Cross-posted from HHS Digital Strategy Blog: 
Written By: Andrew Wilson,  Office of Communications, SAMHSA
Public participation and collaboration are central to making the Digital Strategy work. At the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), they are central to our work to improve the organization and presentation of SAMHSA’s website.
As part of our initial efforts, SAMHSA has been using an online exercise (cardsorting) that allows anyone interested to provide input on how to better organize and categorize the information on the website. In just one week, more than a thousand people provided direct, concrete …

Today, on the 7th anniversary of the devastating Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Isaac has made landfall in the New Orleans and Mississippi Gulf Coast region.
We know that hurricanes and other natural disasters can lead to emotional distress in those that experience them. Survivors living in the impacted areas (including children and teens), loved ones of victims, and first responders, rescue & recovery workers are all at risk.
Feelings such as overwhelming anxiety, constant worrying, trouble sleeping and other depression-like symptoms are common responses to disasters and traumatic events (before, during and after …

Written By: Andrew Wilson, Office of Communications, SAMHSA
Several weeks ago, we asked for help in thinking through how SAMHSA’s website could be better organized. Using an online exercise (called a card sort), participants organized key behavioral health topics into pre-defined categories. The response to our request for participation was tremendous with over 1000 individuals participating over the course of one week.  Participants included:

847 Behavioral Health Professionals
193 Personal/ General Users
70 SAMHSA staff

Drilling Deeper
The next step in this process is to ask for your help with a different exercise – a “reverse …

Written By: Wilmarie Hernandez, Consumer Affairs, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
On August 15, SAMHA hosted a forum on Young People in Recovery (YPR).  The panel discussion, moderated by Ivette Torres, Associate Director, Consumer Affairs, featured three young adults, Sarah Nerad, Danielle Tarino and Benjamin Chin.
Sarah, Danielle and Ben shared their personal recovery stories as well as the programs and organizations that helped them in their recovery process.
“By the time I was in high school everything seemed normal on the outside and I knew that is what I needed to maintain …