‘Peers’ Seen Easing Mental Health Worker Shortage
Peer programs such as Georgia's "certified peer specialist" licenses could become especially important once the Affordable Care Act takes effect early next year.
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Peer programs such as Georgia's "certified peer specialist" licenses could become especially important once the Affordable Care Act takes effect early next year.
Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection.
Recommended interventions for seniors include prescription drugs, problem-solving therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and interpersonal therapy.
The study is examining whether offering support for older adults with chronic illnesses, pain and cognitive problems can stave off the serious mental health issues.
Mississippi, Oklahoma are least healthy states for people over 65, according to a United Health Foundation analysis of 34 measures of health.
A proposal by Gov. John Hickenlooper would bring mentally ill and addicted homeless people to Fort Lyon, a one-time mental hospital, then prison, that's been shuttered for two years. The patients would voluntarily come to the institution. And the tiny town of Las Animas would welcome the jobs that reopening the facility would create.
Some experts say the pool of psychologists, psychiatrists and others is too small and the federal effort could jeopardize understaffed local centers.
While some emergency department doctors take strong positions against guns, others maintain that the first defense is keeping firearms out of the hands of people who are mentally ill.
Physicians are urged to discuss access to firearms with patients who might be suicidal.
Although Medicare and Medicaid will be largely unscathed in the March 1 sequestration, other health-related efforts including medical research, mental health treatments and drug approvals face reductions.
Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We will edit for space, and we require full names.
Few states are poised to spend their own money to reverse as much as a decade of budget cutbacks in mental health care.
President Obama's actions and proposals on reducing gun violence include efforts to address the nation's fragmented and porous mental health system. Mental health advocates are buoyed by the attention given to an issue they say has been ignored for far too long.
Consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about minors' mental health records and whether they need to be disclosed to insurers paying for care.
Colleges and universities across the country have seen an influx of students with mental health needs.
Gaps in insurance coverage for mental health treatment persist despite new laws -- including the health law and the Mental Health Parity Act of 2008 -- expanding such coverage. Here are some frequently asked questions and answers about mental health care in America.
The Obama administration has yet to complete federal regulations implementing rules that would enable states to enforce a mental health parity bill President George W. Bush signed into law, and in the meantime, behavioral health may have fallen behind.
Oklahoma prisoners with mental illnesses face a myriad of obstacles in rejoining society, but a state program seeks to reintroduce them to society, keep them on medication and save them from returning to prison.
Even though the DSM will soon recognize binge eating disorder, many patients have trouble getting coverage for treatment.
Treatment can involve medical care, mental health treatments and nutritional therapy, but insurers say there is little research to show what is the best course of action.
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