Unprecedented rates of substance abuse and mental illness have afflicted nearly every segment of our population in recent years. This intractable public health crisis has led healthcare professionals, policymakers, and other stakeholders to reexamine longstanding assumptions concerning the underpinnings of behavioral health and to consider novel (and controversial) interventions. Individuals …
A Meditation on Mental Health Awareness Month by Ashley Brody
The month of May is recognized as such, and members of the behavioral health community customarily use this opportunity to hold special events and to educate the public on mental health-related issues. These activities generally aim to reduce stigma associated with mental and behavioral health concerns and to secure additional …
Recovery In The Time Of COVID by Ashley Brody
Each May, we celebrate the progress of the recovery movement and acknowledge many obstacles yet to be overcome. The COVID pandemic presents a singular challenge to the mental health of so many this year, and not merely because it poses grave physical and economic hazards injurious to emotional stability. Interventions …
Marijuana and the Movement Toward Legalization
I was fully in favor of the legalization of marijuana for recreational use…until recently. This might come as a surprise to some. For the past 25 years, I’ve worked in the behavioral healthcare field and witnessed the adverse effects of various substances (both legal and illicit) on vulnerable individuals. Why …
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 …
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 …
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