DBSA Peer Specialist Training Opportunities

DBSA is nationally-known for quality peer specialist training, the first step toward joining the rapidly-growing peer workforce in the changing healthcare delivery system. DBSA is proud to announce our upcoming line-up of peer training courses; please spread the word to your peers and community!

 

DBSA Peer Specialist Core Training

July 28–August 1, 2014
San Diego, CA
Download application (PDF) 
Apply Online!
Application deadline is July 3.

 

 

Coming Soon!

Visit the DBSA Veteran Peer Specialist page for application information and the latest details on upcoming trainings.

DBSA Veteran Peer Specialist Training(meets VA requirements for peer support staff)

September 15–20, 2014
Los Angeles, CA
December 2014
Chicago, IL

DBSA Core Peer Specialist Training

September 29–October 3, 2014
Chicago, IL
November 2014
Charleston, WV

 

 

Save the Dates!

October 13–14, 2014
iNAPS National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia

October 15, 2014
Post iNAPS Conference Events in Atlanta, Georgia
9 AM–12 PM
“We DO talk about that: Diagnosis, Treatments, and the Role of Peer Support”
Contact Training@DBSAlliance.org for more information.

October 15–19, 2014
Post iNAPS Conference Events in Atlanta, Georgia:
Next Steps Peer Specialist Continuing Education and Facilitator Training
Keep checking back at www.DBSAlliance.org/Training for updates!

NEWS FROM MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA

Mental Health America 2014 Annual Conference, September 10-12, Atlanta, Georgia—Parity and the Affordable Care Act: Bridging Gaps to Advance Mental Health. Don't miss this unique opportunity to discuss what we have learned in the process of implementing the Affordable Care and Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Acts, and to collaborate to identify next steps and opportunities for action. 

Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO of Mental Health America, was interviewed on CNN’s New Day on issues related to mental health legislation in Congress. He also spoke about how mental health issues affected his own family. You can watch the interview here.

Statement of Mental Health America on “Strengthening Mental Health in Our Communities Act of 2014.”

IN THE NEWS
Rates of Suicide Rose in Europe, North America during Recession: New research suggests that the economic recession could be linked with more than 10,000 suicides across North America and Europe. A study found that between 2008 and 2010, rates of suicide rose in the European Union, Canada and the United States. The increase was four times higher among men than women, according to the report published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. In conducting the study, researchers from the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine examined information on suicides from the World Health Organization. The data included 24 countries in the European Union as well as Canada and the United States. The investigators found a reversal in the decline in suicides in the European Union that coincided with the beginning of the economic crisis in 2007. By 2009, suicides had increased by 6.5 percent. Meanwhile, suicides in Canada rose by 4.5 percent between 2007 and 2010. In the United States there was a 4.8 percent increase during this time period, the study found. According to the study authors, these figures are "conservative" estimates. They said that the actual number of suicides since the recession hit are likely much greater than expected. (HealthDay News, 6/12/14)

Colorado Bans Putting People with Mental Illness in Solitary Confinement: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed legislation ensuring that inmates with serious mental illness will no longer be kept in solitary confinement. The law, which makes an exception for “exigent circumstances,” is part of a trend of state and federal authorities rethinking the use of solitary confinement, as they weigh prison safety against the potential psychiatric impact of extreme isolation. Maine and New Mexico have taken steps to reduce their use of solitary confinement, and Nevada and Texas are studying the issue. The federal Bureau of Prisons has enlisted consultants to study its use of segregated detention. The report is expected by the end of the year. (The Wall Street Journal, 6/6/14)

More U.S. Service Members Receiving Treatment for Mental Health Conditions: About 3.5 percent of U.S. military personnel were in treatment for mental health conditions in 2012—up from just 1 percent in 2000, a new military study finds. Experts say the rise likely due to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the military's efforts to get more soldiers into treatment. Past studies have suggested that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression and other mental health conditions are much more common in the military than the treatment rates would imply. One found that psychiatric diagnoses among active-duty troops rose from just over 5 percent in 2003, to 9 percent in 2011. The findings, reported in a recent issue of the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, are based on medical records from active-duty U.S. service members for the years 2000 to 2012. The study found that at any given point in 2012, about one in 29 troops were in treatment for a mental health disorder—which was 2.5 times the rate in 2000. (HealthDay News, 6/13/14)

Union Seeks Federal Investigation of Kaiser Mental Health Services: The National Union of Healthcare Workers has asked the Department of Justice for a criminal investigation into what it says are care delays and falsification of records by Kaiser Permanente affecting thousands of mental health patients. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the union accuses the health system (with which it had been negotiating) of wrongdoings that "mirror" the recently-uncovered practices at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clinics—like concealing long wait times and awarding bonuses that incentivized managers to keep staffing low. Kaiser Permanente released a statement dismissing the letter as a union ploy aimed at discrediting the HMO in the midst of “protracted” labor negotiations. Kaiser said the union was trying to capitalize on the national scandal surrounding the VA. The union alleges that chronic under-staffing at Kaiser mental health programs has resulted in long wait times for people seeking individual therapy, and that it manipulated its records to conceal these wait periods from state inspectors. (Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 6/12/14)

Expanded Coverage for Young Adults under ACA Increased Inpatient Hospital Visits for Mental Health: Expanded coverage for young adults under the Affordable Care Act substantially raised inpatient hospital visits related to mental health, a new study finds. Researchers caution that the finding might not be good news. Greater hospital use by the newly insured might be caused by inadequate outpatient resources to treat mental health patients earlier and less expensively. The study, based on a big national sample from community hospitals, found the law also increased young people's hospital use. Total inpatient visits for those aged 19 to 25 increased 3.5 percent compared with people aged 27 to 29, who couldn't be on their parents' plans. Mental health admissions increased much more—by 9 percent. A large portion of psychiatric admissions came through emergency departments. The study did not look at the volume of outpatient mental health care. But even if they had, they wouldn't have produced a final answer on the effectiveness of expanded coverage. (MedPage Today, 6/11/14)

IN DEPTH
The New York Times reports on “New Findings on Timing and Range of Maternal Mental Illness.”
Pacific Standard looks at laws that allow a state to terminate a parent’s connection to a child if authorities conclude a mother or father has a mental illness.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper takes part in an experiment to help understand how people live with a mental illness.
AP reports on continued long waits for VA mental health care.
California Health Report looks at “Despite Need, Indigenous Farmworkers Have Little Access to Mental Health Services in California.”

LATEST RESEARCH
PTSD, Depressive Episode Increases Risk for Preterm Birth: Women with both Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and major depressive episode were four times more likely to have a preterm birth, according to a new study. Among 2654 women in the study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers found little increased risk of premature birth (before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy) in women suffering from depression alone. Initially PTSD appeared to be a potent risk factor, but they found risk was only elevated for those individuals who had both PTSD and depression.  All analyses controlled for use of harmful substances and for antidepressants. Previous studies had found an increased risk of late term premature birth—after 34 weeks but prior to 37 weeks gestation—in women taking antidepressants. (MedPage Today, 6/12/14)

New Code Expected to Boost Peer Support Profession

A major step was recently taken to incorporate peer specialists as integral parts of the healthcare industry.

The National Uniform Coding Committee (NUCC) approved coding of peer specialist services on March 18. This coding, specific to peer specialists, will enable state and federal agencies to bill peer support services more effectively and facilitate better tracking of such services. The NUCC is made up of major health care providers and insurance industry members including the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services, and other public health organizations.

The coding is especially important for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the largest single employer of peer specialists, as it will allow that department to more efficiently bill and track peer specialists’ work. There are other benefits, according to Dan O’Brien-Mazza, Director of Peer Support Services for the department.

“This classification puts peer specialists on par with other mental health professionals,” he says. “It is a measure of respect and recognition of the important and valuable services peer specialists provide. It better allows peer specialists to work alongside other mental health professionals. No one can say peer specialist is not a legitimate health care profession.”

Approval of the classification is an indicator of a maturing profession delivering on outcomes of strength-based recovery and whole health, according to Larry Fricks, Director of the Appalachian Consulting Group.

“When a new workforce emerges (peer specialists) it moves forward in increments. We are on a critical path,” Fricks says. “With this classification and key milestones like the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services proclaiming peer support services as evidence-based in 2007 and providing states with billing guidelines, our role is increasingly valued. We may still have challenges, but this is another significant step in the right direction.”

O’Brien-Mazza says the classification is likely to have additional importance as the Department of Veterans Affairs strives to expand peer specialists into larger, whole health roles.

The NUCC defines the classification as follows: Peer Specialists—Individuals certified to perform peer support services through a training process defined by a government agency such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, or a state mental health department/certification/licensing authority.

The new code will be included in a July 1 release of changes to the code set and will be effective Oct. 1, 2014. Although many states have other codes to use to bill Medicaid, this new classification is likely to be adopted by states in order to simplify billing and keep more accurately account for peer support activities and services.

“Dan deserves much credit for this accomplishment,” says Steve Harrington, Executive Director of the International Association of Peer Supporters. “It was his leadership that resulted in this important step. This is yet another way the Department of Veterans Affairs has been leading the development of peer support in the U.S.”

Senate Panel Urges VA to Do More to Prevent Vet Suicides

With suicide rates among veterans increasing, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee members last week urged the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to do more to prevent veterans from taking their own lives. The VA reported that veterans accounted for roughly 20 percent of the 30,000 individuals who committed suicide in the United States last year. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairman of the panel, said that in at least 13 cases veterans completed suicide or died from drug overdoses while waiting to receive help from the VA. She noted that in April the VA's suicide hotline fielded more than 14,000 calls, or more than 450 a day, the most ever for a single month. (Miami Herald, 5/25/11)