Articles, Leading Stories
Maine passes assisted outpatient treatment law
By Phyllis Hanlon
In April, Maine enhanced its existing Progressive Treatment Plan, which authorized two public hospitals – Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center in Bangor and Riverview...
Safety standards passed in school use of restraints, seclusion
By Pamela Berard
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation aimed at preventing and reducing the use of physical restraint and seclusion techniques in schools. “The Keeping All...
Rhode Island program helps siblings of special needs kids
By Jennifer E Chase
At the beginning of her career, Debra Lobato, Ph.D., was an intern in a program that provided in-home services for very young children diagnosed with special needs. While...
Fourth recovery high school planned for Massachusetts
By Jennifer E Chase
Hearing the concerns of his community, Brockton, Mass. superintendent Matthew Malone, Ph.D., is supporting a regional initiative to bring a high school for students with...
Q&A: Self destructive behavior analyzed
By Catherine Robertson Souter
Scars, burn marks, and teens who wear long-sleeved shirts in 90 degree weather – what do they have in common? Hint, it’s a behavior that is reported by one support...
Sex addiction: bona fide condition or excuse for bad behavior?
By Ami Albernaz
It’s often helpful to have a celebrity spokesperson for a disorder: Doug Flutie for autism; Patty Duke for bipolar disorder. Yet when it comes to sex addiction, the star...
The changing role of the hospital-based psychologist
By Phyllis Hanlon
While incidence of mental health-related hospitalizations hasn’t diminished, the model of inpatient care is shifting. Shrinking budgets, bed elimination and community-based...
Children’s groups part ways in philosophical rift
By Nan Shnitzler
The Harvard-affiliated Judge Baker Children’s Center and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood have parted ways in a Rashomon-like saga that has left members of both...
Program gives chance at healthy life
By Jennifer E Chase
Acadia Hospital in Maine is improving the odds for people who may develop psychosis through a program wholly dedicated to early detection.
The Aware program’s mission...
VSH denied recertification – again
By Phyllis Hanlon
Since 2003, Vermont State Hospital (VSH) has lost, regained and once again lost its certification. In March, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) denied VSH’s...