|
|
| Stay Connected | ||||||
|
| Who Should Be H·E·R·E? |
|
If you know someone you'd like to invite to I AM H·E·R·E, let us know and we'll add them to our coalition mailing list.
Feel free to print and pass out Coalition Info Cards to anyone who may be interested. |
| Contact Us |
|
Diana Weaver Executive Director I AM H·E·R·E Coalition DWeaver@GrantHalliburton.org 972.744.9798 |
Message from the Executive Director
|
Recently, there has been a great deal of focus on children's emergency mental health needs, both at the local and national level. You'll note in an article in this issue that according to a new study, the capacity in emergency departments across the country is being stretched by children, teens and young adults using emergency rooms as a safety net for mental health emergencies.
We know that here in the Metroplex, the same thing is happening. We hear from parents who have taken a teen or young adult in crisis with suicidal ideation to an emergency room, only to be discharged with very little follow-up. Emergency departments are taxed, personnel are often not adequately trained to handle |
|
So what can we as a community do about this? That is one of the questions our coalition's Help Team is beginning to address. This team is looking at current protocols in area emergency rooms, the kind of training that emergency room staff receive regarding mental health crises, and how we can enhance that training and education to enable these professionals to better respond to mental health emergencies.
An important component of this will be follow-up and continuity of care. Currently, Children's Medical Center is attempting to follow-up with all children discharged from its psychiatric emergency department to determine if they have taken the referral steps recommended on discharge.
Hopefully, we can help implement measures that better ensure that parents know what to do when they leave the emergency department and that young people receive appropriate follow-up care.
| Read the Coalition Update for a recap of work from the last meeting. |
Collin College Active Minds Chapter Hosts NFL Legend Herschel Walker
 |
Nearly 250 Collin College students and faculty gathered in October to hear former Dallas Cowboy Herschel Walker talk about his battle with mental illness and tell his audience that "you are not alone."
Walker, who was hosted by Collin College’s Active Minds chapter, described being diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID), formerly called multiple personality disorder, and how he has learned to live with the disorder. He urged his audience to seek help for any type of mental health issue, from depression to more complex mental illnesses, for either themselves or a friend. |
Walker also talked about how he became a star football player and went on to win the Heisman Trophy to compensate for being "picked on" by other kids. He later began battling uncontrolled anger and rage and hearing voices. With the advice of his family and church, Walker sought professional help and today works actively with University Behavioral Health (UBH) in Denton to help others with mental illness.
Active Minds is the only student-led organization to utilize the student's voice in changing the conversation about mental health, according to chapter advisor Fran DeArman. The group works to raise awareness about mental health and bring resources to students.
"The college years are often a time of great stress and also a time when mental health issues surface. Removing stigma is a big job and if we can change the life of one person through one event, it can have an effect on the lives of many people," says DeArman.
The national organization was founded in 2001 by University of Pennsylvania student Alison Malmon following the suicide of her older brother, Brian, who had battled depression and was later diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. Malmon realized how little college students were talking about mental health and began working to change that culture on her college campus.
Today, Active Minds has 340 chapters on college campuses across the country. In North Texas, both the University of North Texas and Collin College have active chapters. The Collin College chapter has been recognized as a "5-star" chapter, one of the highest ratings a chapter can have. The Collin College chapter, which was formed about four years ago, has 65 members and holds a number of educational events throughout the academic year.
All events and speakers are free and open to the public.
Emergency Psychiatric Visits Rise Among Underinsured Children
The number of children visiting hospital emergency rooms for psychiatric care is going up, and more and more of these children are underinsured, according to data presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics national meeting in October.| Researchers from Children's Hospital of Boston found that underinsured children accounted for 54 percent of emergency room psychiatric visits in 2007—up from 45 percent in 1999. They said most of these are not accessing providers before they come to the emergency room, but instead are using the emergency room for psychiatric care. |
 |
The researchers analyzed data from an annual ambulatory care survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1999 and 2007 that examined 279 million visits made by children to U.S. emergency rooms.
They found that children's psychiatric emergencies increased from 2.4 percent to 3 percent of all pediatric emergency room visits over the eight-year period, and that visits among underinsured children rose at a disproportionate rate to those of other children.
Earlier studies have indicated that children's psychiatric emergency room visits tend to be labor- and resource-intensive, often averaging more than five hours in length and many requiring lab tests.
The latest study showed that rates of admission and transfer did not significantly increase between 1999 and 2007, a sign that children are coming in for not-so-serious issues that could be addressed elsewhere.
Lead researcher Zachary Pittsenbarger, M.D., said the new findings show that limited outpatient mental health resources force those patients to seek the care they need in the emergency department.
He points out that emergency physicians often struggle with providing the necessary referrals, and the ER itself can be over-stimulating to a child in crisis.
"For good care, a provider has to know all the needs of a patient," Pittsenbarger said, "and in the emergency room, we can only get a snapshot; it’s not the same depth or intricacy."
The most common mental health conditions that occur in children include depression, anxiety, behavior disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The American Psychiatric Association estimates that as many as one in ten children between the ages of six and twelve has depression.
Left untreated, psychiatric problems can lead to school failure, alcohol or drug abuse, violence or even suicide. However, it can be harder for the underinsured to find a regular provider for long-term follow-up, something that is not unique to just mental health, the study points out.
Teen Users of Ecstasy Need Enhanced Suicide Prevention and Intervention
 |
The authors of an article recently published in a suicide prevention journal suggest that teen users of the drug ecstasy need to be targeted with greater suicide prevention and intervention efforts. |
The researchers, writing in the journal, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, found that the suicide attempt rate of adolescents who used ecstasy was "considerably higher" than the suicide attempt rates of adolescents who did not use drugs and those who used illicit drugs other than ecstasy.
The team from Columbia University used a subsample of 19,301 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 who were interviewed for the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. They found that adolescents who used illicit drugs other than ecstasy "were about six times as likely to attempt suicide as non-drug users" while adolescents using ecstasy "were about 13 times as likely to attempt suicide."
Young people who used ecstasy or any other illicit drugs were nearly three times more likely to experience suicidal ideation as young people who never used the drugs. There was almost no difference in the risk of suicidal ideation between adolescents who used ecstasy and those who used illegal drugs other than ecstasy.
Ecstasy use among teens, which had been on the decline, has now seen an upswing during the past several years. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that from 2009 to 2010, lifetime use of ecstasy among 8th graders increased from 2.2 to 3.3 percent, and past-year use increased from 1.3 to 2.4 percent. The percentages of teens using ecstasy increased with age.
While the researchers did not examine why there is an increased risk of suicide attempts among ecstasy users, they offered several theories that might explain the association:
- the increased risk might be due to an increase in depression caused by a drop in serotonin levels, which often occurs a few days after using ecstasy;
- regular ecstasy use may increase the risk of depression and/or impulsivity;
- young people who use ecstasy may have a pre-existing depression or other behavioral health problems or a genetic predisposition to mental illness. The researchers also cautioned that the study’s methodology did not allow them to examine suicidal ideation and attempts before the adolescents used drugs.
Emergency Room Intervention Links Suicidal Adolescents to Follow-up Treatment
|
Immediate family-based therapy conducted on suicidal adolescents while they are in the emergency room has led to dramatic improvements in linking these youths to outpatient treatment following their discharge, according to a newly published study.
Researchers at UCLA studied 181 youths being treated in two Los Angeles area emergency rooms. The study involved a randomized controlled |
 |
| trial of adolescents between the ages of 10 and 18. In 53 percent of the youths, the trip to the emergency room was due to a suicide attempt. The remainder were seen because they had suicidal ideation. | |
In one group, an enhanced mental health intervention involving a family-based cognitive behavioral therapy session was conducted to increase the motivation for follow-up treatment and safety. This was supplemented by care linkage telephone contact after emergency department discharge.
The other group of youth received the usual emergency department care enhanced by patient education.
Assessments for both groups were conducted at baseline and again two months after emergency department discharge, and the rates of outpatient mental health treatment were compared. The researchers discovered that the enhanced mental health intervention was associated with higher rates of follow-up treatment.
Joan Asarnow, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at UCLA and the study's lead author, points out that youths being treated for suicidal behavior in emergency departments are at very high risk for future attempts.
"The results underscore the urgent need for improved community outpatient treatment for suicidal youths," she said.
Betsy Kennard, Psy.D, professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has had a close relationship with the UCLA researchers and says that while the intervention gets adolescents access to care, the community is still unprepared for the long-term treatment of suicidal teens.
"These patients often have multiple factors and issues that lead to their suicide attempt and we just don’t have enough outpatient programs that address these high-risk kids," she says.
She points out that the UCLA researchers are looking at the long-term outcomes for these teens to see if they are improved and agrees that nationwide, we need more programs are needed that deal with suicidal teens.
The family-based intervention was developed in response to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, which calls for an increase in follow-up care after discharge for patients coming into the emergency room because of suicidal behavior.
Upcoming Events
I AM H·E·R·E Coalition MeetingsTuesday, December 6
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Center for Community Cooperation, 2900 Live Oak St., Dallas, Texas 75204 (Google map)
Title I Statewide Parental Involvement Conference
December 8-10, 2011
Sheraton Dallas Hotel
The conference is targeted to educators, parents and community leaders to provide strategies for empowering all stakeholders to increase student achievement and meet the required mandates of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The focus of the conference is on the parental involvement area. For more information or to register, go to www.esc15.net.
Save the Date—Adolescent Symposium
Thursday, April 26
Garland Special Events Center
Keynote speaker: Brooks Gibbs, “Love is Greater than Hate: The Ultimate Strategy to End Bullying”
Mental Health America will present the 36th Annual Adolescent Symposium. Workshops will cover child and adolescent mental health, family and child communication, child and adolescent peer interaction, violence by and inflicted on adolescents, juvenile justice, substance abuse and multicultural issues. Speaker proposals are due by Friday, January 20, 2012. Exhibit and sponsorship opportunities are also available. Please contact Sylvia Joseph at sjoseph@mhadallas.org for more information.
|
|||
|
Anthem Strong Families Aspen Education Group Brighter Tomorrows Bully Suicide Project C.A.R.E., Park Cities YMCA Caron Texas Carrollton Police Department Casa Shelter—The Salvation Army CCD Counseling Child and Family Guidance Centers Children’s Medical Center Communities Foundation of Texas Communities in Schools CONTACT Crisis Line Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center Dallas County Juvenile Services Dallas ISD Dallas Police Department Depression Bipolar Support Alliance of Dallas Genesis Women's Shelter Girls Living Life On Purpose Grant Halliburton Foundation Green Oaks Behavioral Health Hospital Healthcare Committee of Collin County Hickory Trail Hospital Holmes Street Foundation |
Housing Crisis Center Injury Prevention Center Jewish Family Service Kim Humphries & Associates Laurel Ridge Treatment Center Lewisville ISD LifeNet Community Behavioral Healthcare Lifeworks Counseling McKinney ISD/Serenity High School Mental Health America of Greater Dallas Meridell Achievement Center Metrocare Services Nancy Shosid, M.D. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)— both Dallas and Texas chapters Northern Metro Counseling Association North Texas Behavioral Health Authority North Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians Our Friends Place Phoenix House / Feinberg Academy Plano ISD Practical Parent Education Providence of Texas Public Defender's Office, Mental Health Division Rainbow Days Region 10 Education Service Center |
Renfrew Center Salvation Army DFW Metroplex Command Sierra Tucson Suicide and Crisis Center Taylor Hooton Foundation Terrell State Hospital Texas Counseling Association Texas Department of State Health Services Texas Health Resources/ Presbyterian Plano Seay Behavioral Health Center Texas STAR / NORTHSTAR / Texas Health Steps The Family Place University Behavioral Health / Denton and Carrollton University of North Texas University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center U. S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights Value Options NORTHSTAR Via Hope Texas West Counseling YMCA CASA Shelter Youth Villages |
|
|
I AM H·E·R·E is an initiative of the Grant Halliburton Foundation. 800 E. Campbell Rd, Suite 290 · Richardson, Texas 75081 · 972.744.9798 · www.IAmHereCoalition.org |