Mental Health and Addictions Events

National Council's 40th National Mental Health and Addictions Conference & Expo, March 15 — 17, 2010 in Disney, Florida, behavioral helathcare's biggest and best conference brings you Howard Dean, Malcolm Gladwell, Geoffrey Canada, and an unparalleled lineup of clinical and business workshops.

The Institute on Social Exclusion will host its annual conference on June 3 and 4, 2010 at The Drake Hotel - Chicago. The conference is entitled "The Social Determinants of Mental Health: From Awareness to Action."

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.

2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book: The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 19th annual KIDS COUNT Data Book ranks states on 10 key measures and provides data on the economic, health, education, and social conditions of America’s children and families. The essay, “A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform,” looks at the nearly 100,000 children confined to juvenile facilities and what can be done to reduce unnecessary detention and incarceration. 

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

Qualifacts adds Swanson Center in Indiana to the CareLogic EHR user community.

Qualifacts Enhances Electronic Health Record for Remote Workforce

The Council on State and Local Governments Justice Center releases new Mental Health Court Research Guide that examines available studies on mental health courts.

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 at http://w3.cpsa-rbha.org/nationwide/ 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 Center for Clinical Social Work is a national not-for-profit organization  to promote clinical social work as a profession and to advance clinical social work in all settings by developing practice standards and credentials, advocating for practitioners and their clients, and enhancing opportunities for research, education, and training.

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.

Canvas, the poignant film about one family’s struggle with schizophrenia, previewed at the National Council Conference in Las Vegas, is  available on DVD, order now.