Sunday, August 07, 2005
Peer Support Manual 192-page booklet in PDF format from CMHA/British Columbia = "Sometimes the simplest concepts are the most profound. The CDP strives to build relationships and treat other people and their opinions with respect. It is our fundamental belief that people can and should be encouraged to speak on their behalf. Our role is to ensure that people have opportunities and support to develop the skills to do so. The CDP has evolved to become a leader and champion in a recovery vision of service with the idea that one of the essential roles of the mental health system is to support individuals to connect with appropriate services within the mental health system as well as build supports in other areas of their lives through personal, social, environmental and spiritual connections. We strive to bring alive the concepts of the Framework for Support, CMHA’s guiding principles. A recovery vision of service is grounded in the idea that people can recover from mental illness when they play an active and empowered role in their journey. ..."
What Can Communities Do? A Community Action Guide to Early Psychosis Intervention Strategies Booklet in PDF format from CMHA/Ontario - "A guide emphasizing the key role that community members can play in the early identification, treatment and recovery of young people with psychosis." The guide notes that "CMHA’s project activities have reflected this community focus by promoting 'ownership' of the issue and the capacity for action by a range of community-based constituencies. The project has: promoted awareness and provided information to key national stakeholder organizations by preparing articles for publications in journals and newsletters; produced and widely disseminated a range of educational resource materials; developed a strategic planning framework to assist policy makers to move forward effectively; facilitated first-episode family action and mutual support; and raised awareness and improved access to services through working directly with various groups and organizations across Canada."
New hope for schizophrenia sufferers Research Australia press release at
EurekAlert - "Key research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) could lead to the first early diagnostic tool for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. 'At the moment we don't have any biological tests for these conditions,' said one of the authors, UNSW Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Philip Ward, who is based at Liverpool Hospital's Schizophrenia Research Unit. 'Our research could eventually lead to a simple, cost-effective and safe way to distinguish patients with schizophrenia from those suffering bipolar disorder. This is important because a patient can get treatment sooner and hopefully have a better outcome.' "
Creating and supporting family therapists of color Brief Blackwell Publishing press release at
EurekAlert - "An article published in the latest issue of
Family Process describes the creation and structure of a training program designed to increase the number of family therapists of color. The authors address the first twelve years, in which the Diversity and Social Work Training Program of the Ackerman Institute for the Family trained fifty-seven graduate students of color. Of those, twenty-seven elected to remain in their program for post graduate training-- a high fifty percent retention rate as compared to other recruitment and retention efforts for professionals of color. Using a bottom-up approach, they recruited students of color while still in graduate school and provided them with mentors, financial aid, and emotional support..."
Wall Street Journal Examines Eli Lilly's Tactics To Persuade Physicians To Prescribe Antidepressant Cymbalta Item in the
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Review - "
The Wall Street Journal on Friday examined how pharmaceutical companies' contracts with insurers and medical organizations to sell their drugs sometimes restrict 'unflattering statements about the costs and risks of drugs when they communicate with health practitioners.' For example, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly offers health facilities a 5% discount for the antidepressant Cymbalta, but the contract states that most of the discount could be revoked if the facility engages in certain actions, including 'negative [drug utilization review] correspondence to physicians.' A drug utilization review is a type of analysis of prescription patterns often used by insurers to identify risky or inappropriate practices and to reduce expenses. Pharmaceutical industry officials have said that insurers or other groups could use DURs to encourage doctors to use lower-cost drugs that might not be as effective. The Cymbalta contract also restricts 'negative educational counterdetailing,' a practice often used by insurers to counterbalance a drug maker's sales pitch to doctors that can focus on recommending generic drugs."
