioid overdose. The opioid abuse epidemic has become a national public health crisis with devastating economic, societal and human costs. People with mental illnesses served in the public mental health system have...

Project TEACH Integrates Behavioral Health Care into Primary Care for Children and New Mothers

Parents seeking help or information about their child’s emotional or behavioral health often turn first to their pediatrician or their primary care provider (PCP). Unfortunately, family practice doctors often do not have the training needed to make decisions for children with mental health needs,...

New Mental Health Parity Laws in New York State

About one in five New Yorkers require behavioral health services, but many do not receive treatment because of a lack of access to insurance coverage. More than 10 years ago, the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act required large group health plans that provide mental health...

Reaching Out to Meet the Mental Health Needs of the Aging

There are more than with 3.7 million individuals aged 60 and older in New York State. It’s expected that this number will increase to 4.63 million by 2040. At the same time, the number of older adults with mental illness will increase by 80 percent, to 900,000. Studies have shown that the...

Medicaid Redesign Will Help Children and Families Get the Right Services at the Right Time

New York State embarked on a large-scale effort in 2011 to restructure the State’s Medicaid program based on recommendations from the Governor-appointed Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT). The MRT was comprised of a wide variety of stakeholders, including State agencies, providers, advocates, consumers...

Responding to the Mental Health Needs of the Aging

Aging is an inevitable part of life. As we get older, we often think of physical problems such an aching back or pain in our knees. But the elderly also have considerable mental health needs, as well. Here at the Office of Mental Health (OMH), we’ve been looking at innovative interventions to...

What’s New and Promising from the New York State Office of Mental Health Psychiatric Research Institutes

The NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) operates two institutes, making our psychiatric research enterprise among the largest in the country. We are proud of the work underway at the institutes, knowing that their continued clinical advances will improve the lives of New Yorkers, as well as people...

NYS OMH ACT Teams Utilize Harm Reduction Techniques

Harm Reduction can be a useful tool to help address potentially risky, dangerous, or self-destructive behaviors, including drug addiction, unsafe sexual activities, self-harm, and binge eating. The goal of harm reduction is to make dangerous behaviors safer, and to reduce the level of harmful...

Managing Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders

The combination of substance use disorders and mental illness is a common clinical problem – and a serious public health concern. The problem is widespread. At least one-third of people with anxiety and depression – and between half and two-thirds of people with more serious mental illnesses...

Re-Visioning Residential Treatment Facilities in a Managed Care World

It wasn’t long ago that the only options available for intensive treatment of children and youth with severe emotional and behavioral problems were inpatient hospitals or residential care. Before the creation and expansion of community-based mental health services, some children spent many months...