An article was published by US News and World Report yesterday, and it has mixed news about the Affordable Care Act and mental health treatment: the number of people with mental health conditions who are uninsured decreased in 2015, but the number of people who received mental health services using insurance plans obtained on the… Continue Reading Obamacare and Mental Health: Good News and Bad News

The recent tragedy involving the murders of a news reporter and camera operator on the air in Roanoke, Virginia is a reminder that workplace grievances and grudges can erupt into violence very easily, and that terminating a person’s employment can be the trigger that causes a marginally disturbed person to become violent. Taking away a… Continue Reading Predicting and Preventing Workplace Violence: An EAP’s Worst Nightmare

} On May 14, the American Psychological Asociation is encouraging members to blog on subjects related to mental health and mental illness. This is an opportune time for me to reflect on what has been accomplished in the nearly forty years I’ve been working in this field, and what still needs to be done.

In the latest example of what are becoming all-too-frequent acts of unspeakable horror, homemade bombs killed three people and seriously wounded dozens more at the beloved Boston Marathon this week. The act itself seems to fit the definition of terrorism perfectly: an indiscriminate strike at ordinary, innocent people in a moment of national celebration, forever… Continue Reading A Tough Uncle: On “Being Losers”

In the aftermath of the horrific shootings in Sandy Hook Elementary School, we see (as we do after each of these increasingly common incidents) many pieces in news media and from mental health experts (including the American Psychological Association) on how to talk to children about such tragedies. Unfortunately, we adults also need help in… Continue Reading Unspeakable Horror

I attended a conference today on synthetic cannabinoid drugs, such as “Spice,” K-2, and “bath salts.” These are drugs made by altering the chemical properties of an existing drugs, primarily THC (cannabis, or marijuana). Although their popularity seems to have followed from the popularity of “club drugs” such as ecstasy, they are not chemically based… Continue Reading Synthetic Cannabinoids – A Scary Brew

Today’s keynote speaker at the Adler School of Professional Psychology’s conference on urban mental health was Professor Sir Michael Marmot, a researcher at University College London who specializes in studying health inequities around the world. He made a number of excellent points. One of his points was that disparities in income and wealth have been… Continue Reading Professor Sir Michael Marmot at Local Conference on Urban Mental Health

Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, and Rep. Mike Quigley held a public hearing this evening in Chicago, on the current state of the Domenici-Wellstone Mental Health Parity and Substance Abuse Equity Act, which President Obama signed into law over two years ago.

I don’t ordinarily like to bring my political views into this blog, but there are some examples (like the Florida law that makes it illegal for a doctor to ask if there are guns in a house with young children) that seem to cross from politics into ethical dilemmas. This blog post on Mother Jones’… Continue Reading Suicide shouldn’t be politicized, but…

I spent the day today at the Northern Illinois Employee Assistance Professionals Association annual conference. There were some excellent presentations and the opportunity to network with a great many EAP and treatment professionals.