Behavioral Health News & Events
Volume 2, Issue 1 | January 2014
“Our findings show that the SENSE
Theatre program contributes to
improvement in core social deficits
when engaging with peers both on
and off the stage,” Corbett said. “This
research also shows it’s never too
late to make a significant difference
in the lives of children and youth
with autism spectrum disorder, as [this program] targets children who
are much older than kids who are participating in early intervention,
yet we are still seeing significant gains in the core deficits of autism,
and in a rather brief intervention.”
This research was supported by the Martin McCoy-Jesperson
Discovery Grant in Positive Psychology and a grant from the National
Institute of Mental Health (Grant No. R01 MH085717).
Corbett will continue using theatre techniques to study areas of social
functioning among children with autism through a newly awarded
grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (Grant No. R34
MH097793). This forthcoming study will explore treatment length and
peer familiarity as factors in optimizing and generalizing gains and will
enroll more than 30 youth with autism ages 8 to 16 in a 10-week
program model beginning January 2014.
To enroll in future studies, contact [email protected].
National Happenings
Congressman Tim Murphy Introduces Mental Health Reform Bill
Today, Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA) introduced a bill to
reform the nation's mental health delivery system. The legislation
is the culmination of a year-long series of hearings Murphy held as
chair of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and
Investigations Committee in the wake of the tragic 2012 Newtown
shooting.
The National Council applauded the bill's inclusion of a
demonstration program based on the bipartisan Excellence in
Mental Health Act, writing in a letter to Murphy that the
Excellence Act will "make an enormous contribution to expanding
access to evidence-based community healthcare for children and
adults with serious and persistent mental illnesses. This important
measure will begin to reduce high hospital emergency room
utilization among persons living with behavioral health conditions
while easing the burden on hard-pressed law enforcement
agencies in urban and rural areas. Perhaps most importantly, the
Excellence Act demonstration will assist the Veterans
Administration (VA) with serving the young men and women
returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with service connected
mental disorders including clinical depression and PTSD."
Our letter also thanked Murphy for his inclusion of the Behavioral
Health IT Act, another National Council legislative priority. By
allowing mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities to
receive incentive payments for their use of electronic health
records, the Behavioral Health IT Act will help improve care quality
and the integration of behavioral and primary care services.
The bill, which spans nearly 140 pages, touches on many parts of
the mental health system. Some of its provisions have been long
supported by the National Council, such as:
Authority for healthcare providers to bill Medicaid for mental
health and primary care services provided to the same patient
on the same day;
Reauthorization of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, which
funds suicide prevention activities within SAMHSA;
Reauthorization of the Mentally Ill Offenders Treatment and
Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA), which funds programs to
support justice-involved individuals with mental health
conditions;
A provision strengthening the "six protected classes" language
in Medicare Part D and extending mental health
prescription drug protections to Medicaid.
Other portions of the bill have already generated controversy in
the mental health field, including proposed changes to SAMHSA
funding and program authorizations, changes to the Community
Mental Health Block Grant, new requirements for states to
provide assisted outpatient treatment (also known as involuntary
outpatient commitment), and changes to the federal HIPAA
privacy law.
The introduction of the bill is the first step in a long process of
discussion, debate, and potential future hearings or votes. The
National Council has expressed our desire to work with
Congressman Murphy throughout the legislative process to ensure
that the bill fully meets the needs of mental health consumers,
family members, and providers.
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