Mental Health and Wellness Expo in Charlottesville - Posted 5.13

Mental Health America of Charlottesville-Albemarle will host the 2013 Mental Health and Wellness Expo on May 20th at City Space on the Downtown Mall. The Expo will run from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. This mental health fair is one of many nationwide events to mark May as Mental Health Month. The Expo is free and open to the public. Exhibitors will offer information on free health and wellness services such as local support groups, free and low-cost counseling, and therapeutic massage services. Mental health advocacy groups will also attend to present their mission and vision for a vital Charlottesville community. Workshops and presentations on mental health recovery and enrichment will run throughout the day. Participants will learn more about what it is like to suffer from mental illness and what resources are available to support recovery.

2013 Campaign for Social Inclusion Awards Now Available - Posted 5.13

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is pleased to announce the availability of the 2013 Campaign for Social Inclusion Awards, formerly the Campaign for Mental Health Recovery State Awards, which fund selected statewide peer-run/recovery community organizations across the United States to promote social inclusion on State and local levels and to counter the negative perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs associated with mental health and/or substance use conditions.

This year, SAMHSA will award seven $20,000 grants for statewide and community-based efforts. Proposed activities must target 18- to 25-year-olds and provide a detailed plan to increase awareness of behavioral health issues and of mental health and/or addictions recovery among young adults who have experienced trauma; among Hispanic/Latino, African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, and American Indian young adults; and/or among young adults in the general population. Applicants are expected to integrate an online social networking component or mobile communication component into their project to increase outreach to the target audience. 

The application period for the 2013 Campaign for Social Inclusion Awards for Statewide Peer- Run/Recovery Community Organization Projects opens May 7, 2013, and the deadline for submitting applications is 5:00 p.m. eastern time on June 7,  2013.

The comprehensive Project Guide, which fully describes the project focus, eligibility

requirements, application requirements, and other important information, is available at http://promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/CSI/awards/2013awards.aspx.

For questions on this application, please contact Campaign Liaison Ruth Montag at 240-744-7062 or CSI-liaison@esi-dc.com.

Is Believing in God Good for Your Mental Health? Maybe! - Posted 5.13

Two studies have reached different conclusions on whether belief in God is good for one's mental health. The larger study, published April 10 in the Journal of Religion & Health, indicated that believers in an angry, vengeful God are likelier to experience social anxiety, paranoia, obsessional thinking, and compulsions. Analyzing the responses of 1,426 Americans to a 2010 Baylor University poll on religious beliefs, researchers found that emotional problems were more common among those who believed in a punitive God than among those who believed in either a benevolent God or a deistic (uninvolved) God. However, some experts questioned whether the belief in a punitive God led to emotional problems or if emotional problems caused people to see God as punitive. Meanwhile, a second study - of 159 individuals in a day treatment program - found that belief in God may significantly improve the outcomes of those receiving short-term psychiatric treatment. This study was published in the April 25 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders. "Our work suggests that people with a moderate to high level of belief in a higher power do significantly better in short-term psychiatric treatment than those without, regardless of their religious affiliation," said researcher David H. Rosmarin, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School.

Sources: http://www.mcleanhospital.org/news/press/current.php?kw=faith-in-god-positively-influences-treatment-for-individuals-with-psychiatric-illness-suggests-mclean-hospital-study&id=188

Our Strength and Support: Celebrating National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month - Posted 5.13

Wednesday, July 17, 2013 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

A panel of inspiring presenters will share their perspectives on mental health in minority communities, emphasizing the strengths of our cultural communities to come together to find support and carry a banner of hope for all individuals touched by mental illness.

Presenters:

• Bassey Ikpi, The Siwe Project 
• Ramey Ko, Partner at Jung Ko, PLLC; Associate Judge at Austin Municipal Court 

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/794767202 

Café TA Center Explores Essential Role of Veterans with Lived Experience in Mental Health Workforce - Posted 5.2

In "Expanding the Role of Veterans in the Mental Health Workforce: Peer Specialists and Beyond," the Café TA Center "examines the essential role that veterans with lived experience can play in serving their fellow vets as part of the mental health system of care. Given the prevalence of stigma surrounding mental health needs in the military, veterans that have experienced trauma and engaged in recovery are uniquely positioned to break through the stigma, reach out to their peers, and find a meaningful role in civilian society as part of the system of care that meets the needs of our returning veterans." The publication is available at the source below.

Source: 

The Peerlink National Technical Assistance Center will host a free webinar on "Building Blocks of Peers & Employment: Individuals with  History of Criminal Justice System Engagement" on May 23rd from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The webinar will cover barriers and challenges to employment for individuals with a criminal justice history, useful strategies and approaches to effectively address these challenges, and available resources. To register, click on the following link:  

Link to Virginia Mental Health Conferences and Trainings Calendar for Opportunities to Attend Conferences and Trainings - Posted 4.11  

Go to:  http://tinyurl.com/VirginiaCalendar

Do you know of other things that could be posted on this calendar?? Email Yolande Long: yolande@vocalvirginia.org

Wellness Coach needed for Friends 4 Recovery Whole Health Center, Inc. (Richmond) - Posted 5.6

From the Café TA Center - Posted 5.9

National Prevention Week, which is celebrated each May, provides an occasion to highlight the importance of prevention when it comes to substance abuse and mental health issues. This year, Prevention Week is set for May 12-18. To underscore the importance of prevention and to share some ideas on how mental health consumers and their organizations can get involved, The CAFE TA Center has produced the latest Focus newsletter, Focus 25: National Prevention Week 2013. It describes the importance of prevention, offers steps individuals and organizations can take to promote it, and includes links to a range of resources.

Cost Effectiveness of Using Peers as Providers - Posted 5.9

Peer support is a well-known practice in the mental health community, providing results, saving costs and offering people with mental health needs a pat to employment. But is there evidence supporting its value? According to this article, peer services are both effective AND a cost-saver.

http://www.namigbcan.org/pdf/Cost%20Effectiveness%20of%20Using%20Peers%20as%20Providers.pdf

NOTICE May 7, 2013: Request For Comment on the Following State Board Policy by May 31, 2013 - Posted 5.9

POLICY 1035 (SYS) 05-02 CSB Single Point of Entry and Case Management

Please find a link below to a draft revised policy sent for a second field review as approved by the Policy Development and Evaluation Committee of the State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services on April 9, 2013.

To assist the Board with these revisions, stakeholders are asked to consider thisdraft revised policy and forward your comments or any suggestions for further revisions about the proposed editsto these policies.

Please provide your comments on all of the above by May 31^st to:  ruthanne.walker@dbhds.virginia.gov 

or by mailing: State Board of BHDS, 1220 Bank Street, Room 1323, Richmond, VA 23219.

Comments received will be considered at the next meeting of the committee on June 16, 2013, at DBHDS Central Office, Jefferson Building 1220 Bank Street, Richmond, VA.  This policy and any recommendations for additional edits are expected to be taken up at that meeting.  The committee may take a vote at that time on a final draft and recommendation to the full Board for the Board's July 23^rd meeting.  Please contact me if you have any questions via this email address or the phone number listed below.

All current Board policies can be viewed at: http://www.dbhds.virginia.gov/adm-StateBoardDefault.htm However, this draft is not posted at that link; the unedited current policy is posted there. 
Go to:

http://vocal.groupsite.com/uploads/files/x/000/094/7a4/DBHDS%20Revised%20Policy%201035.pdf?1368020279

Provide Comments Regarding Possible HIPAA Impacts on Reporting of Persons With Certain Mental Health Issues to National Background Check Database - Posted 5.9

Deadline for Comments: June 7, 2013

On January 16, 2013, President Obama announced a series of Executive Actions to reduce gun violence in the United States. These actions include efforts to improve the Federal Government's background check system, called the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), for the sale or transfer of firearms by licensed dealers. Among those persons who are disqualified from possessing or receiving firearms under Federal law are those "adjudicated to be mentally defective, or who have been committed to a mental institution" (mental health prohibitor). Concerns have been raised that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule may be a barrier to states' reporting to NICS the identities of individuals subject to the mental health prohibitor.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is seeking public comments on how HIPAA may prevent state reporting to NICS, and how these barriers can be addressed without discouraging individuals from seeking mental health services. Additional comments are encouraged on proposals to establish "express permission" for reporting relevant information and on best methods of disseminating HIPAA-related information to state reporting entities.

Public input is also being sought on unintended consequences that such actions may have on individuals seeking mental health services. An important consideration when responding is the effect of the proposed HIPAA change on "temporary hold" cases.

Comments are due June 7, 2013. 

Review the Rule and Submit Your Comments

People with Psychiatric Disabilities Have No Place in Gun Safety Debate, Bazelon Center Says - Posted 5.2

The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has released a paper -"Wrong Target: Mental Health in the Gun Safety Debate" - highlighting research indicating that the gun safety debate should have nothing to do with people who have psychiatric disabilities. Decrying the "knee-jerk, myth-based proposals that wrongly target mental health despite the lack of relationship with gun violence," Jennifer Mathis of the Bazelon Center urges lawmakers who are serious about reducing gun violence to "focus on guns, not people with psychiatric disabilities. . . . Though fixing our broken mental health system is an imperative, we should do so separately from the gun debate, as mental health reforms are likely to have little impact on gun violence."  The paper is available at the following link: