Recovery Update

School-based mental health programs can reach large numbers of children, with increasing evidence of effectiveness in improving mental health and related outcomes, according to a research review in the September/October issue of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. "This review provides evidence that large-scale, school-based programs can be implemented in a variety of diverse cultures and educational models as well as preliminary evidence that such programs have significant, measurable positive effects on students' emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes," write J. Michael Murphy, EdD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues.

Limited scientific evidence exists to support the safety and efficacy of cannabis and cannabinoid products for patients with either chronic pain or PTSD, according to data from two reviews published in Annals of Internal Medicine. "Physicians will increasingly need to engage in evidence-based discussions with their patients about the potential benefits and harms of cannabis use," Shannon M. Nugent, Ph.D., from VA Portland Health Care System and Oregon Health & Science University, and colleagues wrote.

Dan Blackman's father was a well-known man in the community of his small Pennsylvania town. He was a lawyer, ran a good business and everyone liked him and liked drinking with him. His dad died a few years ago from a combination of liver and lung cancer. His dad was what they call a functioning alcoholic. "It wasn't until I started talking to my family a bit more that I realized my dad never got the help he needed," Blackman told me.

The federal government has named the public members who will serve on a new panel charged with coordinating the response to serious mental illness in the United States. The Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC) was established by the 21st Century Cures Act. Senior leaders from ten federal agencies, including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Labor, Veteran Affairs, Defense, Housing and Urban Development, Education, and Labor, as well as the Social Security Administration, will sit on the panel.

Since the horrific shooting of children and faculty at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, Connecticut has made significant investments in school mental health services and specifically in identifying and treating victims of trauma. But with no state budget and school beginning in less than a month, many Connecticut districts may have to cut back on recently expanded mental health services or make room for them in their own budgets.