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Mind the Gap: Inside New York City’s Mental Health Crisis
Nearly a million New Yorkers cannot access the mental health care they need. A broken workforce, a fraying safety net, and deep inequities are forcing the nation's largest city to reimagine how — and for whom — mental health care is delivered. The Emergency Room at Midnight The...
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Beyond Translation: Why Behavioral Health Systems Need Bicultural Leadership and a Culturally Humble Workforce
Hispanic Heritage Month allows us to honor and celebrate Latino and Hispanic histories and cultures. But it should also challenge behavioral health organizations to ask a harder question: Have we evolved beyond merely translating words to truly understanding people? Language access is vital....
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Advocacy Through Data: Making the Case for Community Behavioral Health Under Value-Based Payment
Most behavioral health policy arguments still run on stories. A person who was in and out of the hospital for years, then found a community program, got stable, went back to work. The stories are true and they matter. But a recovery story does not hold up well in a budget hearing or a payer...
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From Access to Engagement: Reimagining the Consumer Experience in Behavioral Health
Behavioral health systems have made significant strides in expanding access to care. Peer services have grown across outpatient clinics, crisis teams, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), and substance use treatment programs. Telehealth has normalized remote care. Patient portals...
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Recovery Works When Coverage Does: The Lifesaving Impact of Medicare’s IOP Expansion
Closing a Critical Coverage Gap in Medicare In 2024, following stalwart efforts by Congress, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, providers, advocacy organizations, and directly-impacted communities alike, Medicare closed a gap in its addiction treatment coverage by adding a benefit...
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Maternal Mental Health in CUNY/SUNY Public Universities as a Workforce Development Strategy
Maternal mental health conditions are the most common complication associated with childbirth1 and the leading cause of maternal mortality in New York.2 Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) include depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and psychosis during pregnancy and up to one year postpartum....
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Treating Depression in Pregnancy Is Lifesaving—Here’s What the FDA Panel Got Wrong
This week, the FDA held an unbalanced and largely inaccurate panel discussion on SSRI use during pregnancy. Of the 10 presenters on the panel (three from outside the U.S.), only one represented the robust body of research demonstrating the safety and efficacy of taking SSRIs during the perinatal...
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Expanding Perinatal Mental Health Care in NYC: Advancing Equity and Family Well-Being
Perinatal mental health—the emotional and psychological well-being of individuals during pregnancy and the postpartum period—is a growing public health concern. In New York City, behavioral health conditions are among the leading underlying causes of pregnancy-related deaths. According...
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Confronting Racial Inequalities in Maternal Mental Health in Indigenous Women
It is well known that Indigenous populations such as Native Americans (N.A.) often have limited access to healthcare and suffer from health disparities and inequities in care. This is especially true of N.A. women suffering from maternal mental health issues such as postpartum depression (PPD)...
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Findings from New York State’s Report on Postpartum Depression Screening
Postpartum depression (PPD)—the most common perinatal mood and anxiety disorder—is a debilitating condition affecting at least one in eight people who give birth. PPD is more than just the “baby blues.” It is a more severe mood disorder that can last for many months. PPD may impair a...
