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Report From American Psychiatric Association Addresses Psychiatric Bed Crisis in the U.S.; Explores New Model to Determine Community Needs
As the nation continues to navigate an ongoing mental health crisis, a new report from the American Psychiatric Association (APA), Psychiatric Bed Crisis in the U.S.: Understanding the Problem and Moving Toward Solutions, provides an assessment of the current problem of the lack of access to psychiatric beds and proposes a new model for estimating the needs within a community.
Suicide Prevention is a Community Effort
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and all month long you’ll see the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and our allied groups sharing their knowledge and resources to foster education and confront the stigma around this topic.
Recognizing and Addressing Bias in the Workplace
I was the attending psychiatrist working at a busy, urban emergency room speaking outside a treatment room with a patient’s daughter, a middle-aged Caucasian woman. I was taking notes when a male trainee approached and interrupted, speaking directly to the patient’s daughter. He assumed she was the doctor (I was wearing scrubs and my physician ID) and called her Dr. Hart and mentioned he needed to discuss a patient.
New APA Resource Document Highlights Quality and Safety Considerations in the Use of Seclusion or Restraint
Seclusion or restraint is used as an intervention of last resort in the management of severe agitation (e.g., violence) in patients. Both are highly regulated by local, state, and federal law and other health care accreditation organizations. Patients, families, and psychiatrists may be concerned about these interventions as they can cause significant psychological distress and/or physical injury as well as perpetuate the stigma of mental illness. The APA recognizes these concerns, and has devel
Women, Disasters and Resilience
Do women experience disasters, including planning, preparedness, response and recovery, differently than men? That is the question examined in a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The report looks at the long-held notion in disaster behavioral health research that "women are more vulnerable to adverse mental health consequences of disaster than are men."
As Americans Emerge from Pandemic, Many Report Adopting Better Habits, While One in Five Are Smoking or Drinking More
As states lifted masking requirements and infection numbers dropped late this winter, the majority of Americans reported their mood was stable since January (64%) and that the pandemic either hadn’t changed their daily habits (49%) or had changed them for the better (26%). However, nearly three in 10 (28%) rated their mental health as merely fair or poor, and almost a fifth reported that they were smoking (17%) or drinking (18%) more.
March Issues of American Psychiatric Association Journals Cover Genomics and Mental Illnesses and Associations Between Recent Public Health Crises with Traumatic Stress
The March issues of two of the American Psychiatric Association journals, The American Journal of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Services are available online.
APA Statement on the Passing of Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) today pauses to remember the life of Former First Lady Roslynn Carter. Few, if any, other Americans have been able to accomplish what she did for the cause of mental health. Mrs. Carter worked relentlessly to help the millions of people in this country who have mental illness or substance use disorders. She used her bully pulpit to bring the conversation about mental health out from the darkness and to advocate for a more comprehensive system of care.
New Research Details Links Between COVID and Mental Health
Several new studies highlight links between mental health disorders and COVID-19. People with mental health disorders and intellectual disabilities are more at risk for contracting COVID and people who have had COVID are at greater risk for developing mental disorders. Understanding these risks can potentially help health professionals and individuals to improve prevention, assessment, and treatment.
APA Offers Advice on Coping with Stress and Mental Health When Considering a Return to the Workplace
Many employees are once again facing significant change and uncertainty as they consider returning to the workplace after more than a year. The Center for Workplace Mental Health, a program of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, has developed a new resource to help employers understand employees’ stresses and concerns and provide the best support possible to those returning to the workplace.
APA Marks Juneteenth
Today the APA marks the holiday of Juneteenth, which celebrates the announcement of the emancipation of enslaved people in Galveston, TX, in 1865. APA President Vivian Pender, M.D, recorded remarks about the holiday, and APA Deputy Medical Director and Chief of Diversity and Health Equity Regina James, M.D., and CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., offered their thoughts on the APA blog.
Honoring Psychiatrist Carl Bell
This August we lost a towering figure in American community psychiatry. Carl Bell, M.D., died suddenly on Aug. 2 at the age of 71. Among community psychiatrists, Bell was a luminary whose work on cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors in mental illness was seminal. Bell’s influence—as a clinician, researcher, educator, mentor, public health advocate, and activist—was vast, broad, and deep.