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Advocacy Through Awareness: Why Patients Need to Know TMS Exists
There is a moment many mental health patients know all too well. It's the moment after another medication change. Another follow-up appointment. Another hopeful start that doesn't provide the relief they need to survive. By the time some patients reach that point, they are exhausted by their...
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Behavioral Health News Spotlight on Excellence: An Interview With Dr. Jorge Petit, Executive Deputy Commissioner and Director of Community Services, Division of Mental Hygiene, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Overview In this interview, Dr. Jorge Petit, Executive Deputy Commissioner and Director of Community Services for the Division of Mental Hygiene at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, discusses what has changed and what remains constant in New York City's behavioral health...
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Bridge to Home: Creating an Innovative Pathway From Psychiatric Inpatient Care to Permanent Housing and Longer-Term Wellbeing
For many New Yorkers living with serious mental illness, leaving the hospital does not mean they will find stability. Instead, discharge often marks the beginning of another unfortunate cycle — from psychiatric units to shelters, from shelters back to emergency rooms, and sometimes back to the...
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How Cities Can Follow Oklahoma City’s Example to Address Residents’ Mental Health Needs Through Coordinated Emergency Response
Over the past three years, Oklahoma City has reimagined its emergency response system to better meet residents' behavioral health needs. The results are already impressive: the city's new alternative response teams have kept thousands of people out of the emergency room and drastically reduced...
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A Call to Amend New York’s Constitution on Mental Health
For decades, New York has been a national leader in advancing mental health policy. Legislators, advocates, providers, and families have fought tirelessly to secure access to treatment, improve insurance coverage, and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. Yet despite these efforts, a...
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Transforming Crisis Response: Direct EMS Radio Access for Peer Support Teams in Marion County
Behavioral health crises require rapid response, specialized support, and seamless coordination across emergency systems to minimize unwanted outcomes. Yet, in many communities, traditional Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workflows delay behavioral health intervention until after transport or...
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The Need for More Effective Approaches to Mental Health Crises
Law enforcement officers are most often the first responders when individuals are experiencing a mental health crisis. Some research studies have estimated that at least 20% of police service calls involve a mental health or substance use crisis, and this demand has been increasing for many...
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SAMHSA Announces $231M Funding Opportunity to Administer 988 Lifeline
The SAMHSA-funded 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline received more than 8 million contacts from help seekers in 2025 The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced today a $231M funding...
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Enhancing Equity in Adolescent Mental Health: Expanding Access to Comprehensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Treatment
Over the last decade, the US has experienced a significant increase in mental health symptomology and suicidality among children and adolescents, with the COVID-19 pandemic contributing to an even greater increase. In 2021, the surgeon general deemed mental health concerns in children and...
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Biden-Harris Administration Announces $36.9 Million in Behavioral Health Funding Opportunities
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced on February 26 $36.9 million in notices of funding opportunities for grant programs supporting behavioral health services across the U.S. These grant...
