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Addressing Stigma: The Importance of Cultural Relevance and Early Intervention
The stigma surrounding mental illness can take a huge toll on children, youth, adults, and families with mental health concerns. Addressing stigma not only helps the individual, but the entire community. Eliminating discrimination that is caused by stigma can lead to improved opportunities for...
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Ask Dr. Max: Family Life Cycle and Mental Illness Challenges
It is important to start with the understanding that everyone thinking about and desiring to have a family is not only with great expectations but with many hopes and aspirations. Unexpected events result in shocks and traumas impacting everyone and each family system based on many factors...
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Using the Partnership to End Addiction’s Online Risk Assessment Tool to Assess and Combat Children’s Risk of Developing Addiction
As a society, we’re well versed in the factors that can increase our risk for diseases like cancer and diabetes. But what about risk factors for addiction? Addiction, like diabetes and cancer, is a disease. And as a disease, it is caused by a combination of many different factors:...
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Family Mental Health: How Your Organization Programs and Services Are Helping
For over 50 years, Vibrant Emotional Health (formerly known as The Mental Health Association of NYC) has been fulfilling its mission to help people achieve mental and emotional well-being with dignity and respect. The work of the organization has branched into comprehensive direct service programs...
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Innovative Programs are Transforming New York State’s Behavioral Healthcare System
As we recover from the COVID Pandemic, we must look forward to the future and the critical issues our behavioral health care system will need to address. We know that over 40% of New Yorkers will have a mental health impact from this pandemic and we are seeing over twice the number of our youth...
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The Impact of Stigma on Mental Health Treatment for Children
Adults with mental health conditions typically receive treatment approximately 8-10 years after symptoms have begun (Sarper Taskiran, MD). Studies show that 1 in 5 children are diagnosed with a serious mental health condition during their adolescence (5 Ways to End Mental Health Stigma, 2020)....
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Mental Health in Schools: Moving Stigma Out in the Open
Since the start of the pandemic, rates of psychological distress and chronic mental health issues among young people have increased. In New York, state officials estimate that one in five children ages 2-17 has one or more emotional, behavioral, or developmental condition while approximately...
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Pediatric Behavioral Health Urgent Care: An Innovative Model of Care for Children and Adolescents
The Cohen Children’s Pediatric Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center (“BH Urgi”), located on Long Island, NY, is an alternative treatment setting for school-aged children and adolescents ages 5 through 17 in need of urgent mental health support. BH Urgi is intended to provide urgent or...
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Early Childhood Mental Health Clinic: Unmasking Social-Emotional Needs in Young Children
Think about this: a child who turned 5 years old in March 2022 will have spent 60% of their young life in the age of COVID. Most, if not all, of the child's active memories will be a time when traveling outside the home means wearing a mask. They were told that masks keep them safe; masks protect...
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Trauma-Informed Care: Children in Crisis
We know that most if not all of the people we serve at the Institute for Community Living (ICL) have experienced multiple traumas in the course of their lives. This is true for every ICL program, whether in behavioral health clinics and crisis services or housing for people living with mental...
