Mental health

Bill honors young girl whose brother said, “… what you call people is how you treat them.”

17-Nov-2009 --
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski today introduced Rosa’s Law, a bill that will eliminate the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” from the federal law books. U.S. Senator Michael B. Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, is the Republican sponsor of the bill.

Senator Mikulski’s statement as delivered on the Senate floor follows:    » read more »

Philadelphia, PA (November 11, 2009) – Results from a large, retrospective analysis of inmates with a serious mental illness (SMI) underscores the financial burden of mental illness on the criminal justice and health and human services (HHS) systems, and may provide useful information to policy makers. The results of the analysis, which evaluated patterns of arrest, utilization of services, and corresponding expenditures among nearly 3,800 inmates in a large urban county of Florida, were presented this week at the 137th American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting & Exposition.    » read more »

November 09, 2009 -- SAN ANTONIO – Texas Governor Rick Perry today announced initiatives to expand and improve mental health support programs for veterans and their families utilizing state funds marked for veterans mental health.

“The men and women of the military make the ultimate sacrifice to leave their families and loved ones and serve our country fighting in distant lands,” Gov. Perry said. “While observing Veterans’ Day this week, we cannot forget to support these brave Americans and their families when they return home by ensuring they have access to the health care and benefits promised when they made their own promise to defend this nation, and by ensuring a seamless transition to civilian life and providing any support they need.”    » read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 8) — The Army today released suicide data for the month of September. Among active-duty Soldiers, there were seven potential suicides. One has been confirmed as a suicide, and six are pending determination of the manner of death. For August, the Army reported 11 potential suicides among active-duty Soldiers. Since the release of that report, four have been confirmed as suicides and seven remain under investigation.

There were 117 reported active-duty Army suicides from January 2009 through September 2009. Of those, 81 have been confirmed, and 36 are pending determination of manner of death. For the same period in 2008, there were 103 suicides among active-duty Soldiers.    » read more »

In an open letter, VFW Commander-in-Chief Glen Gardner is urging his 1.6 million members to help OEF/OIF veterans cope with the stresses of war.

May 29, 2009 -- Dear Comrades:

There is an enemy in our midst that is having a devastating effect on our servicemen and women in the field and at home. That enemy is stress.

Since 9/11, more military personnel and veterans have committed suicide than the total dead from both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined, and this tragedy is occurring despite the best of intentions and programs offered by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. That is because the need has overwhelmed the capacity of government and civilian mental health centers. It's also because some people simply refuse to admit they need help.    » read more »

"Program will reach out to veterans in Bend, The Dalles, Eugene, Grants Pass, Klamath Falls, and other communities"

May 28, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.- Continuing efforts to make sure all of Oregon’s veterans have access to the quality medical care they deserve, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D- Ore.) announced today that the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center will receive $1.9 million to improve mental health treatment for veterans in rural Oregon.    » read more »

May 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to fund a $1.2 million study designed to reduce the high rate of suicides among Alaska natives.

In a letter to the Secretary, Murkowski pointed to a study proposed by Commissioner Warren Zapol of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission that would examine the mental and behavioral health issues facing Alaska Native populations living in the Arctic. Zapol’s study would be conducted by the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences.

This new study would seek to determine the specific genes that contribute to major depressive disorders and alcohol abuse leading to targeted treatment options for Alaska Natives.    » read more »

Bill Provides Additional Support for Children & Families with Behavioral Health Needs

May 22, 2009 -- (Lincoln Neb.) -- Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman today signed LB 603 into law. The bill provides additional services, support and professional resources to help Nebraska families dealing with children’s behavioral health issues.

The bill helps address the gap in services for children with behavioral health issues by providing services and expertise to support children and their families.    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- Washington, DC -- Senator Mike Johanns is co-sponsoring legislation to help combat the rise in mental health challenges, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in U.S. troops and veterans. The Post-Deployment Health Assessment Act would require the Department of Defense to increase mental health screenings for military personnel deployed to combat.

"The military is seeing a sharp increase in the number of servicemen and women struggling to cope with their experiences," Johanns said. "Our troops face the rigors of battle and war every day, and we must do a better job of caring for their mental health. Identifying the warning signs when a service member is facing these challenges is an important first step."    » read more »

May 11, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- Advances in neuroscience research could benefit the Army, particularly in areas of soldier training and education. However, an emerging trend of using individual variability in neural processes such as cognition, stress response, and decision making to improve group performance is likely to challenge conventional approaches to training and educating soldiers, says a new report from the National Research Council.    » read more »

MicroRNA Plays Key Regulatory Role in Receptor Linked to Numerous Psychiatric Disorders

JUPITER, January 26, 2009 — Scientists from Scripps Florida, part of The Scripps Research Institute, and colleagues have for the first time linked a specific microRNA to behavioral problems frequently associated with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. The finding presents new opportunities in the development of potential treatments.

The study is being published this week in the Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists had previously known that a number of brain disorders—including schizophrenia, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mood disorders, and    » read more »

Seoul -- 21 August 2008 -- In just a few decades, South Korea transformed itself from an impoverished country devastated by war into the world's 13th largest economy. But that dramatic growth has a dark side, some mental health professionals say. South Korea has seen its suicide rate rise sharply, and the nation's youth are at risk. Jason Strother has the story from Seoul.

On the platforms in many of Seoul's subway stations, tall glass gates open and close as passengers enter and exit the train cars.

These barricades are a safety precaution but they were also installed to prevent people from throwing themselves onto the paths of trains. Last year, 23 people in Seoul attempted suicide this way, up from 18 the year before.    » read more »

Troubling Alcohol Use Found Among Young Veterans; New Study Finds Disturbing Risk of Binge Drinking Among Servicemembers

August 13, 2008 -- NEW YORK - Yesterday, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released a study on alcohol abuse among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. According to the study, combat exposure significantly increases servicemembers' risk of heavy drinking, binge drinking and other alcohol-related problems. Young servicemembers are at the highest risk of developing these problems following their deployments. JAMA also found, "Those born after 1980 were at 6.72 increased odds of new-onset binge drinking."    » read more »

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2008 – Defense Department officials are assessing ways to better prepare servicemembers, particularly members of the reserve and National Guard, for the stresses of combat so they’re better able to avoid alcohol-related problems when they return home, defense officials said today.

The goal, officials said, is to beef up existing strategies to address alcohol issues before and during deployments to mitigate post-deployment drinking problems.    » read more »

Economy heightens need to monitor mental health

June, 2008 -- ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic research suggests unmarried women living in rural areas have lower self-rated health status than their married counterparts. This lower health status often includes greater instances of self-assessed feelings of depression. The results of the study were recently published in the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice. They suggest that primary care physicians should take a proactive role in addressing health concerns of single women.    » read more »