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Navigating America’s Unprecedented Mental Health Winter of 2020/2021
As the dust settles on one of the most polarizing and emotionally charged presidential races in the United States’ history, the country finds itself in the midst of a mental health crisis of historic proportions. The mental health aftershocks of the 2020 election will be felt for months...
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The NYSPA Report: American Psychiatric Association Approaches to Social Determinants of Mental Health
The year 2020 refocused our attention on the social determinants of mental health. From structural racism to economic insecurity to healthcare disparities, people have become acutely aware of the insidious discrimination and losses that vulnerable individuals and communities have suffered. Rates of...
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Circle of Grief: Inspired Survivor Speaks Openly About Suicide
I walked into the “survivors of suicide” group physically aching and emotionally doubled over in pain. The group – people who’d had a loved one die by suicide – sat in a circle of folding chairs in a pleasant if nondescript meeting room. This was my first visit, a trial effort at relief...
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From the Publisher: A Personal Journey From a Survivor of Suicide: “From the Depths of Despair to a Mission of Advocacy”
I was drifting in and out of consciousness in the emergency room. “You have to drink this,” someone was saying as they held a tall plastic cup to my lips, filled with a tasteless ink-black liquid. I later learned that the charcoal drink was given to me to absorb the toxic soup that was in my...
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Addressing Behavioral Health and Opioid Use Disorder in Primary Care Settings
The Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness (SIPCW) is a non-profit organization established to promote wellness and to improve the health of the Staten Island community through collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach. For more than 20 years, SIPCW has addressed critical public...
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Rural Workforce Development: Critical Challenges
The critical challenges that are associated with rural workforce development remain a significant issue in America. We have an obligation to explore the best ways of caring for the underserved rural population. Currently we have a health professions crisis unfolding. The federal government projects...
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What Do Age and Disability Mean in Our Culture
People with disabilities come in all ages, and almost all of us encounter some change in physical or mental capacity as we grow old. Yet, we act as though old people never become disabled and disabled people never grow old. Academics and policymakers approach disability and aging as separate...
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The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation: A Personal Perspective
The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) is unraveling the many mysteries of mental illness, autism spectrum disorders, and many other diseases and disorders of the brain. I would like to thank Dr. Jeffery Borenstein and his team at BBRF for their help in bringing our salute to their...
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“I’m Not Strong – I’m Steel” Life and Recovery with Co-Occurring Disorders
You may have heard it before: acceptance is the first step in recovery. Nothing could be truer, as was made abundantly clear as each of us shared our histories together in a discussion about Behavioral Health News “Understanding and Treating Co-Occurring Disorders” issue. Trauma leading to...
