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Mental Health and Addictions Events

The Southwest Regional Integrated Behavioral Health Conference, Sept 8–10, 2010 in San Diego, CA provides a forum for exploring the complex social service issues in integrating treatment for clients with addiction and mental health disorders and offers tracks on wellness, trauma informed services, leadership, and advanced clinical practices.

The 42nd Annual Southwestern School for Behavioral Health Studies will take place at the Loews Ventana Canyon August 23 – 26, 2010, in Tucson, AZ.   

Negley Associates and the Mental Health Risk Retention Group invite submissions for the 2011 Negley Awards in Risk Management. Submissions must relate to employment practices targeting claims
of unlawful (wrongful) employee termination and are due by November 15, 2010. Learn more and submit now.

The National Council's 41st Annual Mental Health and Addictions Conference and Expo takes place May 2–4, 2011 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, CA.

Reports and Papers

Building Bridges to Support Military and Veteran Families: Healthcare Providers Resource Guide by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury  is designed to assist medical and mental health providers with their work in helping service members, veterans, and their families maintain health and positive family functioning.

Mental health and human services lag far behind general healthcare in access to health information technology (HIT), according to a national survey of nearly 500 organizations. Lack of financing is the primary barrier to the widespread adoption of HIT. The 2009 Behavioral Health/Human Services Information Systems Survey was conducted under the direction of the Mental Health Corporations of America, National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, and the Software and Technology Vendors Association. 

Mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders in young people cost the nation approximately $247 billion annually with an estimated 14 to 20 percent of youths experiencing the conditions, according to the Institute of Medicine report "Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People" First symptoms of the conditions occur two to four years before the onset of a full-blown disorder “creating a window of opportunity when preventative programs might make a difference,” according to the report.

Morbidity and Mortality in People with Serious Mental Illness: a report from the NASMHPD Medical Directors Council

Grading the States: A Report on America’s Health System for Serious Mental Illness, from NAMI.

Executive Summary of the Final Report of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.

Executive Summary of Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General.

National Business Group on Health’s report, Employer's Guide to Behavioral Health Services.

Clinical, Business, and Workforce Resources

The AOS Behavioral Health Initiative is an awareness campaign initiated on behalf of the Service Members and their Families. The intent of the campaign is to raise awareness among health professionals of the behavioral needs that are arising from our Military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

AOS is working with The Citizen Soldier Support Program and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to familiarize health professionals with a free on line course, The Invisible Wounds of War and the unique mental health needs associated with service in the Armed Forces.

Through its work to ensure accessible, high quality, recovery-oriented
services to members and families in southern and southeastern Arizona,
The Community Partnership of Southern Arizona (CPSA) identified mental health and social service information and resources that individuals in the recovery process need regardless of where they live. Because having that information is so important, CPSA compiled their 20 most important resource links for each of the 50 states (and Washington, DC). Click on the interactive map and find resources for: protection and advocacy, psychiatric advance directives, housing, employment services, mental health authority, national association local offices, and much more.

Learn how the ACTION Campaign can help provider organizations increase access to addictions treatment and keep clients engaged in treatment for improved outcomes.

The American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, a unit of the Center for Clinical Social Work, sets national practice standards, issues an advanced-practice certification and specialty credentials, and publishes reference information about board-certified clinicians.

SAMHSA’s Co-Occurring Center for Excellence offers resources on co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

Order “Voices of Hope and Recovery: Our Stories, Our Lives” a series of CDs — produced by the National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations — featuring the personal stories of those who have recovered from mental illness.