May 2010 - Sober News

Beds/mattresses Blockhouse Furniture Blockhouse Furniture, an American manufacturer, is pleased to showcase their VISTA Captain's Bed. Designed with the collaboration of behavioral health experts, the bed has no moving parts and may be mounted securely to the floor, which helps to avoid unwanted access or movement. Natural oak wood gives the homelike feel many clients appreciate while providing the strength and durability the staff demands. For...

In 2002, Congress directed HUD to work with local communities to establish a system for collecting and reporting homeless data that would better illustrate the scope of homelessness and help to evaluate the effectiveness of HUD McKinney Act programs. Based on this requirement, HUD created a specification for Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) and, as of 2004, required all continuum of care (CoC) communities that received McKinney Act funding...

When Hope Network decided to expand its residential treatment program for autistic youth to include outpatient services for children and adults, its goal was to create a “one-stop shop” for the autistic community of Grand Rapids, Mich. “There has been a groundswell in interest over the last eight years from families for this need to be addressed in our community,” says Pat Howe, LMSW, LMFT, BCD, vice president of Hope Network...

Substance use disorders (SUD) are treated with a variety of pharmacological agents. For example, it is standard practice to see medications including clonidine, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines prescribed for acute withdrawal syndromes from alcohol, sedative-hypnotic medications, opioids, and nicotine. For later, maintenance phases of SUD treatment, there are at present a limited number of labeled medications. For maintenance-phase, alcohol-abuse...

Drug testing is almost always used as a primary means of assessing a client upon admission to an addiction treatment program. Following admission, progressive drug testing protocols are needed to ensure that an appropriate level of information, feedback, and reinforcement is available to clients at their current level of recovery, as well as to the clinician striving to provide effective treatment. As the client's recovery status changes upon...

The fight for equality-what many have called the civil rights fight for our field-is now coming to fruition. Parity in insurance coverage for mental and addictive disorders has become law. In 2009, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was reauthorized with mental health parity. This year federal parity regulations were issued that are both pro-provider and pro-consumer. After years of debate and discussion, healthcare reform is...

In the behavioral health field, it is commonly believed that the introduction of new, evidence-based treatment approaches into agency practice meets many challenges including excessive startup costs, staff turnover, difficulties in “fitting” the new treatment approach to the agency's target populations, and insufficient training of staff. Jewish Family & Children's Service (JF&CS) of St. Louis has a success story to share...