mental health

Michigan aims to identify health risk behaviors

Associated Press — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:27:16 +0000

Michigan is rolling out new guidelines designed to help health providers better identify teens with high-risk behaviors.

The statewide guidelines recommend that adolescents be assessed for health-risk behaviors, such as violence, at least once a year. They also recommend that health care providers use one of four screening tools to ensure adolescents are consistently screened statewide.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says high-risk behaviors are the primary cause of the death or serious injury of about three-quarters of teens.

University of Michigan researchers say 'retail therapy' actually helps combat sadness

Steve Carmody — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 19:09:00 +0000

Feeling the blues?

University of Michigan researchers say so called ‘retail therapy’ can help.

Snyder orders mental health services review

Rick Pluta — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:51:11 +0000

Governor Rick Snyder has called for a review of how Michigan provides mental health services.

The governor has signed two executive orders to come up with recommendations.The executive orders create two separate commissions.

Both of them will be led by Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley.

One major goal is to identify gaps that send people to jails and prisons instead of to programs that could treat their illnesses.

The plans also include teaching police, teachers, and clergy to spot signs of mental illness, earlier intervention for children with mental health issues, and helping more people get into treatment instead of being sent to jail or prison.

Administration officials say this will be the first thorough review of mental health services in Michigan since the state shut down its psychiatric hospitals in favor of community-based programs in the early 1990’s

Michigan governor issues executive orders for mental health

The Associated Press — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 00:17:46 +0000

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder is taking steps aimed at improving mental health services in Michigan.

The Republican governor issued two executive orders Wednesday to bolster mental health initiatives in the state.

The first creates a Mental Health and Wellness Commission. The commission will be led by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and will advise the Michigan Department of Community Health on ways to strengthen mental health services.

Michigan's governor eyes mental health makeover, GOP skeptical

The Associated Press — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:05:00 +0000

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Governor Rick Snyder says he has concerns about whether Michigan's health care system could handle the increased number of patients if the state agrees to expand Medicaid eligibility.

The Republican has said one of the benefits of opting in to an expansion under the Affordable Health Care Act is it would allow the state to significantly expand assistance for those who need mental health care.

Snyder said Friday that he hasn't made his decision but will announce it during his budget address on February 7th.

Stateside: Assessing mental health in Michigan

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:44:39 +0000

The following is a summary of a previously recorded interview. To hear the complete segment, click the audio above.

Today we looked at Michigan's treatment of mental health.

Milton Mack, Chief Judge of Michigan County Probate Court, and Dr. Michele Reid, Medical Director of Detroit-Wayne County Community Mental Health Agency, spoke with Cyndy about the ways we treat mental health.

“I see case after case of people who didn’t get timely treatment. We have a mental health model in Michigan which is based on inpatient, but we live in an outpatient world….Today we know that early intervention helps people survive,” said Mack.

Stateside: Understanding depression in teens

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:20:48 +0000

Depression in teens is a serious illness with a difficult diagnosis.

To better understand how to effectively communicate with one’s child we spoke with two men from the University of Michigan Depression Center.

Dr. Richard Dopp is a psychiatrist who specializes in teenage depression. And Eric Hipple, a former quarterback for the Detroit Lions, is the Center’s Outreach Coordinator.

“There is a lot of news that goes out when there is the loss of a teen. What we see over time is certain populations will have an increase in suicide, but what you are actually seeing is more people are talking about it,” said Dopp.

Holidays can be stressful for homeless kids

Kyle Norris — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:00:00 +0000

The holidays often highlight family and special meals. But those can be delicate issues for some people, including homeless kids. Pam Cornell-Allen is Associate Director of Ozone House, a non-profit that helps homeless youth in Washtenaw County. She says the holidays focus on a sense of family, and that can be a tender subject for homeless kids.

Corrections boss: mental health care not core job

Kyle Norris — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 18:50:13 +0000

About a quarter of Michigan's 43,000 state prisoners are mentally ill, and new Michigan Corrections Director Dan Heyns says he wants to shift responsibility for their treatment from his department to other agencies.

A little tickle therapy courtesy of the BBC

Mark Brush — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:15:27 +0000

With the news of the world's first "Tickle Spa" opening in Madrid last week, the BBC's James Coomarasamy spoke with Carrie Graham, a Laughter and Happiness Coach based in London.

Graham conducts laughter workshops in which participants are "pretend tickled" if they're not familiar with each other, and full-on tickled if they are.

Naturally, Graham had to try out a little tickle therapy on her BBC interviewer.

Have a listen:

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/michigan/local-michigan-977436.mp3

Feel better? You can listen to the full interview from the BBC Newshour (click on chapter 10).

Mental health advocates blast prison drug policy

Rick Pluta — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:39:54 +0000

A coalition of mental health advocates is calling on the state Department of Corrections to alter its policy of moving as many prisoners as possible from brand-name prescriptions to generic drugs.

The Department says the new policy will save taxpayers’ money without endangering prisoners’ health.

The Mental Health/Justice Coalition says the policy is too sweeping when it comes to inmates with mental illnesses. The Coalition includes inmates’ families, psychiatrists, judges, and attorneys.

Peggy Christian is the mother of an inmate:

Report: Psychotropic drugs "dominating" cost of prescriptions in prisons

Mark Brush — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:44:33 +0000

The state's prison system is in line for some budget cuts like a lot of other parts of the state government.

Now, a recent audit says the prison system could save more in prescription costs.

From the Associated Press:

DETROIT (AP) - State auditors say Michigan could have saved millions of dollars by choosing lower-cost alternatives to a mental-health drug that is widely prescribed in prisons.
The audit released Friday says psychotropic drugs are dominating the cost of prescriptions in the prison system. They added up to more than $8 million from January through July last year - 41 percent of all pharmaceuticals.
Seroquel is the most prescribed antipsychotic drug. Auditors say the Corrections Department could have saved $350,000 a month by switching just half of those prescriptions to a drug called Risperdal.
The Corrections Department says it's taking steps to control costs. The audit also found that prisoners are not being charged for over-the-counter medicine even if they can afford it.

Former First Lady discusses mental illness

Lindsey Smith — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:09:45 +0000

Rosalynn Carter is in Grand Rapids raising awareness of mental illness. She's promoting her new book about how to end what she calls a "national mental health care crisis."