-
Suicide Prevention and Response: Fostering Trust and Safety in Vulnerable Communities
Suicide carries grief and mourning and encompasses assumptions, histories, and fantasies. It holds the dialectic of abbreviated narratives and hope-filled storylines for those who survive. 2022 U.S. data from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) indicates that 1.6 million adults...
-
From Harm to Healing: How Family Dynamics Shape Hazing Recovery
When a family member experiences hazing, the recovery process often reverberates beyond the individual, particularly affecting parents. Parents frequently struggle with guilt, feelings of failure, and shame. This can shape family dynamics, influencing how they provide support—or fail to do so....
-
How to Approach Treating Older Adults with Complex Mental and Physical Care Needs
Roughly 14% of adults over age 60 (WHO, 2023) live with a mental health condition. As the geriatric population continues to grow (Urban Institute, n.d.), so do its rates of mental distress, depression, and drug deaths (Wilson, 2024). The behavioral health industry must prepare for treating more...
-
Working Toward Employment: A Journey of Growth and Support
As a young woman, Lisa was told that she would never work. She suffers from serious mental illness and has experienced multiple traumas during her lifetime. Now 59 years old, she lives in a supportive group home and is a participant in the Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) program at...
-
Supportive Housing Workers are Burnt-Out, Overworked, and in Dire Need of Support
Essential to the health and recovery of our formerly unhoused neighbors with the most complex needs are critical workforce investments for those who serve and support them. The future of supportive housing, the most effective tool available to combat chronic homelessness, is threatened by a severe...
-
When Happy Hour Isn’t Always So Happy: One Clinician’s Point of View
I’m sure many of us reading the words “Happy Hour” get a little excited: as a time to socialize, network, and let loose. For some, it’s a chance to be an extrovert - while an invisible cloak helps suppress insecurities, fears, and worries. For many, in fact, happy hour is not really very...
-
Mental Healthcare in America: An Industry on the Mend
America’s healthcare industry accounts for one fifth of its Gross National Product (GNP) and produces mediocre outcomes at best. Innumerable factors are implicated in this dysfunction, most of which are borne of a capitalist structure designed to maximize profits for its principal agents. This...
-
Applied Behavior Analysis as a Treatment for Survivors of Trauma
Understanding trauma has become a major focus for many different fields of mental health, with each proposing a different strategy for addressing traumatic symptoms and core issues. This has not been an easy feat for several reasons. First, the current reports of trauma are only as accurate as the...
-
A Trauma-Informed Approach to the 1115 Waiver: A Critical Ingredient for Success
Despite an increasing recognition and surge of evidence that trauma is pervasive and has significant negative health consequences, the traditional healthcare system has not yet been configured in a way that is adequately responsive to this knowledge. Conversely, the system creates barriers to...
-
Behavioral Health News Spotlight on Excellence – An Interview with Steve Miccio, CEO of People USA
Overview David Minot, Executive Director of Mental Health News Education, the non-profit organization that publishes Behavioral Health News, interviews Steve Miccio, CEO of People USA. Steve speaks about the Crisis Stabilization Center located in Dutchess County, NY and his collaboration with the...
