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Breaking Mental Health Stigma in the NYC Hispanic/Latino Community
At NAMI-NYC, we often say 1 in 5 of us is affected by mental illness, and the other 4 are family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. We are ALL impacted by mental illness. Most interventions are for the individual, but it's critically important to remember the first ring around the person –...
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Disparities in Pain Management: Examining Cultural Inequities and the Critical Role of Behavioral Health Providers
For decades, pain management and the treatment of chronic pain (CP) have proven to be a complex, costly, and challenging area within the healthcare industry. While advancements in best practices for treating CP have evolved to include multimethod and multidisciplinary team approaches that...
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Adolescent Gambling: A Growing Concern
Adolescent gambling has turned into a difficult issue that can have huge negative ramifications for the individual, family, and communities. A representative sample of 2,274 US residents aged 14–21 participated in a random telephone survey. Findings revealed that 68% had engaged in gambling in...
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Fifty Years Forward: NYPCC’s Journey of Hope and Healing
Reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center (NYPCC) evokes a profound sense of pride and gratitude in me. Having been an integral part of this organization for 40 of those years, with two decades as CEO, I have been privileged to witness and contribute to...
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Insights from Personal and Professional Frontlines
Living with chronic pain is a physically exhausting experience that extends far beyond physical discomfort. I know this both from my own lived experience with peripheral neuropathy and major nerve damage and as the CEO of People USA, a peer-led non-profit that serves individuals with behavioral...
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Chronic Pain and Its Impacts: An Overview & Possible Management Options
When a person goes through depression, the impact of that weight can manifest in the form of physical pain and other bodily discomfort. On the other hand, chronic pain has a significant effect on behavioral health. Recurring physical pain can lead to mood swings, lack of appetite, lack of...
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Coping With Chronic Pain: Good Advice Is Easy to Give but Hard to Take
Like many people, I live with pain every day. I’m lucky that, for the most part, my pain is tolerable and doesn’t interfere too much with my life. I walk slowly—but I walk. I sleep badly, but I sleep. It’s tough to sit in a car going long distances. Fortunately, my wife now does the...
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NYSPA Report – Chronic Pain and Behavioral Health: Underlying Data and Regulatory Responses
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines chronic pain as pain lasting more than three months that can result from an underlying medical disease or condition, injury, medical treatment, inflammation, or unknown cause.1 Studies find a strong correlation between pain and mental...
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Seeing Through Crisis: A Behavioral Health Approach to Chronic Pain
Pain is a subjective experience, which means it is influenced by an individual’s perceptions, emotions, beliefs, and cultural factors. When assessing pain, healthcare providers rely heavily on the individual’s self-report to understand the nature, intensity, and impact of their pain experience....
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Aging, Pain, and Behavioral Health Challenges – Untangling the Threads
Armand is a 78-year-old gay man who has lived with chronic pain for over ten years. A retired actor who enjoyed a successful career on stage and as a mentor for young actors, he now has multiple health conditions including arthritis, a history of cancer, and complications from spinal surgery. He is...
