Welcome to Mental Health Month 2007! The theme for this year's observance is MIND Your Health. For more than fifty years, our country has celebrated May as Mental Health Month to raise awareness about mental illnesses and the importance of mental wellness for all. Mental Health America invites you to join us in this important observance.
Contact Us..
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, May 22, 2007
Work related suicide, Mental Illness Increase in Japan
Provided by: Associated PressMay. 17, 2007
TOKYO (AP) - The number of Japanese who killed themselves because of work jumped by 52 per cent last year, while work-induced mental illness also hit a record high, a health official said Thursday.
Compensation paid to the families of workers who committed suicide due to work-related stress was paid out in a record 65 cases in 2006, compared with 42 the previous year, said Health Ministry official Junichiro Kurashige.
The number of workers who received compensation for work-induced mental illness hit 205, up 61 per cent from a year earlier, Kurashige said, citing a recent government report.
Efforts by the government to encourage workers to apply for compensation were partly behind the rise, said Kurashige.
Japan's suicide rate is among the highest in the industrialized world. More than 32,000 Japanese took their own lives in 2004, the bulk of them older Japanese suffering financial woes as the country struggled through a decade of economic stagnation.
The Japanese government has earmarked a substantial budget for programs to help those with depression and other mental illnesses.
See C-Health for more mental health news...
TOKYO (AP) - The number of Japanese who killed themselves because of work jumped by 52 per cent last year, while work-induced mental illness also hit a record high, a health official said Thursday.
Compensation paid to the families of workers who committed suicide due to work-related stress was paid out in a record 65 cases in 2006, compared with 42 the previous year, said Health Ministry official Junichiro Kurashige.
The number of workers who received compensation for work-induced mental illness hit 205, up 61 per cent from a year earlier, Kurashige said, citing a recent government report.
Efforts by the government to encourage workers to apply for compensation were partly behind the rise, said Kurashige.
Japan's suicide rate is among the highest in the industrialized world. More than 32,000 Japanese took their own lives in 2004, the bulk of them older Japanese suffering financial woes as the country struggled through a decade of economic stagnation.
The Japanese government has earmarked a substantial budget for programs to help those with depression and other mental illnesses.
See C-Health for more mental health news...
Friday, May 04, 2007
Spirituality, Suicide and Mental Health
Canoe Health Reports....An Canadian conference is drawing attention to the key role spirituality plays in mental health and even for suicidal patients.
Medical schools have started to raise awareness about spirituality, so students entering the health-care field will inquire about their patients' belief systems to better understand their attitudes toward life and death.
To shed more light, the University of Ottawa's department of psychiatry, the Ontario Multifaith Council on Spiritual and Religious Care and Saint Paul University are hosting the third annual international conference on Spirituality and Mental Health today and tomorrow.
Developing a greater understanding of the link between mental health and spirituality is necessary for health-care workers who truly want to help their patients, said Dr. Andre Gagnon, chairman of the conference organizing committee. The same can be said of workers dealing with suicidal patients.
Suicidality has been VIEWED AS AMORAL.
Historically, suicidal thoughts were viewed by religions as amoral and people who suffered from them could be forbidden access to a place of worship and even burial rights, said Gagnon.Over time, religions have grown more accepting of the reality that these people need help.
Researching links between suicide rates and spirituality poses difficulties due to the many other variables associated with suicide.Gagnon said that even the awareness of spirituality in suicide can aid health providers in providing appropriate care."A lot of people at first want to stop the suffering they are in, they don't wish to die as much as to stop feeling so badly," he said.
We are all spiritual beings and to neglect this part of a person in who is experiencing significant distress and psychiatric pain can delay a person's recovery. Treating people as whole beings - mental, physical, spiritual and emotional is key.
Medical schools have started to raise awareness about spirituality, so students entering the health-care field will inquire about their patients' belief systems to better understand their attitudes toward life and death.
To shed more light, the University of Ottawa's department of psychiatry, the Ontario Multifaith Council on Spiritual and Religious Care and Saint Paul University are hosting the third annual international conference on Spirituality and Mental Health today and tomorrow.
Developing a greater understanding of the link between mental health and spirituality is necessary for health-care workers who truly want to help their patients, said Dr. Andre Gagnon, chairman of the conference organizing committee. The same can be said of workers dealing with suicidal patients.
Suicidality has been VIEWED AS AMORAL.
Historically, suicidal thoughts were viewed by religions as amoral and people who suffered from them could be forbidden access to a place of worship and even burial rights, said Gagnon.Over time, religions have grown more accepting of the reality that these people need help.
Researching links between suicide rates and spirituality poses difficulties due to the many other variables associated with suicide.Gagnon said that even the awareness of spirituality in suicide can aid health providers in providing appropriate care."A lot of people at first want to stop the suffering they are in, they don't wish to die as much as to stop feeling so badly," he said.
We are all spiritual beings and to neglect this part of a person in who is experiencing significant distress and psychiatric pain can delay a person's recovery. Treating people as whole beings - mental, physical, spiritual and emotional is key.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Binge Eating/Compulsive Eating Disorder
Psychiatric Times indicates that this disorder is more common than anorexia and bulimia combined, according to a national survey.In DSM- IV this disorder was being reviewed and was indicated to require more research and study to determine if it would be appropriate for admission into the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders).
Most physicians, however, aren't aware of the problem, says James Hudson, MD, director of the Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Program at McLean Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard."Doctors have a reasonable degree of awareness about anorexia and bulimia, but they're not tuned into binge eating. It's just not as well known," says Hudson, lead author of "The Prevalence and Correlates of Eating Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication". The study, published Feb. 1 in Biological Psychiatry, found that 2.8 percent of the general population has binge-eating disorder -- more than bulimia (1 percent prevalence) and anorexia (0.6 percent) combined.
Treatment for this disorder experts recommend a comprehensive eating disorders program. The programs take a multidisciplinary approach that typically includes nutrition counseling; a behavioral weight control plan with healthy meals spaced throughout the day; medication in some cases; and a strong foundation in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) -- considered the gold standard for treating the disorder.
Due to this disorder not being an official diagnosis many insurances will not pay for treatment. Self help programs include reading books with CBT focus and drug treatment with SSRI, appetite suppressants and mood stabilizers. See Psychiatric Times for more information
Most physicians, however, aren't aware of the problem, says James Hudson, MD, director of the Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Program at McLean Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard."Doctors have a reasonable degree of awareness about anorexia and bulimia, but they're not tuned into binge eating. It's just not as well known," says Hudson, lead author of "The Prevalence and Correlates of Eating Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication". The study, published Feb. 1 in Biological Psychiatry, found that 2.8 percent of the general population has binge-eating disorder -- more than bulimia (1 percent prevalence) and anorexia (0.6 percent) combined.
Treatment for this disorder experts recommend a comprehensive eating disorders program. The programs take a multidisciplinary approach that typically includes nutrition counseling; a behavioral weight control plan with healthy meals spaced throughout the day; medication in some cases; and a strong foundation in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) -- considered the gold standard for treating the disorder.
Due to this disorder not being an official diagnosis many insurances will not pay for treatment. Self help programs include reading books with CBT focus and drug treatment with SSRI, appetite suppressants and mood stabilizers. See Psychiatric Times for more information
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)