Category Care for Your Mind

Independence Day 2018

Declaration of Independence

Care for Your Mind will not post an article this week due to the Independence Day holiday. We look forward to seeing you next week as we kick off National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.

Photo Source: National Archives

 

 

 

 

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Due to the Memorial Day holiday, Care for Your Mind will post on Wednesday, May 30. See you then!

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Break Down the Silos, Work Together for Change

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
Helen Keller

The mental health care system is notoriously divided into silos of narrow interests. Not only is mental health seen as distinct from physical health, and distinct from substance use disorders, but there is little collaboration – or even conversation – between and among people living with mental health conditions and their families, mental health care providers, professional associations, advocacy organizations, researchers, community health centers, hospital systems, and so on. This division works against our ability to effectively and collectively advocate for improvements to the mental health care system.

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Healthcare Reform Readings from Care for Your Mind

Healthcare Reform: Selected Readings from CFYMEarlier this year, Families for Depression Awareness (FFDA) and the National Council for Behavioral Health held “The American Health Care Act: What’s at Stake for Our Mental Health?,” a webinar that provides an overview of access to mental health care prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and what the ACA accomplished for people with mental health conditions...

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Mental Health Research Is Stagnant. Here’s Why.

Mark Rasenick

Mark Rasenick, Ph.D., University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine

Care for Your Mind acknowledges and appreciates the collaboration of the National Network of Depression Centers and the American Brain Coalition in developing this post.

This is a wildly exciting time for cancer research. Work on new drugs is barreling ahead; thanks to years of hard work, scientists are starting to understand the biology of cancer better than ever. This knowledge is helping them develop personalized treatments that can potentially save millions of lives.

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Congress Strengthens Mental Health Parity

Carol Rickard

Carol Rickard, Community Education and Outreach
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

With the stroke of his pen on December 13, 2016, as he signed the 21st Century Cures Act, President Obama moved our nation one step closer to treating the whole person and ensuring equal access to health care for individuals living with a mental health condition. This law addresses a wide range of health issues, including a major emphasis on mental health issues. In signing the legislation, the President put into motion critical provisions to improve implementation and enforcement of the 2008 parity law.

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What Will Help Faith Communities Address Mental Health and Erase Stigma?

Families for Depression Awareness for Care for Your Mind

This post is another in the Care for Your Mind series on the role of faith, faith leaders, and faith communities in addressing mental health concerns.

Spiritual leaders and faith communities may be where people first turn when they are grappling with a mental health issue. This is often true in the military, according to Chaplain Dianna Watkins in the CFYM post, “Where Do Service Members Get Mental Health Support? (For Many, It’s Not Where You Think.)” Service members turn to their chaplains not only for matters of faith and spirituality, she commented, but for help in addressing their mental health concerns. Working with a chaplain, Ch Watkins noted, allows service members to work around barriers to accessing care. Further, unlike many of their civilian counterparts, military chaplains receive training not only in pastoral care and theology (all have attained a Master of Divinity degree or its equivalent), but also in mental health and suicide prevention.

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Culpable, or Merely Reprehensible? Driving Someone to Suicide

Families for Depression Awareness for Care for Your Mind

Should our society prosecute the people who encourage or drive another to take their own life? We may be seeing the maturation of criminal justice in recognizing the vulnerability of people suffering from depression or bipolar disorder, bringing criminal charges against those who are in some way a significant reason for a person’s suicide.

Two Recent Cases
In Massachusetts, a teenage girl is accused of actively encouraging her boyfriend to take his own life. Through a series of texts, Michelle Carter’s support, advice, and even goading may have pushed Conrad Roy III to his death by suicide. But to what extent does a text – even one as unconscionable as “It’s now or never” – contribute to a person’s decision to attempt suicide? Ms. Carter has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

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