An Interview with the New York State OASAS, OMH, and OPWDD Commissioners to Address Critical Healthcare Issues

In a rare opportunity, Mental Health News Education, publisher of Behavioral Health News and Autism Spectrum News, has brought together the Commissioners of the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH), The NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), and The NYS Office for People with...

From the Publisher: A Personal Journey From a Survivor of Suicide: “From the Depths of Despair to a Mission of Advocacy”

I was drifting in and out of consciousness in the emergency room. “You have to drink this,” someone was saying as they held a tall plastic cup to my lips, filled with a tasteless ink-black liquid. I later learned that the charcoal drink was given to me to absorb the toxic soup that was in my...

Behavioral Health News and Autism Spectrum News: Supporting the Community During the COVID-19 Crisis

The current pandemic shows us how difficult social distancing and sheltering in place have been for the general public. It has been especially hard for people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and people on the autism spectrum. During my own 10-year battle with depression I...

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation: A Personal Perspective

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) is unraveling the many mysteries of mental illness, autism spectrum disorders, and many other diseases and disorders of the brain. I would like to thank Dr. Jeffery Borenstein and his team at BBRF for their help in bringing our salute to their...

Spotlight on Research: An Interview with Jeffrey Borenstein, MD President and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

What does the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation do? The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation is the largest non-governmental funder of mental health research grants in the world. The Foundation funds the most innovative ideas in psychiatry and neuroscience to better understand the...

From the Publisher’s Desk “The Handshake of Hope”

With the holiday’s only a month or so away, I recall a true story I wrote about several years ago in this publication. It began with, “Let me tell you a story about a simple handshake that saved the life of a man from New York suffering with mental illness.” The year was 1987 and he was 38...

The Opioid Addiction Epidemic: An Interview with Andrew Kolodny, MD, National Expert on the Current Opioid Addiction Epidemic in the United States

Ira Minot (IM): We are honored to have this opportunity to speak with you Dr. Kolodny. Our readers are anxious to learn about the current opioid epidemic. Andrew Kolodny (AK): I am very pleased that Behavioral Health News is devoting this issue to the current opioid epidemic. Opioid addiction is...

A Handshake that Inspired a Recovery: The History and Future of Mental Health News

Let me tell you a true story about a simple handshake that saved the life of a young man from New York suffering with mental illness. The year was 1987 and he was 38 years old. He had always been a happy and productive person throughout his entire life. He had earned a master’s degree and...

From the Publisher – Declining Physical Health: The Other Side of the Recovery Process

When I was struggling through my 10-year battle with depression, the most prevalent thing in the back of my mind each and every day was a silent prayer to recover and no longer suffer with the daily feelings of hopelessness and despair that were the hallmarks of my illness. Nothing else...

From the Publisher – Surviving Suicide: All Things Must Pass

We all walk a very thin line in our lives—a line of normal feelings and behavior. At any moment we might fall off that line and descend into the darkness of mental illness. For people with mental illness, their families and loved ones, this concept is well known. Brain chemistry, genetics, or...