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Articles Archive for February 2011

Open Government, Public Awareness and Support »

[ 18 Feb 2011 | 2 Comments ]
New SAMHSA Video Contest

We are the ones PSA Video Contest

This week SAMHSA is launching a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) video contest.  The contest will help kick off a new national awareness campaign called National Prevention Week 2012, by encouraging young adults, ages 18 to 25, to create a PSA that embraces the theme We are the ones. How are you taking action?
We recognize that young adults everywhere are helping to prevent alcohol and drug abuse and we want to provide them with an opportunity to share what they’re doing. Their …

Prevention, Public Awareness and Support, Substance Use »

[ 14 Feb 2011 | 2 Comments ]
Ask SAMHSA: Questions about Substance Abuse Prevention

In our second edition of Ask SAMHSA, the topic we are tackling this month is substance abuse prevention. If you aren’t sure what this is be sure to check our previous blog post explaining the concept, “Introduction to Ask SAMHSA”. Now through March 1st SAMHSA will take your questions about substance abuse prevention via Facebook, Twitter and the comment section of this blog post. If you are submitting questions over Twitter please use the hashtag #BHQ. Once we gather all the questions, we will then select a couple for …

Office of Behavioral Health Equity, Public Awareness and Support, Trauma and Justice, Treatment »

[ 11 Feb 2011 | 7 Comments ]
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Written By: Larke Huang, Director Office of Behavioral Health Equity
In the past decade, key policy reports have documented disparities in behavioral health for diverse racial and ethnic populations in the United States. The Surgeon General’s report Mental Health: Culture, Race and Ethnicity (2001), the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2003), and the IOM Reports, Unequal Treatment and Race, Ethnicity and Language Data: Standardization for Health Care Quality Improvement (2009) have called for a national approach to reducing disparities. While the prevalence rates of behavioral disorders are generally similar …

Mental Health, Public Awareness and Support, Substance Use »

[ 4 Feb 2011 | One Comment ]
Ask SAMHSA: Response to your Parity Questions

Check out the above video to hear John O’Brien, SAMHSA’s Senior Adviser on Health Care Financing, answer your mental health and substance abuse treatment services parity questions asked via Facebook, Twitter and SAMHSA’s blog . For more information about Ask SAMHSA, visit an earlier blog post “Introduction to Ask SAMHSA”.
If you are interested in learning more about parity check out the Department of Labor’s website or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s website.
The next Ask SAMHSA question topic will be posted mid-February. Don’t forget to submit your questions. As always, we appreciate your …

Mental Health, Prevention »

[ 3 Feb 2011 | 2 Comments ]
Mental Health First Aid — Because YOU Can Help

Guest Post by
Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO
National Council for Community Behavioral Health Care
“Sometimes, first aid isn’t a bandage, CPR, the Heimlich, or calling 911. Sometimes first aid is you.”
You might know lifesaving first aid like the Heimlich Maneuver or even CPR, but the hard truth is you are more likely to encounter a person in an emotional or mental crisis than someone having a heart attack. Mental disorders are more common than you think — nearly 20%of Americans have a diagnosable mental illness[1]. Yet the stigma surrounding mental illness often …