MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH:
News You Can Use!  

 Your source for updates on how the SC CTSI is working with the Los Angeles County Department of  Mental Health and the mental health community  
Volume 2, Issue 13                                                                                                                   April 7, 2014
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM MARCH 1 AND 
MARCH 15, 2014 NIMH OUTREACH PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM UPDATE
(see attached e-newsletter for details)
  
Suicide in the Military: Army-NIH Funded Study Points to Risk and Protective Factors
The largest study of mental health risk and resilience ever conducted among U.S. military personnel released its first findings related to suicide attempts and deaths in a series of three Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Psychiatry articles. Findings from The Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) include: the rise in suicide deaths from 2004 to 2009 occurred not only in currently and previously deployed soldiers, but also among soldiers never deployed; nearly half of soldiers who reported suicide attempts indicated their first attempt was prior to enlistment; and soldiers reported higher rates of certain mental disorders than civilians, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intermittent explosive disorder (recurrent episodes of extreme anger or violence), and substance use disorder. 
  

Science Update 

 

NINE EATING DISORDERS MYTHS BUSTED

Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D.,  a NIMH grantee  at the University of North Carolina, debunked nine myths about eating disorders at the NIMH Alliance for Research Progress  Winter Meeting, February 7, 2014 in Rockville, MD. Among her key messages:

  • Eating disorders do not discriminate; they affect male and female, young and old.
  • You can't tell by someone's size whether they have an eating disorder.
  • Families do not cause eating disorder - they can be patients' best allies in treatment.
  • Both genetic and environmental factors influcence eating disorders.
  • Eating disorders are serious biologically-influenced mental illnesses, not passing fads.
  • Complete recovery is possible.

Science update and Video

 

  
 
NCCAM Clinical Digest: Massage Therapy for Health Purposes
This issue of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clinical Digest provides information on what the science currently says about the clinical effects of massage for several health conditions, including pain, cancer, and depression.
  
NIH RELEASES COMPREHENSIVE NEW DATA OUTLINING HISPANIC/LATINO HEALTH AND HABITS
A comprehensive health and lifestyle analysis of people from a range of Hispanic/Latino origins shows that this segment of the United States (U.S.) population is diverse, not only in ancestry, culture, and economic status, but also in the prevalence of several diseases, risk factors, and lifestyle habits.
  

 

   

  

  

  

Director's Blog: BITs and BYTEs

NIMH Director Thomas Insel talks about the numerous ways in which devices like computers and smartphones could be used to diagnose and treat mental disorders.

  

Blog

 

  

 

NEW FROM SAMHSA's NATIONAL CHILD TRAUMATIC STRESS NETWORK
This National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) fact sheet offers information on how children dealing with trauma and grief responses may feel and how educators can help.
  
This fact sheet outlines how children struggling with the death of someone may feel and ways to help.
 

 

10 things a school-age child with traumatic grief wants you to know and how to help

This fact sheet gives ideas on what school-age children with traumatic grief may think and ways to help.

 

Working effectively with Military Families: 10 concepts all providers should know

This brief tip sheet outlines the top 10 things to keep in mind when working with military families and, for each key concept, includes links to additional information.

 

Effectively communicating with policymakers and key stakeholders about child trauma

This brief one-page fact sheet offers strategies for fostering effective communication with stakeholders on such topics as identifying social policy issues; developing an effective change strategy; and identifying policymakers and scheduling meetings.

 

LGBTQ Youth and Sexual Abuse: Information for Mental Health Professionals

This tip sheet for mental health practitioners includes brief summaries of issues concering lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and their parents related to sexual orientation and sexual abuse; a table of common myths and sterotypes about LGBTQ youth and sexual abuse; recommendations for practitioners and agencies on counseling LGBTQ youth; and guidance in treating LGBTQ youth following sexual abuse.

 

 

   

 

BULLYING.GOV: TAKE ACTION TODAY: How Mental Health Professionals Can Prevent Bullying

This Bullying.gov blog post discusses what mental health professional can do to prevent bullying.  Because of their training, expertise, and collaborations with others in schools and communities, mental health professionals can play a unique and critical role in preventing bullying and helping to lessen its effects.

  

 

  

A Practitioner's Resource Guide: Helping Families to Support Their LGBT Children
This guide offers information and resources to help practitioners throughout health and social service system implement best practices in engaging and helping families and caregivers to support their lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) children.

 

  

 

Core competences for integrated behavioral and primary care

The SAMHSA-Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Center for Integrated Health Solutions (CIHS) engaged the Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce to develop core competencies for the integrated behavioral health and primary care health workforce. An organization can use the report's nine competencies (i.e.,  interpersonal communication, collaboration and teamwork, screening and assessment, care planning and coordination, intervention, cultural competency and adaption, systems-oriented practice, practice-based learning and quality improvement, and informatics) to shape workforce training, inform job descriptions, recruit ideal candidates, orient staff to the integrated care model, and complete performance assessments. 

 

Blog: Family Acceptance of LGBT Young People Leads to Better Hebavioral Health Outcomes
  
NEW RESOURCES FROM THE VA
  
       

   

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

New Mobile App

  

  

Concussion coach is designed for people who have symptoms after a concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury. This self-help app may be more helpful when used along with professional treatment.

 

 

Research on Mobile Apps 

Results of the first preliminary evaluations of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Coach and the Prolonged Exposure Coach smartphone apps are available.

 

 

  

 

SEE MARCH 15TH NIMH NEWSLETTER FOR MORE UPCOMING WEBINARS

 

WEBINAR: Lessons Learned From 2013 SAMHSA BRSS TACS Awards

April 20, 2014, 1:00 - 2:30 PM ET

During its second year, the SAMHSA Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy (BRSS TACS) project provided competitive awards to 14 peer-run organizations/recovery community organizations and eight state coalitions to promote the adoption of peer-delivered, recovery-oriented services and supports for people in recovery from substance use and mental health conditions. These 22 awards were administered through three different funding opportunities of the BRSS TACS project: Policy Academy Awards, Peer Awards for Health Reform Education, and Peer-Run Organization/Recovery Community Organization Awards. This webinar will highlight the experiences and accomplishments of one awardee from each of the three award programs. 

 

WEBINAR: Girls and Substance Use: Trends,Challenges, and Opportunities

April 22, 2014, 3:00 - 4:30 PM ET

The third webinar in SAMHSA's six-part Girls Matter! series on girls' behavioral health will discuss current trends in adolescent girl substance use as well as effective strategies for intervention, treatment, and support for girls. After completing this webinar, participants will have a working understanding of how the terms gender-responsive, trauma-informed, culturally relevant, recovery-oriented, family-centered, and age-appropriate apply to effective services for girls.  

 

  

 

NATIONAL PREVENTION WEEK 2014

May 18-24, 2014

National Prevention Week is a SAMHSA-supported annual health observance dedicated to increasing public awareness of, and action around, substance abuse and mental health issues. The theme of National Prevention Week 2014 is Our Lives. Our Health. Our Future. SAMHSA be highlighting the important role everyone has in maintaining a healthy life and ensuring a productive future. A video is available to promote the week. 

 

MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH: News You Can Use! is produced by the SC CTSI Community Engagement program. For questions or information, please contact Holly Kiger, RN, MN, CNS.