This month (January 2009), Georgia’s Department of Audits and Accounts released a report on mental health care for children and adolescents in our state. You can read it by going to this website:
https://www.audits.state.ga.us/pao/rptlist.html
Scroll down to their “Health and Related Issues” section and select the report entitled “Limited Review of DHR’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health [...]
A Disturbing Report on Georgia’s Mental Health Programs for Children
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Our Annual Mental Health Benefit begins on Sunday (25 January) with a reception for artists, open to the public, at Cine in downtown Athens at 2:00.
Our design this year was done by Michael Lachowski of the Candy advertising agency. He used an idea I had for incorporating the image of the Greek god Janus. Michael’s work [...]
Mental Health Will Suffer Under Proposed Budget
This article appeared in Sunday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It is relevent here because of the description of the impact the proposed state budget will have on mental health.
BUDGET COULD LEAD TO HIGHER TAXES, CUTS IN SERVICE
Gov. Sonny Perdue has proposed a budget that would likely lead to higher property taxes, as well as a loss of [...]
Athens Hosts Legislative Priorities in Mental Health Presentation on Monday, 26 January 2009
The 2009 Session of the Georgia General Assembly is underway in Atlanta. Mental Health advocates are expressing great concern that a broken system is going to see funding slashes rather than improvements.
Mental Health America of Northeast Georgia is hosting an expert on the topic next Monday, January 26, at noon in the auditorium of the [...]
Good Music, Good Cause
Well. I’ve been working my little fingers to the bone on the Benefit for the past few days. Up until this week, the planning had all been long-range stuff. Now, with only a few days left till kick-off, the rubber meets the road.
Mike Mantione of Five-Eight notified me that they’ve arranged two opening acts for [...]
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SADness in the Winter)
I found this article on MSN’s Health page:
NEW TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER (from Harvard Health Publications)
The most common form of seasonal affective disorder arrives in the fall, tends to worsen in January and February, and then subsides in the spring. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) classifies seasonal [...]
Mental Health Parity: An Opposing Viewpoint
I discovered this article while doing research yesterday afternoon. Most of us in mental health celebrated the passage of the Mental Health Parity legislation. This article, from the website of National Center for Policy Analysis, takes a different view:
MENTAL HEALTH PARITY LAW TAKES WRONG APPROACH
It was easy to miss, but buried in the middle of [...]
Gimme Your Art!
At the end of this month, Mental Health America of Northeast Georgia will have its 19th Annual Mental Health Benefit. The culminating event–our only fundraiser–is the Art Auction on January 31.
Last year’s auction was good. We would like to see this year’s edge into the “great” category.
Right now we are busy promoting the event. We [...]
Warning Signs for Depression in Senior Citizens
In addressing a call from a local elder-care facility, I found the following article on the families.com website:
The signs of depression in senior citizens can be subtle — especially if the person does not want to acknowledge that they have a problem. For today’s older adults, an admission of a mental problem like depression often [...]
Coming Soon: In A Dream
We were fortunate to secure the film “In A Dream” for our Mental Health Benefit at the end of the month. It will be screened at 7 pm on Tuesday, January 27 and Thursday, January 29 at Cine in downtown Athens. Here’s a synopsis:
In the vibrant, bohemian neighborhood of South Philadelphia, 50,000-square feet of concrete [...]
