Recovery Update

Recovery Update features the most recent articles from throughout the field of psychiatric rehabilitation. Stay up to date on all the latest mental health news through this weekly newsletter.
 

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Recovery Update features the most recent articles from throughout the field of psychiatric rehabilitation. Stay up to date on all the latest mental health news through this weekly newsletter.

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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has taken the first step toward adopting a rule that would require telecommunications companies to route calls to the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline based on the caller's physical location rather than their phone number's area code. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said she has submitted a notice of proposed rulemaking to the full commission and expects the rule to pass a vote in the next several weeks, given bipartisan support for the change.
The city of Boston unveiled a report recently detailing increasing mental health issues among city residents — particularly youth — as well as a $21 million initiative to improve services over the next five years. "Our youth are in crisis," said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission.
California voters have agreed to rewrite the state's decades-old mental health law and borrow $6.4 billion for new facilities to house and treat the most severe cases — a top priority for Gov. Gavin Newsom. Proposition 1 squeaked by with 50.2% of the vote two weeks after the March 5 election, following a one-sided campaign in which Newsom's campaign committee benefited from a multimillion dollar warchest and little opposition.
In October 2023, state lawmakers from Knoxville asked the state to look into whether East Tennessee needed a new state, inpatient psychiatric hospital. Months later, a report was released from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services saying the region needed more beds serving psychiatric patients.
A decades-old policy incentivizes Colorado health providers to prematurely discharge patients with serious mental illness from psychiatric hospitals, crisis stabilization units, residential treatment centers and nursing homes, state leaders said.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first shut down the Smithville Public Library, it was as if a vital community artery had been severed. "We did see a lot of anxiety when people felt cut off from reading materials," recalled Judith Bergeron, the library's director.
A shocking number of American kids are sad, suicidal and stuck on small screens sucking away their zest for life.
On film, mental health facilities designed for children are too often pale and plastic. Think of the linoleum-floored corridors of Girl, Interrupted, the institutional green trim of It's Kind of a Funny Story. Behavioral clinics for youth are aggressive in their lack (of color, of amenity, of detail), underlining patients' separation from the outside world by aesthetically aligning mental health treatment with medical intervention.
There is strong evidence to suggest that teenagers in the United States are collectively in the midst of a mental health crisis, as rates of both depression and suicide have climbed in recent years. Could the popularity of social media among young people be to blame?
Findings from a study led by researchers at the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care have identified four key themes relating to the implementation and ethical use of body-worn cameras in mental health care settings. Although the majority of people with mental health conditions are not aggressive, some patients may resort to this kind of behavior during periods of distress or when they lack the capacity to control their actions.
University of Queensland research has found building a sense of community is key to improving people's mental health, particularly in low socio-economic suburbs. Professor Alex Haslam from UQ's School of Psychology is part of a research team that modeled the effect of social and psychological factors, and identified a strong but complex link between where people live and their mental health.
Children's hospitalization is difficult for the family and the immediate environment. In these cases, the provision of psychological support is particularly important. Chronically ill children who are regularly hospitalized are in a particularly difficult situation, often feeling vulnerable.
A study from the University of Gothenburg shows that knitting is beneficial for people living with mental health issues. Knitting is described as a way of bringing a sense of calm and giving life structure. Interest in knitting has soared in recent years, and the trend shows no signs of tailing off. In Sweden, Hand-knitted garments were dubbed Christmas present of the year as recently as 2022.