Most Churches Do Not Address Congregants’ Mental Health Conditions

Protestant clergy rarely preach about mental health conditions to their congregations and only a quarter of congregations have a plan in place to help congregants deal with mental health challenges, according to a new LifeWay Research survey of a thousand Protestant pastors. Sixty-six percent of the respondents reported that they mention mental health once a year or never; 26 percent talk about it several times a year; 4 percent mention it once a month, and only 3 percent talk about it several times a month. Although 68 percent of pastors said that their church maintains a list of local mental health resources for congregants, only 28 percent of families are aware of such resources, the survey found. Ironically, nearly a quarter of pastors surveyed – 23 percent – said they had personally experienced a mental health challenge. For the LifeWay report, click here. For the article about the study, click here.

Website Offers Information about Free Webinars for Mental Health Professionals

 The “Social Work Career Development” blog “helps social workers (and other mental health professionals) with their professional development.” “This site provides a variety of social work career resources such as: roundups of webinars and best in mental health posts from around the web, self-care, interviews with mental health professionals on different modalities/practices, key learnings from trainings, as well as LMSW licensing exam strategies, interviewing tips and more.” Although not all of the webinars will be of interest to those in the mental health arena, October 2014 webinar topics include “Providing Financial Planning, Coaching and Education to People with Disabilities, Part I” (Oct. 1), “WHAM: Feedback from Graduates, Research, and Billable Funding of Peer Program” (Oct. 6), “Supporting Homeless LGBTQ Youth Through Better Access to Care,” (Oct. 8), “Self-Compassion and Psychological Well-Being” (Oct. 9), “Is Bipolar Disorder an Energy Disorder? Evidence and Novel Treatments” (Oct. 14), and “Making Connections and Networking for a Coordinated Community Response” (Oct. 29). For information on more than three dozen webinars in October, click here.

SAMHSA Report on Substance Use and Mental Health Conditions Is Released

According to a recently released report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 24.6 million Americans aged 12 or older had used illegal drugs (mostly commonly marijuana) in the previous month – this is 9.4 percent of this age group. In addition, the report notes that 34.6 million adults aged 18 or older (14.6 percent of this population) had received mental health treatment or counseling in the previous 12 months. “Nearly one in five American adults (18.5 percent), or 43.8 million adults, had a mental illness in 2013,” according to the report. “Ten million adults (4.2 percent of the adult population) had a serious mental illness in the past year. Serious mental illness is defined as mental illness that resulted in serious functional impairment, which substantially interfered with, or limited, one or more major life activities.” The report is available by clicking here.

SAMHSA Offers a “New, Evidence-Based Recovery Tool”

“SAMHSA’s new, evidence-based recovery tool – Taking Action: A Mental Health Recovery Self-Help Educational Program – can help health care officials, providers, and peers promote recovery and wellness for individuals with mental and/or substance use disorders. Taking Action includes 24 training sessions educating individuals about self-help concepts, mental health management, and other effective ways of promoting ongoing recovery. It also helps individuals identify and attain their life and vocational goals, improve self-esteem, and become full contributing members of the community.” To obtain a copy of Taking Action, click here. 

Upcoming Conferences

National Conference Focused on Fighting Stigma to Take Place Feb. 18-20, 2015

The 7^th International Together Against Stigma conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Feb. 18-20, 2015; there will be a pre-conference institute on Feb. 17. The theme of the conference is “Together Against Stigma: Each Mind Matters.” The conference is organized in partnership with the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions, the California Mental Health Services Authority, the World Psychiatric Association Scientific Section on Stigma and Mental Health, and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California. For more information, click here.

National Dialogues on Behavioral Health Conference in New Orleans, Nov. 2-5                                 

 A national conference titled “Opportunities in Behavioral Health Crisis Services: What Is the New Frontier?” will take place at the Renaissance Arts Hotel in New Orleans Nov. 2-5, 2014. On Nov. 2, there will be a pre-conference workshop entitled “Implementing Trauma-Informed Approaches across Service Systems.” The conference organizers write: “What happens when a person experiences a behavioral health crisis? Unfortunately, inappropriate involvement with law enforcement and hospitalization is often the result. The question is: What should happen?” The conference will focus on “issues and models related to services for persons experiencing a behavioral health crisis.” The conference is co-sponsored by the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors and the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. For more information and to register, click here.

 

Engage in Social Media at Alternatives 2014, Including a Pre-Conference Workshop on Twitter!

Be part of the conversation by sharing your Alternatives 2014 conference experience on Twitter and Facebook! You can Tweet quotes and highlights during sessions, and post photos and short videos! Post to Twitter with our hashtag #AltCon14. (All Tweets are the opinions of individuals and do not constitute endorsement or recommendation by SAMHSA.) And if you’re new to social media, you can learn to use Twitter by attending a pre-conference workshop on “Using Twitter to Learn, Share and Connect: Introductory Hands-On Orientation,” taught by Leah Harris and Tanya Naranjo! (Thanks, Leah and Tanya!) The session will take place in the Multicultural Room (Grand Sierra C) on Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Here is the workshop description: “Do you want to use Twitter but find it intimidating to get started? What are hashtags and how are they used? What is ‘live Tweeting’ and how does one do that? In this hands-on introductory session, you will discover how to use Twitter to learn, share, and connect. Please plan to bring your smartphone, tablet, or laptop with the Twitter application downloaded, and an account created. To sign up with Twitter, click here.”