Policy and Advocacy Articles

Women and Violence

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
The impact of violence against women is too often masked by silence. Its continuation depends on silence. Distance keeps us safe and unless one personally experiences violence or knows someone who has, many of us ...

Media’s Damaging Depictions of Mental Illness

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
A man who suffers from schizophrenia goes on a shooting spree in Times Square and later stabs a pregnant physician in the stomach. These are the opening scenes from Wonderland, a drama set in the ...

Obsessed: Should a Computer Hacker with Asperger Syndrome Go to Prison?

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
When human rights activist Terry Waite spoke recently in support of Gary McKinnon, the noted Pentagon hacker, it made quite a stir. Waite is a former Beirut hostage, imprisoned for four years in Lebanon in ...

Health Insurance: The Eternal Battle

Monday, March 23rd, 2009
Health insurance is a subject that weighs on me and keeps me up at night. Every once in a while my insurance situation is sorted out and the worry briefly lifts, then something happens ...

National Association for Dually Diagnosed Celebrates 25 Years

Monday, November 24th, 2008
People with both intellectual disability and mental illness are a small population -- less than one percent of people worldwide. But it’s a small population with very big needs. In 1983, Robert Fletcher, DSW, ACSW ...

Obama on Mental Health Care

Saturday, September 6th, 2008
The following statement was provided to Alicia Sparks of Mental Health Notes by Senator Barack Obama's campaign in his bid for the U.S. Presidential election in 2008: Dear Friend, ...

McCain on Mental Health Care

Saturday, September 6th, 2008
The following statement was provided by Senator John McCain to the National Alliance on Mental Illness in response to a questionnaire they sent Senator McCain in his capacity as a candidate for the U.S. Presidency ...

Mental Health Parity in U.S. Senate Bill s. 3335

Saturday, September 6th, 2008
This section is excerpted from the U.S. Senate bill s. 3335 under consideration in the U.S. Senate. SEC. 313. MENTAL HEALTH PARITY. (a) Amendments to ERISA- Section 712 of the Employee ...

Race and Mental Health Disparity

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
It is a sad fact of life that disparities in insurance coverage and stigma collaborate to keep access to mental health care lagging behind physical health care for everyone. Overall, only one third of Americans ...

Components of Recovery

Friday, March 21st, 2008
Recovery has only recently become a word used in relation to the experience of psychiatric symptoms. Those of us who experience psychiatric symptoms are commonly told that these symptoms are incurable, that we will have ...

Using Advocacy as a Self-Help Tool

Friday, March 21st, 2008
To truly experience wellness and recovery I have learned that I want to be, and have to be an advocate for issues that I feel passionately about. A big part of recovery for me has ...

Psychiatric Advance Directive

Saturday, December 1st, 2007
A psychiatric advance directive, or PAD, allows patients with mental illness to state their preferences for, or dislikes of, specific treatments, designate a proxy decision-maker or make other advance decisions about their care. Advance directives are ...

Changing the Treatment Conversation

Monday, October 1st, 2007
Sometimes I'm afraid that the U.S. is becoming a nation of people who expect things to come easily to them. I'm doubly afraid that some professionals charged with helping to help ourselves often take the ...

Ask HR About Mental Health Coverage

Saturday, August 18th, 2007
You often don't discover what your managed care plan or health insurance plan covers until you need services. This is especially true for mental health care and substance abuse treatment. You can find out what ...

Finding Low-Cost Psychotherapy

Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
Low-cost psychotherapy is nearly an oxymoron. Experienced and highly trained mental health professionals, such as psychologists, psychiatrists or marriage and family therapists in practice for decades, can garner fees well over $100/hour for ...

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