Fower Partnership

Research by the NIMH has been focused on developing the means to diagnose mental disorders early enough to enable prompt and effective intervention, preventing more serious, lasting illness. The benefits of early detection and treatment are widespread and enduring; for many, effective early intervention and treatment will enable them to learn, work, and engage in a fully productive life (NIMH,

Our progress in learning the causes and treatments for mental illness has been steady as we build on the medical model of mental illness, which Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman (2010) describe as a model that, “views emotional and behavioral problems as a mental illness, comparable to a physical illness (pp. 341). Only in modern times have we been able to effectively treat mental illness with behavioral therapy, social support, medicine, and other research-based programs. However, there is still much work to be done in regard to access, proper facilities, policy and a host of other challenges that affect this issue.

Problem Statement: The World Health Association defines ‘good’ health as: “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” However, in the United States, access to care and funding for mental health care are grossly neglected and underfunded in comparison to other aspects of health care.

The piece of this health reform act related to mental health stipulates that there be state laws mandating or regulating mental health benefits ("NCSL," 2012). This author has found no literature that indicates the effectiveness of the PPACA. Perhaps it is too early to determine the success or failure of the PPACA.

The goal of this topic set by Healthy People 20/20 is to improve mental health through prevention and by ensuring access to appropriate, quality mental health services. (Healthy People 20/20) Through my experience of working in the mental health field, I have found and can attest to their goal that quality mental health services are extremely important and make a big difference on the quality of care a person can receive.

2007). While highly skilled, the majority of primary care and family practitioners have minimal training in identifying or treating psychiatric conditions and/or substance use disorders (Collins, 2010). The Presidents New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2003) indicated mental health conditions and substance use disorders often go unscreened and thus untreated in a primary care setting. Currently, working as an administrator of a behavioral healthcare agency I am a daily witness to the impact delays in appropriate care cause. This is not only worrisome, it often leads to a need for a higher level of care and higher cost of treatment due the prevalence of untreated illnesses. Marrying behavioral healthcare services within a primary care setting has shown promising outcomes, affording for greater access to care for those suffering from psychosocial conditions, all the while cutting costs and providing greater proficiency in service delivery. (Mauer, 2002). As an administrator, the potential to implement and manage programs that not only provide greater access to care, but also cut cost is an exciting avenue to

Did you know that 19.9 percent of adult Americans had some sort of a mental illness, according to the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (samhsa.gov, 2015, Para. 3). This is a total of 45.1 million adults in America suffering with mental health disorders (samhsa.gov, 2015, Para. 3). There are also currently 20.8 million adults in America who suffer from substance use disorder ever year (NAMI.org, 2015). Both of these are alarming statistics of the wellbeing of the American citizens. To make matters worse, these two groups intertwine to a population of people known with a co-occurrence of mental illness and substance use or, more commonly known as, dual diagnosis.

The majority of research that exists on 12-step programs often focus on determining the success rate of 12-step programs such as AA. There is little to no research on problems associated with 12-step programs or problematic areas of 12-step programs. The little research that does exist argue that 12-step programs are not structured for comorbid individual, they may not be the best option for mild substance use disorder, and the central theme of powerlessness can conflict with a therapist’s theoretical orientation and be harmful to the therapeutic alliance. (Kelly & Myers, 2007, Laudet et al., 2004, L, Ingvarson, Richard, 1995). The National Institute of Mental Health (2013) has found that 43.6 million adults aged 18 and older have at least one mental illness and 45 percent of individuals with one mental disorder met criteria for two or more disorders. The presence of comorbid disorders can severely affect the treatment and outcome of individuals (Terra et al., 2006). Many studies have found that clients with a dual diagnosis experience increased rates of hospitalization and increased use of emergency services (Helzer & Pryzbeck, 1998). It is easy to imagine how hospitalization can interrupt treatment by making it difficulty for individuals to attend.

Through environmental and technological innovations, health care in the industrialized world has been transformed over the past two centuries. This transformation also applies to mental health care. With the discovery and acceptance of psychology as a legitimate health science in the past one and a half centuries, mental health has been gradually integrated into the broad health care schema as primary and preventative medicine. However, even with this gradual integration, mental health care in the United States leaves much to be desired. Even after the passage of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), this type of care falls short of

Physical health and behavioral health care are typically delivered in separate settings by different providers, often with little collaboration and coordination. This fragmented health care delivery system leads to care deficiencies, specifically for individuals with mental and physical health co-morbidities (Enthoven, 2009). Individuals with mental and substance abuse disorders may die decades earlier than the average person — often from untreated and preventable chronic diseases (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration [SAMSHA], 2017). Evidence indicates that the health care system is improving care delivery for members with co-morbidities through the integration of physical and behavioral health care (Enthoven, 2009).

Hennessy, K. D., & Green-Hennessy, S. (2011). A review of mental health interventions in SAMHSA 's national registry of evidence-based programs and practices. Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.), 62(3), 303-305. doi:10.1176/ps.62.3.pss6203_0303

They will also have the means of offering an increase to effective treatment for everyone they see and also give them the chance of addressing the prevention process of substance abuse and any mental illnesses they may be suffering from. This program will increase all awareness and understanding of mental and substance use disorders and also give them the avenue of increased access to effective treatment. Having these structured initiatives in place will also make way for SAMHSA to survey and surveillance nationally in effort to support the behavioral health field from the critical feedback. They will also have the means to build public awareness of how important behavioral health is to the community. SAMHSA will have the opportunity to see an improvement through evaluating their programs and providing activities that will support their target goal in transforming the behavioral health care system. Thy will be working toward developing an expert practice that will provide prevention treatment for those with addictions and mental treatments. These initiatives will also assist SAMHSA to support different states, territories, and tribes to construct and develop their system capacity with encouraging improvements, efficient approaches and operating on evidence-based programs and services which will show a positive result after care.

This article presents a policy analysis of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007. It focuses mainly on the impact of the new legislation on the existing state parity laws. 54 million Americans are impacted by mental health issues each year costing the United States nearly $100 billion dollars annually (Marth, 2009). In relation to Mental Health coverage prior to the new legislations; individuals did not receive coverage similar to other physical and surgical medical treatments. As a result of inadequate treatment, this particular population can sometimes lead to unhealthy lifestyles and habits. The cost of Mental Health services and treatment can be extremely expensive including coy-payments, treatment visits, and other resources. However, this

“In Leading Change 2.0: Advancing the Behavioral Health of the Nation 2015-2018, SAMHSA has identified six Strategic Initiatives on which it will focus to guide the behavioral health system, reduce barriers to employment, education and life goals, social support changes, and promote individual, programs and system level approaches to improve health for substance abuse.” (SAMHSA, 2014). “SAMHSA is committed to addressing the nation’s health disparities by improving cultural and linguistic competence and access to prevention programs that serve diverse groups and communities. Many prevention approaches, such as selective prevention strategies, focus on helping individuals develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills they need to make good choices

Following this even further, the Montford unit offers services to admitted patients regardless if they are offenders or general medical issues for individuals. The services that are provided is “550 psychiatric beds, a 48 bed general medical and surgical unit, gardens for the Lubbock food bank, housing stables, and roads located on 120 acres of land” (Hills, Siegfried, and Ickowitz, 2004, p. 86). All of these services help offenders because everything is done in house regardless of the issue. They have food, roof of over their head; they can provide assistance to others by helping box up food items for the homeless or low-income families. They could also do nontraditional activities such as “art therapy, music therapy, occupational therapy, and recreational therapy” (Hills, Siegfried, and Ickowitz, 2004, p. 86). The activities will keep their mind active and thinking constantly. It could even lead to a hobby that can turn into a business.