Boulder Crest Retreat in Mental Health Weekly

Special Issue: Mental Health Innovations

Volume 26 Number 41 October 24, 2016 Print ISSN 1058-1103 Online ISSN 1556-7583

In This Issue…

A unique management approach led by program managers at a Texas CMHC is promoting team responsibility and cohesion — helping staff with morale, organizational issues or being more efficient. . . . See bottom story, this page PTSD program supports alternative treatment approach for vets . . . See page 3 Schizophrenia research focuses on perinatal intervention . . . See page 4 Public TV series removes stigma of mental illness, offers hope . . . See page 7 Wichita, Kansas police chief says staff strained by MI and SA . . . See page 8 NEWSLETTERS FIND US ON

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© 2016 Wiley Periodicals,Inc. View this newsletter online at wileyonlinelibrary.com DOI: 10.1002/mhw

To continue to fulfill mission, Illinois behavioral health center casts wide net

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Leaders at the Skokie, Illinois–based Turning Point community behavioral health organization probably could have been forgiven if their response to government budget cuts had been to become less visible for a while, as they searched internally for solutions. Instead, the organization arguably has become higher-

Bottom Line…

As it moves to end its dependence on the unpredictable awarding of government grants, Turning Point has looked both to new partners in the community and improvement of its own internal processes.

profile than it’s ever been, pursuing numerous ways to improve its bottom line while also projecting itself as an efficient and caring organization to the community.

While CEO Ann Fisher Raney termed the lack of government funding support in Illinois for core services such as psychiatry “unconscionable” during an interview with MHW, it is also clear that she and her staff don’t waste undue time dwelling on it. In the face of this challenge, “This year we presented a budget not dependent at all on state grants,” Raney said. For the first time in the organization, the plan was “to See Funding page 2

Innovative management style promotes shared responsibility, team cohesion

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Managers of the local mental health authority for Travis County in Texas have adopted a management style with their respective teams that, among its outcomes, includes consistent quality client care and increased retention, job satisfaction, buy-in and team cohesion.

Liberating Structures is defined as a strategic approach to interacting and working with others by providing meeting and management tools to capitalize on team cohesion, synergy and innovation.

“We’re providing our team with a different type of approach to traditional team building,” Tracy Abzug, LCSW-S, crisis residential program manager at The Inn with Integral Care, the community mental health

Bottom Line…

An innovative management style fosters team buy-in and cohesion and leads to increased productivity, say program managers.

center for Austin/Travis County, told MHW. Integral Care provides community-based behavioral health and developmental disability services for adults and children.

The mental health field is moving toward person-centered care, said Abzug. “The Person-Centered Care Model and Liberating Structures parallel one another, as Liberating Structures is a ‘team-centered’ approach,” she said. Both approachSee Management page 5

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Mental Health Weekly October 24, 2016 Funding from page 1

get out of the tension of grants that may or may not happen,” she said.

As part of its evolving strategy, Turning Point is pursuing new partnerships, cultivating more diverse expertise and unearthing funding in unexpected ways — including in a recent competitive challenge where the pitch for money had to be made in a 10-minute Shark Tank–type presentation with no visual aids allowed.

“We keep trying to make ourselves known,” said Raney, with the organizational goal of not becoming so small that survival is unlikely or so large that one’s identity is lost.

Finding partners Raney said Turning Point has tried to increase its number of what she calls “educated advocates.” It has increased the overall size of its board of directors to 12, looking for individuals with fundraising capacity, intelligence on policy and legislative trends, and contacts in the community.

In addition, Turning Point’s development director has enlisted a three-person young professionals group, made up of individuals who because of career and family obligations might not presently have the time to be a board member but still could contribute useful ideas and connections. One of the three indi-

‘Whenever people have to wait, there’s a chance that they will not connect.’

Ann Fisher Raney

viduals is a former Turning Point staff member.

“If we do a good job managing staff and being receptive to them, they often come back,” Raney said.

Turning Point also is searching for organizational partners, and this has it moving toward becoming affiliated with a federally qualified health center (FQHC). It is negotiating with a local organization that has established health clinics in other behavioral health centers and in schools, and has reserved a 3,500-square-foot corner of its main building for development of the project.

The partner is seeking a federal Health Resources and Services Administration grant for the project, and Turning Point would provide both the physical space and the behavioral health staff for the clinic.

“The clinic would be available to the entire community instead of just clients,” said Raney, and this of course

Managing Editor Valerie A. Canady Contributing Editor Gary Enos Copy Editor James Sigman Production Editor Douglas Devaux Editor Donna Petrozzello Publisher Lisa Dionne Mental Health Weekly (Print ISSN 1058-1103; Online ISSN 1556-7583) is an independent newsletter meeting the information needs of all mental health professionals, providing timely reports on national trends and developments in funding, policy, prevention, treatment and research in mental health, and also covering issues on certification, reimbursement, and other news of importance to public, private nonprofit, and for-profit treatment agencies. Published every week except for the first Mondays in July and September, and the last Mondays in November and December. The yearly subscription rates for Mental Health Weekly are: Print only: $716 (individual, U.S./Can./Mex.), $865 (individual, rest of world), $6895 (institu-

could serve to enhance Turning Point’s referral base.

Improving processes Sometimes an organization can identify internal goals that also can benefit its standing in the community as an entity worthy of investment. Back in July, Turning Point instituted an “Open Access” program under which it is now able to guarantee that walk-ins for care will see a therapist on their first visit.

Making this happen required a major cultural shift for clinical staff members who are used to managing their own schedules. “The clinicians had to learn to be a little less autonomous,” Raney said. “They handed their schedules to a central scheduling person.” Some shifts were cleared out, and each clinician was left with some open time available to see walk-ins.

The change in thinking also has demanded greater accountability from patients, who now can lose regular appointment slots and have to wait for an open slot if they fail to show up for an appointment.

As a result of instituting this change, Turning Point is now seeing 30 to 40 new clients a month, said Raney, and it is clear to her that many of these individuals never would have gotten seen had the traditional approach to scheduling

tional, U.S.), $7056 (institutional, Can./Mex.), $7110 (institutional, rest of world); Print & electronic: $788 (individual, U.S./Can./Mex.), $937 (individual, rest of world), $8274 (institutional, U.S.), $8468 (institutional, Can./Mex.), $8532 (institutional, rest of world); Electronic only: $572 (individual, worldwide), $6895 (institutional, worldwide). Mental Health Weekly accepts no advertising and is supported solely by its readers. For address changes or new subscriptions, contact Customer Service at (800) 835-6770; email: cs-journals@wiley.com. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., a Wiley Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form without the consent of the publisher is strictly forbidden.

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Mental Health Weekly DOI: 10.1002/mhw

October 24, 2016 Mental Health Weekly stayed in place.

“Whenever people have to wait, there’s a chance that they will not connect,” she said.

Smart approaches to cost savings also continue to be a priority in the organization. For example, Turning Point shares office space with a regional chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and is able to conduct some joint events with that organization. Staff roles are well-integrated, with managers in the organization performing some clinical functions as well (Raney, for example, clinically supervises four staff members).

The organization also has expanded the role of peer counselors who work in Turning Point’s Living

Room program, a respite center that individuals can visit to avert mental health crises that can lead to hospitalization. It also has become more aware of opportunities to save money when certain operations simply aren’t succeeding, such as when it recently decided to cease its expensive and unpopular Sunday hours at the Living Room.

Unusual funding opportunity Turning Point always has cast a wide net in pursuing both public and private sources of support. It recently received a $100,000 grant toward its Open Access effort from Impact 100 Chicago, a group of women in leadership who award memberfunded transformational grants to

nonprofits. The process was by no means a cakewalk.

Raney explains that the 15 finalist organizations for a grant underwent six-hour site visits, after which the final six contenders had to prepare a 10-minute verbal presentation before the women’s group. The presentations and the final decisions were made at the same event, and Turning Point was one of three successful grantees.

But traditional fundraising, through events such as an annual benefit that attracts around 270 attendees, remains relevant as well. It is clear that in today’s times, maximizing the effort to diversify funding sources will remain important, Raney indicates. •

PTSD program supports alternative treatment approach for vets A treatment program for veterans that addresses both the stigma of accessing mental health care and lack of connection between provider and patient has been developed by a Bluemont, Virginia–based organization following three years of working on this innovative approach to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This effort allows veterans to thrive in the aftermath of war and be as productive at home as they were on the battlefield, said officials.

The program, Warrior PATHH (Progressive and Alternative Training for Healing Heroes), was developed at Boulder Crest Retreat for Military and Veteran Wellness. The 18-month program begins with a seven-day immersive and intensive training program in Bluemont.

Warrior PATHH includes a range of Warrior-oriented, proven posttraumatic growth-based modalities, said officials. The program focuses on helping veterans make peace with their past, learn to live in the present and begin to create a new story about a life of service at home, they said.

Officials estimated that more than 700,000 post-9/11 combat vetMental Health Weekly DOI: 10.1002/mhw

Bottom Line…

Program officials say the strengthbased post-traumatic growth program for vets will likely go national.

erans are battling PTSD, as evidenced by a suicide rate of 20 per day, a number that has grown every year since 2002. It is clear that the current approaches are not working, they said.

“There’s a very big stigma around mental health care for combat veterans,” Ken Falke, Boulder Crest Retreat’s chairman and founder, told MHW. “They get disgruntled with the medical model of treatment. We’ve created programs that are very strengths-based.”

Falke added, “About 50 percent of veterans eligible for care go to the VA [Veterans Administration]. That means 50 percent are not going; that’s got to be a big problem. For one reason or another, less than 20 percent complete the program. In our opinion, they don’t make a good connection with their providers.”

Often, they’re reluctant to share their stories and experiences, he said.

Falke pointed to an article in the

August 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, which noted that “new innovative and engaging approaches for the treatment of PTSD are needed.”

Mainstream treatments The approved mainstream mental health treatments are a combination of psychotherapy (prolonged exposure and cognitive processing therapy) and pharmaceuticals, said Falke. “This approach is designed to mitigate and manage the symptoms associated with times of distress, and often leaves service members and veterans feeling like a diminished version of themselves,” he said.

Falke added, “Warrior PATHH harnesses the long-standing power of times of struggle to allow participants to learn how to struggle well, thrive and continue serving at home without medicine or other coping mechanisms.”

He noted that because it is developed and delivered by a combination of trained, world-class combat veterans and civilians in an idyllic setting, Warrior PATHH addresses the two primary challenges Continues on next page

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Mental Health Weekly October 24, 2016 Continued from previous page

associated with mainstream treatments: (1) the stigma associated with seeking out clinical care and (2) the lack of connection between provider and patient resulting from a lack of shared experience and understanding. “This latter point was noted in a 2014 RAND report that found only 13 percent of providers serving service members and veterans were prepared to do so,” Falke said.

The study, “Ready to Serve: Community-Based Provider Capacity to Deliver Culturally Competent, Quality Mental Health Care to Veterans and Their Families,” is an exploratory report based on a survey of mental health providers nationally. Provider cultural competency involves a level of familiarity with military and veteran culture along with a degree of comfort in working with military veterans and their families, researchers found.

Post-traumatic growth “Warrior PATHH is based on the notion that times of struggle can be the gateway to a life that is more authentic, fulfilling and purposeful than ever would have been possible otherwise,” said Falke. “This idea — that struggle can cultivate profound strength and lifelong growth — is the essence of the science of posttraumatic growth.”

“A lot of the time the mental health community is not aligned

well with combat veterans,” Falke said, adding that most of the Boulder staff is made up of combat veterans. The others are life coaches and mental health professionals, he said.

Officials say that Warrior PATHH is the country’s first-ever program based on the science of post-traumatic growth. The 18-month journey is supported through video confer-

‘This idea — that struggle can cultivate profound strength and lifelong growth — is the essence of the science of posttraumatic growth.’

Ken Falke

ences, phone calls and a leadingedge technology platform, MY PATHH, said program officials. Warrior PATHH is a collaboration with Richard Tedeschi, Ph.D., who is affiliated with the PTG Research Group, and is considered the “father” of post-traumatic growth, officials said.

“Boulder Crest Retreat’s Warrior PATHH program facilitates posttraumatic growth through an intensive program that is based on wellvalidated concepts supported by years of research studies of military service members and other trauma survivors,” Tedeschi said in a statement.

Falke said officials are midway through an 18-month longitudinal study that is assessing the impact of Warrior PATHH across three critical areas: symptom reduction, quality of life improvement and post-traumatic growth experienced. Ultimately, officials want to get community mental health providers working with veterans and to become trainers themselves, he said.

“Our goal is to scale this program nationwide with like-minded organizations and providers who [work with veterans] to help fix the problem,” said Falke. “We feel very strongly that community mental health providers get involved and have a look at treating combat veterans in different ways.”

“At its core, Warrior PATHH ensures that combat veterans can be as productive at home as they were on the battlefield,” Falke said. • For more information, contact info@bouldercrestretreat.org.

The RAND study is available at www.rand.org/news/press/2014/ 11/12/index1.html.

Schizophrenia research focuses on perinatal intervention Schizophrenia research involving perinatal intervention for pregnant women is helping researchers to learn more about potentially decreasing the risk of schizophrenia.

“One of the things we’ve learned about schizophrenia over the last thirty years is that much of the risk is actually prenatal,” said Robert Freedman, M.D., chair of psychiatry at the University of Colorado and editorin-chief of the American Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers want to de-

termine ways to intervene during a pregnancy, he noted.

Freedman’s research strategy involves providing expectant mothers with supplements of choline, a nutrient that plays an outsized role in the fetal brain while it is developing in the womb. Choline is a nutrient found in the diet in such foods as egg yolks, liver and red meat, he said.

“We looked at one gene involved in the development of schizophrenia,” said Freedman, not-

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ing the gene is called CHRNA7.

Some of his research was evident in the study, “Perinatal Phosphatidylcholine Supplementation and Early Childhood Behavior Problems: Evidence for CHRNA7 Moderation,” which was published in the May 2016 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

According to the study, prenatal folic acid supplementation is now general medical practice to decrease the incidence of cleft palate, spina Mental Health Weekly DOI: 10.1002/mhw

October 24, 2016 Mental Health Weekly bifida and other neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Unlike mental illness, these abnormalities are evident at birth and immediately verify the value of high-dose folate supplementation, Freedman noted in this research.

The journal study also noted that the earliest signs of schizophrenia include childhood symptoms of withdrawal and attention disturbance, which researchers have now found to be modified as early as 40 months by choline supplementation.

Researchers acknowledged that it is of course impossible to know the “final” outcome of this experiment until the children reach their 20s.

natal intervention, even before individuals at risk for mental illness can be identified, is the only opportunity for potentially reversing this initial major aspect of the pathogenesis of mental illness, researchers noted.

Any preventive measure before birth has to be safe for all women, said Freedman. “We’re developing treatment for all women,” he said.

Folic acid is becoming a part of treatment for prenatal women, he said.

Freedman noted that the research is addressing the risk of schizophrenia before birth, it may not become apparent until children are in their late teens or early adulthood, he said. “It’s a very long life

‘One of the things we’ve learned about schizophrenia over the last thirty years is that much of the risk is actually prenatal.’

Robert Freedman, M.D.

Less social withdrawal At 40 months, Freedman and his colleagues observed that children of mothers who had received choline supplements had fewer attention problems and less social withdrawal compared with children in the placebo group. At four, children are first developing a stable personality, he said. “We moved back the needle of risk away from [the children] possibly developing mental illness later in life,” Freedman said.

Researchers studied “normal” women, but also those who were at risk of an increase in mental illness and those who suffered from schizophrenia, depression or anxiety, said Freedman. Pregnant women were treated with choline, he said.

According to the study, the outcome of the fetal stage of brain development has lifelong consequences for mental function, and there is little prospect of reversing these developmental problems later in life when mental illnesses appear. PeriMental Health Weekly DOI: 10.1002/mhw

cycle,” he said. Researchers have embarked on a second study in this area, Freedman said.

Freedman co-founded the Institute for Children’s Mental Disorders

Management from page 1

es put value in getting input and buy-in from those who are directly involved, she noted. “As the program manager of a crisis residential unit, The Inn, I may be structurally the one with the power, but the reality is I can’t be effective if my team doesn’t have an investment in the work,” Abzug said.

She added, “The same goes for my staff, be it the nurse practitioner, the registered nurse or the social workers, when working with clients.

If the client isn’t invested in their care, the staff can’t be effective. It’s the staff’s role to help the client find that motivation, as it is my role to help my team find theirs.”

“Liberating Structures fosters

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in 1999. Under his leadership, he and investigators discovered genetic variants that affect the risks for serious psychiatric illnesses, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Making an impact “This is very exciting research,” said Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., president and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, told MHW. “This is an example of how research can have an impact on people’s lives.”

Freedman’s research is very important because if the hypothesis and early findings are ultimately verified, it will lead to a method of prevention that will decrease the incidence of schizophrenia and decrease the risk of developing schizophrenia, Borenstein said.

The ultimate goal in all of medicine and psychiatry is not to develop approaches to treat an illness, but to prevent an illness, Borenstein noted. • and promotes team cohesion and action,” Sarah Edwards, LCSW-S, psychiatric emergency services program manager with Integral Care. told MHW . Each structure is designed to generate feelings of shared responsibility, investment, and success of the program, she said.

Addressing significant change Liberating Structures guide the monthly meetings, which address a variety of topics, based on the current needs of the team, said Abzug.

“Sometimes the team is struggling with morale, sometimes they are struggling with being efficient, and sometimes they are struggling with a Continues on next page

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Mental Health Weekly October 24, 2016 Continued from previous page

particularly challenging case,” she said. “As managers, we inventory our team’s needs and pull from the Liberating Structure’s tool box as to which structure is most suitable to them at that time.”

Liberating Structures helps managers identify current strengths, challenges and needs of their team, along with determining the desired goal. It can be used to bring about systemwide changes, as well as changes within the smaller units of that system.

Edwards explained that at one point the organization underwent a significant turnover. “I hired a whole new team; it had to be built,” she said. The changes affected staff morale and productivity, prompting the need for a new approach. The rebuilding allowed staff to come together and identify a commonality, she said. They addressed questions about why they were in the field and identified their purpose, Edwards noted.

This approach was quite the opposite of a manager writing out a team philosophy and distributing it to them without any input. “My opinion might not be what they think,” said Edwards. “It wouldn’t make everybody feel as if they had a part in creating the philosophy.”

“In the mental health field, we serve individuals with a high degree of needs,” said Edwards. “The team, which includes licensed counselors, psychiatrists and nurses, gives so much of themselves to individuals with mental health struggles,” she said. “We’re investing in the team so that they continue to provide dignified services with dignity and respect to those in need,” said Edwards. “We’re making investments in the team to keep them healthy and continue to work emotionally and maximize productivity.”

Edwards added, “Creating and increasing productivity are one of the national consequences of this type of management style.”

Edwards and Abzug presented a poster on Liberating Structures dur-

ing the National Council for Behavioral Health’s annual conference in March in Las Vegas.

Manager’s commitment Abzug noted that instead of thinking of Liberating Structures as a management style, it should be thought of as a manager’s commitment to use a tool that is effective in supporting, guiding and leading his or her team. “Because of the methodical way Liberating Structures are set up, a manager who chooses to use them will also need to invest some time to learn them and practice them,” she said.

Her team consists of eight LPCs/ LCSWs, six master’s-level counselors/social workers, two registered nurses, one licensed vocational nurse and three psychiatrists. Ed-

expectations, building new connections.

• Min Specs — Specify only absolute “must do’s” and “must not do’s” for achieving a purpose.

• Nine Whys — Make the purpose of your work together clear.

One of the Structures is called “What, So What, Now What?” which can help managers pull together a more productive meeting. “For example, maybe your team has experienced a significant event, maybe a major organizational change or the death of a client,” she said. Often times, when a group of people share a difficult experience, it is human nature to try and find answers and sometimes even blame others, she noted. “The ‘What, So What, Now

‘Each structure is designed to generate feelings of shared responsibility, investment, and success of the program.’

Sarah Edwards

wards’ team includes one case manager, one master’s-level social worker, one registered nurse, three licensed vocational nurses and one advanced practicing nurse.

There are 33 Liberating Structures to choose from, noted Abzug.

“You may liken Liberating Structures to a tool box,” said Abzug. “A hammer fixes something different than a wrench would. You have a different tool to fix different problems. Liberating Structures has 33 different tools that a manager can pull from to address a variety of team needs.”

A few examples of the Structures include: • Generative Relationships — Reveal relationship patterns that create surprising value or dysfunction.

• Impromptu Networking — Rapidly share challenges and

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What?’ structure allows for everyone on the team to be heard while eliminating unproductive arguments, blaming or griping, and allows for forward movement,” she said.

“Each of the thirty-three Structures is an intentional activity guided by the facilitator, which in our case is the program manager,” said Edwards. Poster boards and other tools can be part of a meeting, depending on which Structure is selected to guide the team through, said Edwards. Common helpful supplies may include Post-It notes, markers, etc. Each Liberating Structure lists the specific materials you might need to successfully use during your meeting, she said.

“Today, in our current workforce, people are expected to attend an enormous amount of unproductive meetings,” said Abzug. “When Mental Health Weekly DOI: 10.1002/mhw

October 24, 2016 Mental Health Weekly used, Liberating Structures help eliminate this feeling of wasted time, because throughout the meeting, the team is engaged, participating

and owning the process.” • For more information, visit www.liberatingstructures.com.

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Public TV series removes stigma of mental illness, offers hope Observing a goal to educate the public about psychiatric conditions and encourage individuals not to suffer in silence, a national public television series is currently airing featuring mental health experts, inspiring personal stories and cuttingedge research on diagnosis and treatment, said officials.

The series, Healthy Minds with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, is in its fourth season. Each season offers 14 halfhour episodes and interviews with well-known personalities, including Patrick Kennedy, Brian Wilson and Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel.

One of the consistent messages on the show is the importance of opening up conversations in families via the comfort of their homes, said Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., president and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. They’re seeing experts and real people telling very personal stories, said Borenstein, who developed the show and serves as the show’s producer and host. The series is distributed nationally, he said.

Robert Freedman, M.D., chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and superintendent at Colorado Psychiatric Hospital, and leader of pioneering research on schizophrenia with the use of choline supplementation is featured. Borenstein also interviewed Donna Morgan, mother of Simone Battle, a pop star with the group G.R.L., who died from suicide.

Other guests on the show are sharing personal experiences living with a mental health condition. Wilson of the Beach Boys also discussed his experience with a schizoaffective disorder, and the film Love & Mercy, which chronicles his life.

Experts in the field are providing the audience with cutting-edge Mental Health Weekly DOI: 10.1002/mhw

information and people who are in recovery from these experiences, said Borenstein. Other topics include bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression and the mental health issues faced by veterans.

Fear and shame tend to prevent people from seeking help, Borenstein said. “One of my consistent messages at the end of each show is ‘with help there is hope,’” he said. It’s important that people not suffer in silence, and instead seek help, Borenstein said.

Briefly Noted NIH announces third round of grant support for BRAIN Initiative The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced Oct. 13 its third round of grants to support the goals of the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, bringing the NIH’s total fiscal year 2016 investment to just over $150 million. “In only three years we’ve already seen exciting new advances in neuroscience research come out of the BRAIN Initiative,” said Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D., director of the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Over 100 new awards, totaling more than $70 million, will go to over 170 investigators working at 60 institutions. These awards expand the NIH’s efforts to develop new tools and technologies to understand neural circuit function and capture a dynamic view of the brain in action, officials said. Projects include proposals to develop computer programs that may help researchers detect and diagnose autism and Alzheimer’s disease from brain scans, build a cap that uses ul-

Healthy Minds is produced by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, presented by Connecticut Public Television and distributed by the National Educational Telecommunications Association. The show has been nominated for two Emmys, said Borenstein. • The series began airing Oct. 2.

For more information or to view past episodes, visit www.bbrfoundation. org/healthyminds. trasound waves to precisely stimulate brain cells, create a “neural dust” system made of tiny electric sensors for wirelessly recording brain activity, improve current rehabilitation technologies for helping the lives of stroke patients and study how the brain reads and speaks.

Sen. Durbin seeking increased MH resources for college campuses Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) visited the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Oct. 17 to discuss legislation to improve mental health services on college campuses, eNews Park Forest reported. The Mental Health on Campus Improvement Act, which Durbin introduced earlier this year, would make federal help available for campuses to expand their mental health awareness, outreach and direct counseling services. The bill was included as part of a bipartisan mental health reform package that could be considered on the Senate floor later this year.

Among its provisions, the legislation would provide federal leadership by establishing an interagency working group on college mental health to discuss mental and behavioral health Continues on next page

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concerns and promote federal agency collaboration to support innovations in mental health services and supports for students on college and university campuses. “This bill would increase awareness and treatment services on campuses by promoting peer support, engaging campus groups, and supporting additional staff in counseling centers,” said Durbin. “I’m pleased that our bill was advanced out of committee as part of a larger mental health package, and hope that the full Senate quickly considers this legislation.”

State News Wichita, Kansas police chief says staff strained by MI and SA Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay says mental health and substance use issues in Wichita are burdening police officers, The Wichita Eagle reported Oct. 19. “The police department has really become the first and last provider of social services in our community,” Ramsay said. “And it’s putting a strain on our staff and efforts.” He added, “All you have to do is drive around the streets of our city to see that mental illness is a problem here, and that’s what our officers are having to deal with.”

For example, he said, some crimes could be prevented if offenders received health insurance coverage to receive medications for mental illnesses after being discharged from jail. Inmates lose Medicaid coverage during incarceration and have to reapply upon release. Ramsay said inmates receive a small supply of their medication before leaving jail, but often run out before being reapproved for Medicaid. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett and Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter have not taken a position about whether the state should expand Medicaid, but both are concerned about the stress mental illness puts on courts, the jail and taxpayers. “The mental health sysMental Health Weekly DOI: 10.1002/mhw

Coming up…

The Association of Community Living Agencies in Mental Health will host its 37th annual conference, “Housing is Healthcare,” November 1–4 in Bolton Landing, N.Y. For more information, visit http://aclnys.org/aclnys_events/37thannual-aclaimh-conference.

Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is holding its 28th annual international conference on ADHD, “Be Extraordinary,” November 10–12 in Costa Mesa, Calif. Visit www.chadd.org/Training-Events/AnnualInternational-Conference-on-ADHD.aspx for more information.

The 30th annual Research & Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health of the Department of Child & Family Studies at the University of South Florida will be held March 5–8, 2017, in Tampa, Fla. For more information, visit http://cmhconference.com.

tem impacts significantly the criminal justice system,” Bennett said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Call

for

Proposals

Mental Health America (MHA) announced its Call for Proposals for MHA’s 2017 Annual Conference: “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll.” The conference is scheduled for June 14– 16, 2017, in Washington, D.C. The workshop panels will fall within the three tracks of sex, drugs and rock &

For additional copies of MHW, please contact Customer Service at 800-835-6770 or cs-journals@wiley.com.

For more information on behavioral health issues, visit

www.wiley.com roll. For more information, visit www.mentalhealthamerica.net/2017conference-speakers.

In case you haven’t heard…

Tumblr, a digital platform where millions of people access the internet’s cultural dialogue by sharing their ideas, perspectives and passions through endless types of media, announced Oct. 18 the next phase of Post It Forward, an initiative that launched in May 2015 to counter the stigmas around mental and emotional health through community building and inspiring conversations. Tumblr is bringing Post It Forward to life by inviting users to participate in the creation of a Community Quilt centered on mental health awareness, through a collaboration with ThriveNYC and the first lady of New York City, Chirlane McCray. Tumblr users can create and submit original artistic swatches and panels to http://mental healthquilt.tumblr.com/submit to be included in a quilt installation that will be on display in New York City and online at http://mentalhealthquilt.tumblr.com.

Each patch represents a creative expression around changing the conversation around mental health and an individual’s relationship with mental illness, whether battling it themselves or helping others with their struggles. For every patch a user submits, Tumblr will donate $1 to one of three different charities who support mental health, up to a total aggregate donation of $20,000. The user submitting the patch will be given an option of choosing which charity — the National Alliance on Mental Illness, The Trevor Project or The Steve Fund — their original panel will benefit.

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