In its landmark report, Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion, the Institute of Medicine noted that there are 90 million adults in the United States with limited health literacy who cannot fully benefit from what the health and health care systems have to offer. Since the release of that report, health literacy has become […]
Services delivery
First Responders Helping Others with Mental Health and Reminders to Care for Themselves
Creating Safe Scenes training course from SAMHSA is designed to help police, fire, and emergency medical services personnel respond to calls involving someone experiencing a mental health and/or substance use crisis. Creating Safe Scenes presents information about mental illnesses, substance use disorders, and trauma; offers guidance on de-escalating scenes with an individual in crisis; provides […]
Recovery Place Seattle at Beacon Hill: Detox Facility Designed to Help Homeless and Low-income Populations
King County is helping open a new detox facility that will offer integrated treatment for mental health and substance-use disorder – including opioid addiction – that prioritizes bed space for people who are homeless. The facility located in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood will offer 33 detox beds and 40 intensive inpatient treatment beds. It will […]
Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices
This technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent suicide. These strategies include: strengthening economic supports; strengthening access and delivery of suicide care; creating protective environments; promoting connectedness; teaching coping and problem-solving skills; identifying and supporting […]
Healing of the Canoe Program Supports Tribal Youth Wellness
Culturally Grounded Life Skills for Youth (Healing of the Canoe) is a curriculum for Native youth focused on suicide and substance abuse prevention. It was designed to be adapted by Native communities using community-specific traditions and beliefs to strengthen youths’ connection to their communities and cultures, and strengthen their hope and optimism. The curriculum uses […]
The Friendship Bench Project: How ‘Grandmothers’ Help Others Fight Depression and Anxiety
Mental Health America, an advocacy group, paints a bleak picture of psychological care in the United States. Almost 20 percent of Americans suffer from a mental illness, according to data from 2016, but more than half of these individuals never receive help. Barriers such as limited access to mental health care, the cost of treatment and a […]