Describes Building Ties Project, a program that provides comprehensive assistance to local interagency planning committees addressing mental health service needs of older adults, including training program development materials and consultation. Notes that in two years, project activities in 23 counties increased services, improved interagency…

Investigated the efficacy of bibliotherapy with mildly to moderately depressed older adults (N=29). Observed significant treatment effects with cognitive bibliotherapy superior to the attention control on all measures. Suggests self-help programs may be a viable alternative or adjunct to meeting the mental health needs of the older adult.…

Conducted follow-up investigation on counselor's role in community mental health, surveying 150 multiservice mental health agencies to evaluate counselor job performance. Found master's level counselors delivered direct care services competently. Results suggest that counselor education programs should consider strengthening student knowledge of…

Describes off-site multi-faceted (community contact, group and individual treatment, and creative art) day treatment program for over 300 mentally impaired nursing home residents from 22 separate skilled or intermediate nursing facilities. Provides case illustrations. (Author/ABL)

Describes a unique funding and working relationship between an agency on aging and community mental health center, which focuses on community-based care, utilizing a multidisciplinary in-home case-management approach to serve elderly persons at risk. Nontraditional referral sources known as "gatekeepers" are organized to identify such…

Agencies providing mental health and counseling services to Black males must: use a seeking mode of service delivery; have staff diversity; destigmatize the counseling process; make use of Black psychology; develop relationships with community, agencies, and organizations; distinguish between presence and programing; and develop innovative ways of…

Recently, a number of investigators have reported negative views or attitudes by professionals from various mental health fields toward aged clients. However, the graduate students who participated in this study were not significantly affected by their client's age. Perhaps professionals develop biases toward various client groups on the job. (RM)

Examined the effectiveness of a new orientation program designed to prepare low-income White and ethnic minority outpatients (N=173) for psychotherapy. Results indicated that patients who were oriented were more knowledgeable about psychotherapy and more positive in their attitudes toward psychotherapy than were patients who had not been oriented.…

Describes the Connecticut Unit of Service System, a unified system for quantifying services and service delivery that is administratively useful in monitoring and allocating resources. Includes a Relative Value Scale which incorporates staff time and related work to allow a comparison of inpatient and outpatient service. (JAC)

In recent years, the mental health community has made great strides in understanding more about the delivery of mental health services, improving efficiency and quality in services, and also about how to build strengths and resilience in the face of lifes stresses. This volume adds to the knowledge base so that the important task of system change…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has been holding a series of stakeholder meetings focused on better understanding and planning for schools to be transformative environments for mental health, positive youth development, and academic achievement. This issue of the quarterly newsletter of the Center for Mental…

This manual provides a brief framework of organization that serves as a response tool for a wide spectrum of crisis circumstances encountered by schools. It is meant to be a generic guide for school teams and should be customized by each school that uses it. Even with emergency procedures in place, each crisis at a school needs to be evaluated as…

Research suggests that the severity of emotional, behavioral, and characterological concerns of college students has increased significantly since the late 1980's. There is also evidence of a student body that is becoming more diverse according to race and age. This paper presents data and summarizes findings in three areas: the increase of client…

As states confront budget shortfalls, investment in mental health services faces the chopping block. Almost every state has instituted cost containment strategies in its Medicaid programs and state policymakers have begun to cut services for people with mental health treatment needs. The first part of this report presents research on state cuts to…

The mental health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system have received more attention at the federal level in the past 2 years than in the past three decades combined. The importance of the mental health issue is also being recognized at the state level. A number of factors have contributed to this change. They include: growing recognition…