Monthly Archives May 2015

Why Work Matters: Rethinking the Role of Work in Mental Health Treatment

Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio

Care for Your Mind kicks off a new series on workplace issues. Given that depression is the number one cause of disability in the United States, more needs to be done to accommodate employees’ mental health in the workplace. In the first post, Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio explains the value of work and the role employers can play in supporting good mental health.

Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio, LMFT, LCSW, DVS, CEAP, SPHR
Vice President, Health and Wellness, Prudential Financial, Inc.

Because most of us spend the majority of our waking hours at work, what happens there greatly affects many dimensions of our...

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Think You Have Adequate Insurance Coverage? Think Again.

Carol Rickard
Chair, DBSA New Jersey Grassroots Organization

Every year, millions of people go through their employer’s open enrollment period for health care insurance and are completely unaware of the danger that lies lurking in the darkness of that coverage: managed care!

As I sit to write this article, I am reminded of my introduction to managed care via a patient I cared for on the inpatient mental health unit where I had worked as a Recreation Therapist. Honestly, she comes to mind any time my thoughts move to “managed care.”

An all too common story
Linda was a mother of two young ...

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Illinois Advocates Unite to Tackle High Costs of Treatments

Naoki Nakamura
Chair, DBSA IL Grassroots Organization

Karen was finalizing the dissolution of an 18-year marriage while managing increasing expectations at her demanding job. In order to cope with depression coupled with her Premenstrual Dysmorphic Disorder (PMDD), her psychiatrist prescribed a medication that is unavailable in generic form. As a result, Karen’s monthly prescription cost was well over $100, on an insurance plan that had a $2,000 deductible.

Karen was overwhelmed: “I felt I had to keep working and making more money just to pay for my medication. It was a vicious circle.”

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Time to Stop Punishing the Chronically Ill: Why I Support Capping Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs

Care for Your Mind kicks off a new series on state-level issues of access to quality mental health care. This post focuses on activities in just one state, but advocacy around this topic is happening across the country.

Representative Laura Fine (Illinois 17th District)

I am a proud co-sponsor of legislation (IL HB 3605) that seeks to shield patients and their families from the exorbitant out-of-pocket drug co-payments increasingly being imposed by health insurers...

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Why I’ve Chosen the Rewarding Profession of Certified Peer Specialist

Care For Your Mind wraps up the series on peer support services this week with a post from Olga Wuerz, a certified peer specialist, WOC (Without Compensation) who shares first-hand the value of including peer support services as an integral part of the mental health care delivery team at VA hospitals and centers.

Why I’ve Chosen the Rewarding Profession of Certified Peer Specialist
Olga Wuerz, Certified Peer Specialist, WOC and President of the Dallas VA Mental Health Veterans Advocacy Council

I started working on the Acute In-Patient unit at the Dallas VA Hospital about 8 years ago...

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