A Word About the Words We Use

The behavioral health field has become more sensitive to the impact our language has on vulnerable persons.  This promising, but still relatively recent, development reveals our emerging awareness certain words, phrases and labels betray pejorative beliefs and perpetuate stigma.  They also shape and reinforce the identities of those to whom …

Bring It Home

Better Funding For Better Care! Ashley Brody, CEO of Search for Change, joined fellow ACL members in urging our Legislators’ support for the “Bring It Home” Campaign.  Supportive housing is a lifeline for our most vulnerable citizens, and yet it remains grossly underfunded.  We need your support! Assemblyman Pretlow and …

Care Coordination (It is Often Anything but Coordinated)

In recent years, our health and behavioral healthcare systems have begun to embrace alternative provider payment models designed to enhance the value of the services they deliver.  That such an approach is considered an “alternative” (or even innovative by some standards) is truly remarkable.  Imagine purchasing a car, dishwasher or …

The Media Exposes Neglect of Adults with Mental Illness…Again

The New York Times and ProPublica recently published articles that exposed some of the failures of our supportive housing and community-based systems of care for individuals with serious behavioral health conditions.  These articles detailed the plight of some who have “slipped through the cracks,” so to speak.  Although most occupants …

So what, exactly, is behavioral health “treatment?”

This question might seem disingenuous, or simply rhetorical, to anyone who is employed in the behavioral healthcare or social services fields.  I posit it is anything but. My agency is one of many that serves individuals with mental illness, substance use disorders and other special needs, and our workforce is …