Articles & Publications (Mental Health) « Mental Health

           Articles and Publications About Mental Health

Patti's Publications related to Mental Health Issues:

• Kevin's Law (Assisted Outpatient Treatment)
  The Michigan Congress passed a series of bills that address Assisted Outpatient Treatment ("Kevin's Law") and Patient Advocate Designations for mental health treatment.  These developments may have a signficant impact on persons receiving mental health treatment as well as estate planning.

Articles About Mental Health:

• Are Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities Partnered With Psychiatric Service Dogs Covered Under the ADA? (Service Dog Central)
  It is important to make a distinction between ESAs (emotional support animals) and PSAs (psychiatric service animals), because PSAs are task-trained just like other SAs and are not there solely to provide emotional support. Therefore, PSAs meet the requirements of the definition of "service animal." People often confuse ESAs with PSAs, which has probably lead to this misunderstanding of whether the use of PSAs/PSDs is covered under the ADA.
• As Psychiatric Wards Close, Patients Languish In Emergency Rooms (NPR – 5/31/12)
  Many hospitals don't even have psychiatric wards anymore. "The reimbursement for mental health care within the country is among the lowest across the different disease states," … "and so it's not, in some cases, economically viable to support these types of units."
• Connecticut Makes Medicaid Money Available for Community-Based Mental Health Services (Media dis&dat – 4/1/09)
  Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that Medicaid funding will become available to support community-based services to help people with serious mental illness avoid long stays in Connecticut nursing homes.
• Court Overturns Judge’s Demand for Abortion and Sterilization of Mentally-Ill Woman (Margolis & Bloom)
  In a controversial case, the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently stepped in to protect the rights of a mentally ill woman to decide herself whether to bear her child or have an abortion.
• Demystifying Schizophrenia (American Psychiatric Assn. – 7/26/12)
  This post provides some basic facts about schizophrenia, including common symptoms and available treatments. Schizophrenia is a chronic, treatable brain disease that affects an individual’s thought patterns, behavior, and perceptions of reality.
• Efforts to help troubled White House retiree James fell short (Washington Post – 1/31/12)
  An article about Theodoric James, the former White House staffer who died in squalor this summer after repeatedly refusing help from APS.  
• Enforcement details of Mental Health Parity and Equity Act come to light (12/26/17)
  Since the start of 2016, five non-Federal governmental plans have been reviewed by CMS to ensure compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MPHAEA), according to an enforcement report released this week by HHS. The report also details CMS’ efforts to ensure compliance in four states that either elected not to enforce the MPHAEA, or have failed to substantially enforce it (CCIIO Report, December 12, 2017).  
• How Music Helps with Mental Health – Mind Boosting Benefits of Music Therapy 
  For many, music is a lifeline that keeps them tethered to the world, and without it, so many of us would be lost entirely. It is because of this link that music therapy was developed, and it is a great way to learn how to channel your feelings and combat mental illness.
• Impact of ACA Health Reforms for People With Mental Health Conditions (Psychiatric Services – 12/15/17)
  This brief report explores the impact of health reform for people with mental illness.
• New Hope for Illinois' Mentally Ill Nursing Home Residents (Chicago Tribune – 3/15/10)
  Thousands of psychiatric patients are likely to move out of nursing homes and into community-based settings in the next five years under a landmark legal agreement designed to reshape Illinois' troubled long-term care system.
• Ohio Supreme Court Bars Death Penalty for Mentally Retarded Man (ABA Journal – April 10, 2008)
  The Ohio Supreme Court has struck down a death sentence for a convicted double murderer because of his mental retardation, despite evidence that he could play video games, pay bills and drive a car. 
• Research illuminates cost of criminalizing mental illness (10/22/16)
  Study quantifies Florida's problems in incarcerating those who struggle with mental illness. 
• Service Dog Tasks for Psychiatric Disabilities
  Tasks to mitigate certain disabling illnesses classified as mental impairments under The Americans with Disabilities Act
• Supportive Housing: The Most Effective and Integrated Housing for People with Mental Disabilities (Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law)
  A growing body of evidence confirms that supportive housing works for people with mental disabilities, including those with the most severe impairments.  
• Using Technology To Treat Panic Attacks: An Interview With Robert Cuyler, Ph.D. (Open Minds – 10/28/16)
  The treatment, Freespira, is a a novel, FDA-cleared intervention for the treatment of panic disorder and the symptoms of attacks in adults age 18 and older.

Publications About Mental Health:

• A Place of My Own
  A Place of My Own is designed to provide guidance and thought leadership to nationwide stakeholders about how the ADA has been and can be used in the future to create supported housing for individuals with mental illnesses who are needlessly institutionalized or at risk of needless institutionalization.
• A Practical Guide for People with Mental Health Conditions Who Want to Work (Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities)   
• Best Practices for Improving Workplace Mental Health (April 2019)
  Conducted by the Global Social Enterprise Initiative at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business as a partner in the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy-funded Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN).
• Campus Mental Health: Frequently Asked Questions (Brazelon Center – July 2017)
  Many students attending colleges and universities experience anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems. If you are a college or graduate student 
  experiencing one of these challenges or another mental health issue, you may be worried about its effect on your academic progress, disciplinary status, or 
  ability to participate in social or other activities at your school. In this guide, we hope to answer some of your questions about your rights as a student with 
  mental illness, as well as about the legal protections, accommodations, and  resources available to you. 
• Inpatient Mental Health Care with Medicare
  If you are in the Medicare Plan and have Medicare Part A, Medicare helps pay for mental health services given in a hospital that require you to be admitted as an inpatient.
• Kaiser Foundation Reports Aimed at Informing Debate on Health Care Reform
  Three new reports and a video examine the range of health care needs and costs that people face today and the scope of coverage that may be available to them under health reform. One of the reports, Individuals With Special Needs and Health Reform: Adequacy of Health Insurance Coverage, is particularly relevant to people with serious mental illnesses. This and other reports can be accessed at the link above.
• Mental Health & Addiction Services for Children, Youth & Adults with Developmental Disability
  Planning guidelines from British Columbia.
• Mental Health Research Findings (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality – 2009)
  This publication reports that one in four adults in the United States suffers from a mental disorder in a given year, with about 6 percent suffering from a serious mental illness. These problems typically take a toll on overall health.
• Obtaining Child Mental Health Services Through Medicaid: The Experience of Two Parents in Two States (Psychiatric Services)
  With the significant adances in mental health services for children over the past decade, an array of effective, evidence-based interventions can now be provided to children in the community, which means that many children now have the opportunity to remain with their families and peers.