Posts Tagged ‘mental health’

The Perils (and Promise) of a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives unlike anything most of us have experienced. It has exacted an incalculable toll in terms of lives lost or forever altered, and its impact on our institutions and economies is beyond measure. It is exceptionally insidious in its effects on our...

Telehealth: The Solution for Getting Help During COVID-19

We are facing truly unprecedented circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic. It is affecting our families, our communities, and our way of life. No generation is left untouched. Families are juggling new working from home dynamics, older adults are cut off from visitors at senior living communities,...

Supported Housing Saved My Life

This article is part of a quarterly series giving voice to the perspectives of individuals with lived experiences as they share their opinions on a particular topic. The authors of this column facilitated a focus group of their peers to inform this writing. The authors are served by Services for...

Permanent Supportive Housing: A Foundation for Wellness and Recovery from Chronic Mental Health and Substance Use Conditions

Three years ago, Jeannette Lewis and her 16-year-old son spent Christmas in a homeless shelter in the Bronx. With a history of chronic substance use and a disability due to a traumatic brain injury, Ms. Lewis struggled to maintain stable housing and care for her family. Her two older sons no longer...

Managing Burnout and Compassion Fatigue Through Self-Care Strategies

We care about our family members, close friends, our clients, our students, and many others in our lives. We experience their accomplishments and excitement as well as their struggles and despair. Because we care about others and want to do all that we can in their best interests, this relationship...

Investing in Whole Person Care in Supported Housing: Improving Health, Enhancing Recovery

At ICL, we offer a range of housing opportunities for people with serious mental illness – people who have been homeless, living in a shelter or on the streets, with long histories of mental health and substance use issues; some with HIV/AIDS; many from prison, state hospitals and adult homes....

Working with High Risk, High Need, High Utilizers in a Mixed Use Setting: One Agency’s Experience

In a post DSRIP era, where sources of value based funding are scarce and community based organizations are still struggling to find a foot in the door partnering with the managed care industry and hospital settings, I thought it would be worth highlighting a few successful initiatives Concern for...

Addressing the Psychological Fallout of The Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic in the United States has led to great efforts to prevent the spread of the virus and to prevent fatalities. But the problems that people will face due to the pandemic will go beyond medical issues. In addition, it will be important to address a variety of psychosocial...

Kids Do Get Better: Values Driven Inpatient Care

In New York State, and across the country, the story of how mental health care began begins with inpatient care provided in large institutions located in a bucolic rural environment. This “humane treatment,” in its day, was considered a progressive avant-garde form of care. For decades this...