The dearth of mental health services for individuals in need is a debit our nation has felt for at least twenty years, if not indefinitely. A new national survey of commercial health plans has found that most plans provide online information regarding mental health and substance abuse but few provide clinical services such as counseling via the Internet.
Most private health plans offered online provider directories; 81 percent offered educational information; two thirds offered behavioral self-assessment tools, and almost half offered online referral. About one-third offered personalized responses to questions or problems. Only two percent offered online counseling.
“At least in the short term, increasing use of Internet-based tools designed to facilitate and complement, rather than replace, traditional clinical services seems most likely.”
Source: Brandeis University
About Us
- Kathlene B. LaCour and Craig S. Judd
- Passages Behavioral Health Services was founded out of need to service mentally ill, co-occurring, correctional clients seeking a second chance. Our 40 years of clinical experience has prepared us to do this work which includes providing case management, Community Living Suppports (CLS), clinical assessment, treatment planning and more. Passages Behavioral Health also manages re-entry housing for this population know as the Passages House. We provide a service that not only bridges folks to another chance but helps maintain their progress in the community.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Telephone-Based Psychotherapy and Depression
Psychiatric Times
By Judith GrochReviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco Mar 22, 2007
SEATTLE, March 22 -- For depressed patients on medication but too sad to seek psychotherapy as well, lasting help may be available by phone researchers found in a follow-up study.
For more than 75% of nearly 400 patients, the positive effects of six months of brief telephone psychotherapy at the start of antidepressant medication endured for 18 months after the first session, including six months beyond the end of all phone therapy, said Evette Ludman, Ph.D., of the Group Health Cooperative Center for Health Studies here, and colleagues.
This study, reported by Dr. Ludman and colleagues in the April issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, was a follow-up to a 2004 report on the same sample of 393 patients, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The follow-up found that at 18 months, 77% of those given phone-based therapy reported that depression was "much" or "very much" improved, compared with only 63% of those receiving usual care.
In the 18-month analysis, the benefits of telephone psychotherapy in the first six months were sustained during the second six months when only brief booster sessions were provided. Significantly a "robust clinical benefit" endured for six months after all treatment contact was discontinued, the researchers found.
"As with weight control," Dr. Ludman said, "maintaining improvement is the hardest part of treating depression."
Read More...
As you can see using telephone-based therapy can be convenient and effective. If you are in terested in knowing more Contact Us.
By Judith GrochReviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco Mar 22, 2007
SEATTLE, March 22 -- For depressed patients on medication but too sad to seek psychotherapy as well, lasting help may be available by phone researchers found in a follow-up study.
For more than 75% of nearly 400 patients, the positive effects of six months of brief telephone psychotherapy at the start of antidepressant medication endured for 18 months after the first session, including six months beyond the end of all phone therapy, said Evette Ludman, Ph.D., of the Group Health Cooperative Center for Health Studies here, and colleagues.
This study, reported by Dr. Ludman and colleagues in the April issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, was a follow-up to a 2004 report on the same sample of 393 patients, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The follow-up found that at 18 months, 77% of those given phone-based therapy reported that depression was "much" or "very much" improved, compared with only 63% of those receiving usual care.
In the 18-month analysis, the benefits of telephone psychotherapy in the first six months were sustained during the second six months when only brief booster sessions were provided. Significantly a "robust clinical benefit" endured for six months after all treatment contact was discontinued, the researchers found.
"As with weight control," Dr. Ludman said, "maintaining improvement is the hardest part of treating depression."
Read More...
As you can see using telephone-based therapy can be convenient and effective. If you are in terested in knowing more Contact Us.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
How to Choose a Therapist
MayoClinic.Com - Choosing mental health providers can be challenging. Try to match your needs with their experience and specialty. See what issues to consider and which questions to ask.
If you've never consulted mental health providers before, you may not know how to find one who suits your specific needs. Here are some issues and tips to think about, along with questions to ask potential mental health providers.
Consider the types of mental health providers:
You may not realize just how many types of mental health providers are available until you start looking for one. Should you see a family practice doctor? A Psychiatrist? Psychologist? Social worker? Does it even matter?
Several considerations can help guide your decision in choosing among the various types of mental health providers:
The severity of your symptoms
Your medication needs
The provider's level of expertise
Your health insurance coverage
In general, the more severe your symptoms or diagnosis, the more expertise and training to look for in your potential mental health providers. If you may need medications, for instance, you may want to consult a psychiatrist, who by law can prescribe medications and may have more experience with the wide range of psychiatric medications available. On the other hand, if you're dealing with teenage conflicts, you may want to consult a marriage and family therapist. You may even need to see several types of mental health providers to meet various needs.
Contact Us...
If you've never consulted mental health providers before, you may not know how to find one who suits your specific needs. Here are some issues and tips to think about, along with questions to ask potential mental health providers.
Consider the types of mental health providers:
You may not realize just how many types of mental health providers are available until you start looking for one. Should you see a family practice doctor? A Psychiatrist? Psychologist? Social worker? Does it even matter?
Several considerations can help guide your decision in choosing among the various types of mental health providers:
The severity of your symptoms
Your medication needs
The provider's level of expertise
Your health insurance coverage
In general, the more severe your symptoms or diagnosis, the more expertise and training to look for in your potential mental health providers. If you may need medications, for instance, you may want to consult a psychiatrist, who by law can prescribe medications and may have more experience with the wide range of psychiatric medications available. On the other hand, if you're dealing with teenage conflicts, you may want to consult a marriage and family therapist. You may even need to see several types of mental health providers to meet various needs.
Contact Us...
Monday, March 12, 2007
Learning....
I've learned that if your heart has never ached you are not alive.
I've learned that a strong man can cry
I've learned that the best things in life really are free
I've learned that there are many risks in life but the biggest is not taking any at all.
Kenn
I've learned that a strong man can cry
I've learned that the best things in life really are free
I've learned that there are many risks in life but the biggest is not taking any at all.
Kenn
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