The Impact of Housing on Mental Health Issues and Substance Misuse

• By: Jodie N. Dionne, MS, LMHC WellLife Network Inc.
• January 22nd, 2024
• adaptation, client-centered approaches, dropout rate, homelessness, housing first models, integration, mental health, precarity, stigma, substance misuse, survival, transitional period, Winter 2024 Issue
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In Maslow’s hierarchy, physiological needs – food, water, shelter – are the base upon which all other human activity rests. As a population, particularly in more privileged areas, we tend to take these needs for granted: a house or apartment, food and clean water, and clothing are readily...

“Decriminalization” is Misconceived: Towards Improved Drug Policy

• By: Michael B. Friedman, LMSW Public Policy Analyst and Mental Health Advocate
• October 23rd, 2023
• addiction, alcohol, criminalization, decriminalization, drug control, drug policy reform, drug-related violence, Fall 2023 Issue, illicit drug use, medications, overdose deaths, regulation, substance misuse, tobacco
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Recent reports about the problems that have emerged with Oregon’s experiment in the decriminalization of drugs have rekindled debate about this approach to reducing the damage that results from the current policy of criminalizing illegal substances. I tilt against decriminalization as currently...

Older Adults and Substance Misuse: Hiding in Plain Sight

• By: Nancy Harvey, LMSW Service Program for Older People (SPOP)
• October 23rd, 2023
• addiction treatment, alcohol use, complicated grief, emotional trauma, Fall 2023 Issue, holistic approach, mental healthcare, older adults, pandemic, psychotherapy, social determinants of health, social isolation, substance misuse
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Last winter “Lucy,” an 87-year-old woman, was referred to Service Program for Older People (SPOP) by her primary care doctor. Lucy’s husband had died during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she was struggling with unresolved grief, depression, and panic attacks. A retired teacher, she had enjoyed a...

Understanding Co-Occurring Disorders: A Mother’s Journey To Turn The Tide On An Epidemic

• By: Stephanie Marquesano, JD The Harris Project
• January 1st, 2018
• adolescent mental health, co-occurring disorders, integrated treatment, mental health stigma, opioid overdose, prevention programs, self-medication, substance misuse
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Co-occurring disorders (COD) is the combination of one or more mental health challenges/disorders and substance misuse/addiction. My son Harris had COD and died by accidental overdose when he was 19. I am so grateful that Behavioral Health News is devoting attention to this topic because...