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Tag: mental health services

  • Sacramento To Expand Mental Health Services With $126 Million In Funding

    Sacramento To Expand Mental Health Services With $126 Million In Funding

    $126.1 million of state funding went unspent for some time, despite being earmarked for mental health services.

    With $126.1 million to spend, Sacramento County officials approved a proposal this month to direct the funding toward expanding mental health services throughout the region.

    According to The Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors outlined its plan to use the money to expand existing programs that specialize in helping people in need of mental health support.

    Officials designated $5 million for crisis residential programs that provide a place to recover from acute mental health crises, $2.2 million for “mobile crisis support teams” responding to mental health calls, and $14 million for housing for the homeless.

    Overwhelmed First Responders

    Apparently the $126.1 million of state money went unspent for some time, despite being earmarked for mental health services and the fact that first responders and emergency rooms have been “overwhelmed” because of the lack of mental health services.

    “We did find past staff was a little too conservative about programming multiple years out (saying) you can save it for a rainy day,” said Patrick Kennedy, chair of the board. “But you look outside and it’s a monsoon.”

    In 2015, the county’s grand jury gave a “scathing” report criticizing behavioral health services in the region for providing less than adequate mental health care. According to Capital Public Radio, there were only about 400 psychiatric hospital beds in Sacramento in 2017.

    The Plan

    Officials are seeking to change that now.

    The plan will also provide $10 million in funding toward community groups that address trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). This is a part of the county’s plan to support “smaller, grass-roots organizations that are doing great work in the community that can really use this money,” said Leslie Napper, who sits on the steering committee for the Sacramento County Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), which advises where MHSA funding goes.

    The state will have $49 million of funding remaining by the end of 2021, the Bee reported.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • The Push To Provide Pregnant Women With Mental Health Services

    The Push To Provide Pregnant Women With Mental Health Services

    New recommendations for expanded mental health care access could impact up to 15% of new moms.

    A government task force is recommending that primary care providers provide counseling services, or referrals to counselors, to all pregnant and postpartum women who are at high risk of developing depression. The move could increase access to counseling for these women, since insurance providers will now be required to cover counseling for pregnant and postpartum women. 

    The recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force could affect up to 15% of new moms. People at high risk of developing depression before or after giving birth include young moms, low-income women, and women with a past history of depression. For these people, early screening and intervention via counseling can be very effective. 

    “I am very happy to see anything related to prevention, whether it’s mental health generally or perinatal depression specifically. If we can prevent problems from occurring, not only do we do a great service to humans, but [the health care system] saves a great deal of money,” Jeff Temple, a University of Texas psychologist in the department of obstetrics and gynecology, told Time. 

    However, Temple added that there are still barriers to access to mental health care, especially for at-risk women. These include an already understaffed and overburdened mental health system. 

    “If we need to see 15% of perinatal women, there’s absolutely no way that we have the ability to do that. We need to put more money and effort into training more psychologists and counselors,” he said. 

    Ideally, doctors who are taking care of women during pregnancy would integrate mental health services and counseling into their practices, said Temple. 

    “If these women are screened and they’re recommended to someone [for counseling] and it’s kind of a cold handoff, very few will follow up with it. But if one implication of this is that OB/GYN departments start to incorporate counselors and psychologists within their services, then we’ll see a huge benefit. If we did that, I am 100% positive we would see declines in perinatal depression.”

    Temple believes this will happen in the future, as the country grows more aware about the importance of mental health.

    “I think we’re starting to understand the importance of mental health as a society, and the importance of prevention,” he said. “The future is definitely going to be psychologists within primary care departments.”

    American Counseling Association president Simone Lambert said that focusing on mothers’ mental health could improve outcomes for women and babies. Being proactive is the best way to do that, Lambert said. 

    “The benefits of increased maternal and infant wellness and decreased stigma to seek mental health assistance would likely lead to less of a toll on our healthcare system than when mental health concerns are unaddressed.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Chance The Rapper Pledges $1 Million For Mental Health

    Chance The Rapper Pledges $1 Million For Mental Health

    “We want to change the way that mental health resources are being accessed,” Chance said at a summit for his nonprofit, SocialWorks.

    As one of the more prominent hip hop artists to speak out about mental health, Chance the Rapper is putting his money where his mouth is by pledging $1 million to mental health services in Chicago.

    According to Rolling Stone, this is part of a new mental health initiative that Chance has launched called My State of Mind, which could grow into a major resource for people in the Chicago area who need help.

    As part of this initiative, six mental health wellness providers in Chicago will receive grants for $100,000 each.

    Chance announced his pledge at a summit for his nonprofit SocialWorks, stating, “We want to change the way that mental health resources are being accessed. We need a new space where people can get information on how they feel, on where to go and a network for us to interact and review our mental health spaces, and create a community of people helping people.”

    Chance has seen a lot of devastation in the south side of Chicago, a large part of the city which has been ravaged by gun violence. 

    Brad Stolbach, a clinical director at a Chicago treatment center, told The Root, “Every time a person gets shot, especially a young person, there are literally hundreds of people who are affected by that shooting.”

    Stolbach adds that the victims left behind are “not thought about.”

    Research studies showed that areas that have the most gun violence also have the highest rates of hospitalization for depression, anxiety, and PTSD, among other mental health disorders.

    When Chicago cut $113.7 million in funds for mental health services, Chance spoke out against the Mayor Rahm Emanuel for closing down six mental health clinics in 2012.

    Last year, Chance the Rapper told Complex, “A really big conversation and idea that I’m getting introduced to right now is black mental health. Cause for a long time that wasn’t a thing that we talked about. I don’t remember, when I was growing up, that really being a thing. Now I’m starting to get a better understanding of that part of my life.”

    Even though Chance experienced traumatic events growing up, he added, “I don’t ever want to convince myself that I’m hindered by any of my experiences. There’s definitely a lot of things that have happened in my life that would cause me to think a certain way or feel a certain way. But I don’t label those experiences as traumatic events. They are events that were paradigm shifts in my life, but I don’t know if they caused a disadvantage.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com