Mental Health & Transformation in the Media
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May 2008
'Mad Pride' Fights a Stigma
New York Times - May 11, 2008
In the YouTube video, Liz Spikol is smiling and animated, the light glinting off her large hoop earrings. Deadpan, she holds up a diaper. It is not, she explains, a hygienic item for a giantess, but rather a prop to illustrate how much control people lose when they undergo electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, as she did 12 years ago.
Should kids get these drugs? Plan likely to increase scrutiny of anti-psychotics in children
Tacoma News Tribune - May 11, 2008
Concerned about how anti-psychotic drugs are being used in children, state officials are working on a
plan due out by early fall to make sure the medications are properly prescribed for Washington kids on Medicaid.
Molecular profile overlaps in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Medwirenews - May 07, 2008
Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients appear to have a partially shared molecular profile that may point
to the discovery of a common pathophysiology and novel treatments, say US scientists.
H.O.P.E. for children with mental illness
St Joe News - May 07, 2008
Diane Redden didn’t know what to do with her granddaughter a couple of years ago.
The 5-year-old girl ripped holes in her furniture with a knife. In another
emotional episode, it took seven people, including a police officer, to get
her on an ambulance stretcher.
Recognizing the priority of child and youth mental health
Chronicle Herald - May 07, 2008
The adolescent years are a critical period of adjustment for both youth and
families. Young people go through many physical, mental and emotional changes
during adolescence. According to the World Health Organization, mental
disorders account for almost one-third of diseases among adolescents worldwide.
Talking bipolar awareness
Cincinatti Enquirer - May 05, 2008
When Paul Jones lectures at high schools and colleges across the country, he starts by asking the
audience, "Who's got high blood pressure?" The hands shoot up. "Who's got diabetes?" Another crop of hands
pops up. "Who's got mental illness?" he asks next.
Sudden Death Of A Parent May Pose Mental Health Risks For Children, Surviving Caregivers
Science Daily - May 05, 2008
Children who had a parent who died suddenly have three times the risk of depression than those
with two living parents, along with an increased risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
according to a new article.
In teen's memory, a mental health push
Boston Globe - May 05, 2008
The teenager spoke so eloquently about the wild cycles of bipolar disorder that she drew tears from a
State House audience last May. Testifying about flaws she had seen in the mental health system, she
wanted to show that one girl could make a difference. She signed her notes, "Stay strong."
Mental health help hit by budget crunch
Mercury News - May 05, 2008
Hundreds of psychiatric patients will no longer receive personal therapy or casework. Sixteen
low-income schools will lose on-site crisis-intervention services. Group homes for teens may see a
vital county subsidy disappear.
Study links child's autism, parents' mental illness
Reuters - May 05, 2008
In another sign pointing to an inherited component to autism, a study released on Monday found that
having a schizophrenic parent or a mother with psychiatric problems roughly doubled a child's risk of
being autistic.
Western State Hospital passes big inspection for accreditation
Tacoma News Tribune - May 05, 2008
After running into trouble three years ago in a review, Western State Hospital has passed a major
inspection by the organization that polices the nation’s hospitals for quality and safety.
Reports show systemic abuse at Texas' psychiatric hospitals8
Dallas News - May 04, 2008
Patients with severe mental illness are committed to Texas' state psychiatric hospitals to be protected
from themselves. Instead, some are suffering vicious abuse from the very caregivers hired to look after
them.
Video shows importance of work
Daily Olympian - May 04, 2008
Lenora Warden practiced taking the bus to a new job at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. She ran into
her new boss, who reminded her she didn't start for a week. "I said, 'I know, but I wanted to find my way.' And
he says, 'Well, You have found your way.' And that's all it took," Warden said. "When he said it, it was
like a light went on."
Mental Health Policy Costs State Medicaid Funds
Courant.com - May 03, 2008
At a time when officials are scrambling to find money to balance the state budget, Connecticut is
losing out on millions of dollars in federal Medicaid revenue because of its continued over-reliance
on nursing homes to house the mentally ill.
Get mental illness out of the shadows of shame
Detoit Free Press - May 02, 2008
"He died after a long battle with a chronic illness." That's what someone suggested should be in the obituary for
my 46-year-old son who committed suicide in a New Mexico desert last fall. His fifth attempt at it would be
his last.
Prevention advocated as part of mental-illness treatment
Seattle Times - May 01, 2008
David Brenna wants people to think about mental illnesses the same way they
would other kinds of diseases. For instance, imagine a doctor treating someone
for a heart attack but not telling the person to eat a healthy diet and to
get more exercise.
April 2008
Study finds troops shy away from mental health care
CNN.com - Arpil 30, 2008
U.S. military personnel fear that seeking help for mental health problems
could harm their careers, according to a survey released Wednesday. Three of
five members of the military worry that it would have at least some impact,
according to the small online survey conducted for the American Psychiatric
Association.
Sierra Leone: 400,000 Cases of Mental Disorders?
AllAfrica.com - April 29, 2008
Consultant psychiatrist has revealed in Freetown that apart from inmates at the Sierra Leone
psychiatric hospital in Kissy some 10% of Sierra Leoneans would require psychiatric care,
meaning 400,000 have some form of mental disorder in the country.
Benton County commissioner pushes for jail mental health programs
Tri City Herald - April 29, 2008
Benton County should use an estimated $1 million in sales tax money to beef up mental health
programs in the county jail, contends County Commissioner Claude Oliver. The vocal advocate of public
mental health services said the county has brought in more money than it's using from a 0.1 percent
criminal justice sales tax passed by voters in 1996.
Mentally ill 'overrepresented' in Canadian jails: report
Canada.com - April 29, 2008
More than one in four Canadians hospitalized for mental illness have had brushes with the law,
but researchers aren’t sure whether mental illness breeds delinquency or whether jailing people
makes them more prone to psychiatric problems, according to a report released Tuesday.
'Brain is programmed' by childhood trauma, researcher says
Spokesmand Review - April 25, 2008
Imagine a small child at a dinner table, together with his parents. Nobody is eating, because
Mom and Dad are fighting, with words escalating to punches. The child withdraws to a corner of the
house, listening, heart pounding, waiting for the battle to end.
Lawsuit: Veterans Affairs has failed to prevent suicides
Associated Press - April 20, 2008
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs isn't doing enough to prevent suicide and provide adequate
medical care for Americans who have served in the armed forces, a class-action lawsuit that goes to
trial this week charges.
Stigma still plagues mentally ill
Nanaimo Daily News - April 21, 2008
Sometimes Susan Saunders needs to go to the hospital. But for Saunders, her experience of what most
Nanaimo residents take for granted tends to be different. Saunders has been diagnosed with bipolar
disorder, has been treated at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital psychiatric unit for her illness,
and thinks that when she arrives at the emergency ward that staff only see her psychological disorder.
Health Services for Students Go Beyond the School Nurse
Kitsap Sun - April 19, 2008
Josie Price, 18, hadn't been to the doctor in years when she entered Spectrum Community School,
North Kitsap School District's alternative high school, a year ago. Since then Price has been a regular
at Spectrum's school-based health clinic, operated with state and local funding by the Kitsap County
Health District.
Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Is Medicating a Nation
AlterNet.org - April 17, 2008
While we've now become accustomed to the barrage of prescription drug commercials on prime-time TV,
it's jarring to learn that this advertising is legal only in the United States and New Zealand.
Mental Health In Adolescents Influenced By Cultural Identity
Medical News Today - April 16, 2008
The first prospective study investigating cultural identity and mental health status among adolescents
living in a culturally diverse society has revealed that there is an association between the two,
and that effects differ by gender and ethnic group.
Bringing help and dignity to victims of mental illness
Seattle Times - April 15, 2008
I met a man in Las Vegas, married him that day and together we took off in a rented Lear jet
I couldn't pay for. I was 22 years old. The marriage was my second and it lasted only 13 days.
Patrick Kennedy says personal struggles help him in Congress
Seattle Times - April 15 , 2008
Rep. Patrick Kennedy says his personal struggles to recover from depression,
alcoholism and substance abuse have made him a more compelling advocate in
Congress for improved mental health care coverage.
Who Are We? Coming of Age on Antidepressants
New York Times - April 15, 2008
"I've grown up on medication," my patient Julie told me recently. "I don't have a sense of who I really am
without it."
Kaine Touts Legislative Reforms for Mentally Ill
Washington Post - April 13, 2008
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) told Northern Virginia residents yesterday that
the state has taken steps to correct many of the problems in its mental
health system that might have contributed to Seung Hui Cho's shooting
rampage nearly a year ago at Virginia Tech.
Farm visits can ease mental illness
Reuters- April 11, 2008
Spending time on a farm looking after cows, horses, or other animals can
help people with mental illness better manage their anxieties and increase
their confidence, according to a study published on Friday.
Kaine Signs Set of Bills To Modernize Mental Health
Washington Post - April 10, 2008
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine signed bills Wednesday that will make it easier
for Virginians to receive treatment as part of the first significant
overhaul of the state's mental health system in three decades.
Say Hey Olympia offers work aid for people with disabilities
Daily Olympian - April 09, 2008
Job seekers nationwide with physical or mental disabilities face an unemployment rate of 70 percent,
according to the state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and some South Sound organizations met
Tuesday in an effort to improve that number locally.
Mental help from work pays off
Wall Street Journal - April 07, 2008
About 2 1/2 years ago, network-equipment provider Cisco Systems Inc. asked its U.S. workers to fill
out a health survey to gauge their well-being. The results were a shock to the system.
Army Is Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours to Iraq
New York Times - April 06, 2008
Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to
the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq
for this year and beyond.
March 2008
Mental Illness: Facing the reality
Seattle PI - March30, 2008
Nearly a half-century after the beginning of what Seattle P-I reporter Carol Smith describes
as "a grand experiment" in better treatment of the mentally ill, the law and institutions are
a long way from knowing exactly how to protect the public from the occasional deeply dangerous individual.
The Murky Politics of Mind-Body
New York Times - March 30, 2008
From Plato and Aristotle to Descartes, the great thinkers have for millennia
argued over what is known in philosophy as the "mind-body problem," the
relationship between spirit and flesh. Dualism tends to win the day: The mind
and the body, while linked, are separate. They exist independently, perhaps
mingling but not merging.
Life in Prison Looms for Mentally Ill Bremerton Man — but Should It?
Kitsap Sun - March 29, 2008
The 27-year-old Bremerton man told investigators he was trying to kill himself
when he lit his Trenton Avenue house on fire Feb. 10. He demanded police shoot
him in a subsequent standoff.
UW scientists find surprising genetic causes of schizophrenia
Seattle PI - March 27, 2008
As if the science of how genetics leads to disease isn't already complex enough,
researchers in Seattle and Long Island, N.Y., say individuals appear to develop
schizophrenia from a varying smorgasbord of bad genes rather than common genetic
flaws.
Now, not just anyone can be a counselor
SEattle Times - March 26, 2008
One of the most loosely regulated health-care professions will be
abolished and more than 18,000 people stripped of their counseling
credentials as part of legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Christine Gregoire.
Dangerous and mentally ill: A system in restraints
Seattle PI - March 26, 2008
Before James A. Williams was charged with stabbing a young Seattle woman to
death, he stood before a King County Superior Court on a different occasion,
accused of assaulting a different stranger, and asked to speak in his own
defense.
Safeguarding Private Medical Data
New York Times - March 26, 2008
Almost 2,500 patients taking part in a federal medical trial recently had
their private health data compromised when a researcher’s laptop computer
was stolen. The National Institutes of Health, which was responsible for
safeguarding the data, made things worse by delaying in notifying the
patients. This disturbing incident underscores the need for a strong
federal law to protect medical privacy and for greater responsibility
by those who handle sensitive medical information.
County commissioners get ball rolling on health services consolidation
Tri City Herald - March 25, 2008
Benton and Franklin County commissioners took steps Monday to put the bicounty
Crisis Response Unit, substance abuse assessment and detox center under one
roof. The two boards unanimously agreed to allow the Benton Franklin Community
Action Center to act as the lead agency to develop a plan for the consolidated
crisis response center.
Experts troubled by at-home bipolar gene tests
msnbc.com - March 23, 2008
Dr. John Kelsoe has spent his career trying to identify the biological roots of bipolar disorder. In December, he
announced he had discovered several gene mutations closely tied to the disease, also known as manic depression.
It’s a clash between past and present
Tacoma News Tribune - March 15, 2008
Western State Hospital wants to remove some obsolete buildings, in- cluding the oldest brick edifice
on its sprawling campus. But local officials are worried because the structures are part of state lore.
Military mental health policies examined
Seattle PI - March 14, 2008
Chris Scheuerman believes the military he served for 20 years failed his Army son Jason, who shot himself to
death in his Iraq barracks almost three years ago. Carefully choosing his words before a hushed congressional
audience Friday, the father spoke of how the 20-year-old private's superiors largely ignored the soldier's
signs of distress and his family's expressions of alarm in the days leading up to his suicide.
Crime panel seeks tax boost for treatment programs
Seattle Times - March 12, 2008
It's stark language for a government document — especially one written, in part, by seasoned criminal-justice
specialists. For 38 pages, they lay out their case, musing about "the avoidance of human misery" and sharing
worries about people who've "fallen into the crevice of inaccessible care."
Senate Clears Prisoner Bill
Wall Street Journal - March 12, 2008
After three years of procedural and legislative delays, a prisoner re-entry bill first introduced in 2005
has cleared the Senate and is heading to the president’s desk.
Working Dad: Rise in childhood mental illness is perplexing
Seattle PI - March 06, 2008
Scrambled eggs and toast were on the kitchen table, a soccer game began in an hour and October sun
poured into Elizabeth Coplan's Seattle-area home. Yet it was 11 a.m., and her 10-year-old son would not get
out of bed, remaining tucked under his covers more like a teenager than a fourth-grader.
House Moves Closer to Mental-Health Bill
Wall Street Journal - March 06, 2008
New requirements for insurance plans to equalize mental-health benefits with those for other medical
ailments have cleared another hurdle in Congress.
Effects of New Mental Health Laws May Be Limited, Some Say
Washington Posst - March 06. 2008
On Tuesday, the Virginia General Assembly approved some of the most sweeping changes in mental health
law in a generation, but experts across the ideological spectrum said yesterday that the bills should be
considered a first, modest step toward reforming a complex system.
On Mental Health Parity, It’s Kennedy Vs. Kennedy
Wall Street Journal - March 06, 2008
Now that Congressman Patrick Kennedy (pictured, left) has won passage in the House for his mental health parity
bill, he has to work out a compromise with the Senate, which has passed a much less restrictive version of the
bill. Kennedy will be sitting across the negotiating table from one of the old lions of the Senate: his father,
Ted Kennedy (pictured right), a driving force behind the Senate bill.
Low Risk, Heavy Drugs
Hartford Currant - March 03, 2008
Connecticut's nursing homes dole out antipsychotic drugs to residents who do not have psychotic disorders
at one of the highest rates in the country, raising questions about whether the medications are being used
to subdue agitated patients because of a lack of staffing and attention to alternate treatments.
Police tactics in talking woman off ledge included not talking
Seattle Times - March 01, 2008
The barefoot blonde teetered on a building ledge 60 feet above the
street, fidgeting with the zipper on her pink pajamas as hecklers
below taunted her to "jump."
February 2008
Biomarkers for Mood May Alter Psychiatric Treatments
Washington Post - February 28, 2008
Biomarkers in the blood associated with mood disorders have been identified by Indiana University School of
Medicine researchers, who said the finding may change the way bipolar illness is diagnosed and treated.
Allowing the Mentally Ill a Life of Their Own
Washington Post - February 28, 2008
Rafael Rivera sat comfortably in his neat, modest apartment off Route 1, talking to his caseworker, Carlos
Estrada. Seated nearby was Parnell Cornet, a psychiatrist. "So we're going to get you a job in the coming months,
right? Looks like you're almost ready to work again," Estrada said, looking around the apartment.
Two-part treatment helps teen depression
The Columbian - February 27, 2008
Teens with major depression who don't respond to their first antidepressant medication are more likely to
get well if they switch to a combination therapy, according to a study that included 15 Vancouver-area
teenagers.
Senate backs overhaul bill that 'will save lives'
Seattle PI - February 26, 2008
In the first major overhaul of the Indian Health Service in more than a decade, Congress moved
Tuesday toward bolstering health-care screening, illness prevention and mental health benefits for
Native Americans.
Daring to Think Differently About Schizophrenia
New York Times - February 25, 2008
Scientists who develop drugs are familiar with disappointment — brilliant theories
that don’t pan out or promising compounds derailed by unexpected side effects. They
are accustomed to small steps and wrong turns, to failure after failure — until, in
a moment, with hard work, brain power and a lot of luck, all those little failures
turn into one big success.
Veterans Share Stories as Work Starts on Mental Health Bills
Washington Post - February 22, 2008
For two years, Edward Robinson was stationed at a Navy hospital in Portsmouth, Va., helping treat wounded
troops returning from battle in Iraq. The experience was so emotionally taxing that when Robinson moved home
to Annapolis in 2006, his life started unraveling.
VA announces plans for mental health facility in Walla Walla
Wenatchee World - February 20, 2008
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced plans Tuesday to build a
residential rehabilitation facility focused on mental health care at the Walla
Walla VA Medical Center, which serves some 69,000 veterans in Washington, Oregon
and Idaho.
Getting 'Off Meds' Has Consequences
Washington Post - February 19, 2008
Psychiatrists say it's a common scenario _ troubled patients stop taking their medicine, because of cost,
side effects, the stigma, or delusions that they don't need it. The consequences can be tragic, though
rarely as horrific as the Valentine's Day suicide-slaughter at Northern Illinois University.
Midlife Suicide Rises, Puzzling Researchers
New York Times - February 19, 2008
Shannon Neal can instantly tell you the best night of her life: Tuesday, Dec. 23,
2003, the Hinsdale Academy debutante ball. Her father, Steven Neal, a 54-year-old
political columnist for The Chicago Sun-Times, was in his tux, white gloves and tie.
"My dad walked me down and took a little bow," she said, and then the two of them
goofed it up on the dance floor as they laughed and laughed.
‘Have You Ever Been in Psychotherapy, Doctor?’
New York Times - February 19, 2008
A curious thing happened to one of my psychiatric residents not long ago. One of
his patients caught him off guard with a challenging question: "Have you ever been
in psychotherapy yourself?"
Low staffing hurting health care at Pierce County Jail
Tacoma News Tribune - February 17, 2008
Medical and mental health staffing at the Pierce County jail is still not up to
par, and dental care is "totally insufficient," according to a January report.
The report by Dr. Joe Goldenson is the first since 2005, even though the
settlement terms of a 1995 inmate lawsuit require two such reports each year.
Depression a key problem at North Central Wash. nursing homes
Seattle PI - February 17, 2008
North Central Washington nursing home residents are more likely to show signs of depression or
anxiety than their counterparts throughout the rest of the country, a federal rating of nursing home care shows.
Murder suspect's troubles years old
Spokesman Review - Feruary 12, 2008
A Spokane woman charged with killing her roommate last week has struggled with
mental illness since she was a child. Natalie Orth ran away from her parents and
from foster homes, hung out on the streets with sex offenders, attempted suicide
and often wondered how'd she make it through another day, she told The
Spokesman-Review eight years ago.
Mentally ill murder suspect Thomas O'Hagan will return to Western State Hospital
Tacoma News Tribure - February 12, 2008
A mentally ill Pierce County murder suspect will have his competence to stand
trial evaluated at Western State Hospital despite his attorneys’ arguments that
he can’t get a fair shake there because of a controversy involving two of the
facility’s experts.
Feud makes a mess of murder case
Tacoma News Tribure - February 10, 2008
A personal dispute between two mental health experts at Western State Hospital
has complicated an already difficult Pierce County murder case.
Some link depression, failed LASIK
Seattle PI - February 08, 2008
Patients who undergo vision-correcting laser eye surgery sign a release form with
an extensive list of risks, but some researchers and former patients say a
potential complication is not mentioned: depression that can lead to suicide.
Where depression is still taboo
London Times - February 05, 2008
Stories of heavy boozing, drug-taking, long days and short fuses in the City are
legion, and recently there have been reports of a surge in referrals to psychiatric
practices as City workers struggle with stress, anxiety and depression.
Nature and nurture play role in mental illness
Reuters - February 4, 2008
Variations in a gene helped shield adults who had endured child abuse from becoming depressed as adults,
U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study that helps explain how nature and nurture give rise to mental
illness.
Suspect was turned away day of Capitol Hill killing
Seattle PI - February 02, 2008
The day James Anthony Williams allegedly stabbed to death a stranger on Capitol Hill,
the homeless, mentally ill ex-convict showed up at his probation officer's office
agitated, defensive and, the officer wrote, "barely able to hold himself together."
Bush cuts health and community services
Seattle PI - February 01, 2008
President Bush's $3 trillion budget for next year slashes mental health funding and
rural health care and freezes spending on medical research, among the cuts outlined
in budget documents obtained by The Associated Press.
January 2008
Army steps up efforts to halt increase in suicides
Seattle PI - January 31, 2008
Multiple new efforts aimed at stemming suicides in the Army are falling short of
their goal: The service anticipates another jump in the annual number of soldiers
who killed themselves or tried to, including in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones.
Veteran facing court-martial tries to kill herself again
Seattle Times - January 31, 2008
Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside, a psychiatric outpatient at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center waiting for the Army to decide whether to court-martial her,
attempted to kill herself Monday evening.
Study links stress to soldiers' maladies
Seattle PI - January 30, 2008
The role of traumatic brain injury - blamed for symptoms plaguing thousands of
soldiers returning from Iraq - might be overstated, contends a provocative military
study that offers hope for successful treatment.
Out from under an anxiety disorder, she now helps others
Seattle Times - January 30, 2008
Rita Howie, secretary to the principal of an elementary school, is the picture of
efficiency in her high heels and burgundy pantsuit. As she talks, three different
people come up to her with school-related questions, and she interrupts herself
briefly to give them answers. She is clearly a take-charge person.
Harps case has state weighing supervision
Seattle PI - January 30, 2008
When he walked out of prison nearly two years ago, James Anthony Williams was
labeled a dangerous and mentally ill offender who would be watched more carefully
than most.
Special offender program is voluntary
Seattle PI - January 29, 2008
The state's Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender program underwent a name change in
recent years in an attempt to soften the image of the clients it served.
Suspect considered high riske
Seattle Times - January 29, 2008
In the past year alone, James Anthony Williams was evaluated by mental-health
professionals at least three times because of erratic behavior, from threatening
to kill a community-corrections officer and a case manager to carrying a large
knife in his sweat-shirt pocket.
Vancouver psychologist again facing scrutiny
The Columbian - January 27, 2008
A Vancouver psychologist who also leads a committee that helps shape
mental health policy in Clark County is under investigation by state
officials - the second time he has faced such scrutiny.
Apparent suicides shock Welsh town
Tacoma News Tribune - January 23, 2008
here is a deepening sense of foreboding and hopelessness in this South Wales market
town as the number of young people who have killed themselves keeps rising.
The death toll now is seven.
Indian health bill draws veto threat
Tacoma News Tribune - January 22, 2008
The Bush administration on Tuesday threatened to veto Senate legislation designed
to improve health care on American Indian reservations, objecting to expanded
labor provisions in the bill.
Accused Foss High shooter will return to mental hospital
Tacoma News Tribune - January 22, 2008
A Pierce County judge ruled Tuesday that the young man charged with
shooting a classmate to death at Foss High School is too mentally ill to
understand the legal proceedings against him.
Class helps families caring for mentally ill
Everett Herald- January 22, 2008
Families with a loved one diagnosed with serious mental illness often think
they'll receive the same attention, support and help as someone diagnosed with a
serious medical disease.
Electroshock reborn as valid therapy
Tacoma News Tribune - January 18, 2008
Jack Gregory says he lived one step from suicide until he found a way to ease his severe depression.
He let doctors run an electric current through his brain. Since starting electroconvulsive therapy in
March 2006, Gregory, 62, has found a degree of stability that eluded him when he relied on antidepressants and
talk therapy.
2 more boarding homes for mentally ill to close
Seattle Times - January 18, 2008
The largest operator of supervised boarding homes for the mentally ill in King County is closing two
of its homes, blaming a lack of adequate funding from the county.
Mental health centers shocked by Sebelius’ proposed budget
Lawrence Journal - January 17, 2008
Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, and similar centers across the state,
would be devastated by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ budget proposal, officials said
Wednesday. "Some of the most vulnerable people we serve will be most negatively
impacted," said Mike Hammond, executive director of the Association of
Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas.
Unfavourable antidepressant studies don’t get into print: report
National Post - January 17, 2008
Nearly a third of antidepressant drug studies are never published in the
medical literature and nearly all happen to show that the drug being tested
did not work, researchers reported on Wednesday.
'Cuckoo's Nest' hospital cited by feds
Seattle PI - January 16, 2008
Mental patients at the Oregon State Hospital, the setting for "One Flew Over
the Cuckoo's Nest," were exposed to threats ranging from infectious outbreaks
to patient-on-patient assaults, according to a Justice Department report
released Wednesday.
More therapy suggested for slaying suspect
Seattle PI - January 16, 2008
A man who went to a state mental hospital instead of facing trial in the
2001 slayings of four people in Des Moines still isn't mentally fit to
stand trial, but doctors also found that additional treatment could help.
Parents tell of struggle to help son now charged with murder
Seattle PI - January 16, 2008
By the time he was 14, Cole K. Strandberg scared his parents. Barbara and Richard
Strandberg struggled to help their oldest son control his temper. The cattle
ranchers hid the knives in their Curlew home, locked their gun cabinet, sought
professional help and worried about their son's increasingly violent tendencies
and criminal behavior.
When Iraq vets bring a violent war home
Seattle PI - January 14, 2008
Costs of the war in Iraq keep hitting home. Billions fund the beleaguered effort
overseas while millions of Americans in the states go without health insurance.
Military families are being wrenched apart when loved ones are deployed for
multiple tours of duty, or worse, die in battle.
Teens getting help for suicidal behavior from online community
Science News - January 14, 2008
According to a University of Alberta researcher, teens are difficult to
reach and there have traditionally been few services that directly target
adolescent suicidal behavior. Elaine Greidanus says many teens aren't
picking up a phone, or seeing a counsellor, they're more likely logging
on for emotional support.
Va. considers mental health law changes
Seattle PI - January 11, 2008
An AWOL servicemember explained in detail to his emergency room doctor how he
planned to climb atop Richmond City Hall and pick off legislators with a
.50-caliber rifle as they left the statehouse last January.
Housing homeless saves money
Seattle PI - January 09, 2008
Eight years ago, Herman "Joe" Brunson ran out of money and health. The Tennessee
native, a Marine Corps veteran and welder, "packed up and ventured out into
the wilderness," a six-year journey on the streets of Seattle that cost him two
toes to frostbite and left him battling depression.
Anxious people have higher heart risk
Reuters - January 08, 2008
Heart attacks may not be reserved for the hostile and driven among us -
anxious, fearful people also have a higher risk, U.S. researchers
reported on Tuesday.
Class takes aim at grief Counselors
Olympian - January 06, 2008
Sometime soon, some flood victims will hit the wall. They will realize the extent
of the loss to their home and belongings. They might learn insurance or
public assistance will not cover the cost of rebuilding their lives.
Son seeks estate of mother he killed
Seattle Times - January 03, 2008
Joshua Hoge doesn't need much spending money these days. Behind the locked
doors of Western State Hospital, his basic needs — food, clothes and a
constant stream of antipsychotic medications to keep his delusions at bay
— are paid for by the state.
December 2007
Depression may lead to Type 2 diabetes
Chicago Tribune - December 25, 2007
Type 2 diabetes generally is thought to be a disease of lifestyle, with obesity and inactivity being primary
causes. But medical researchers also see a relationship between chronic depression and development of this
adult-onset diabetes.
Apartment helps man gain upper hand over mental illness
Northwest Herald - December 22, 2007
Sunlight streamed through the windows and the scent of sandalwood incense filled the air the day Aron
Washington moved into his apartment
Payments vary greatly for new veterans with mental illness
McClatchy Newspapers - December 20, 2007
Veterans coming home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with debilitating mental ailments are
discovering that their disability payments from the government vary widely depending on where they
live, an exclusive McClatchy analysis has found.
Sacrificing Rebecca
Williamette Weekly - December 29, 2007
At 7 pm on Thursday, Oct. 11, Sarah Starr asked her husband to make a detour on their way to
Borders—it was their sixth wedding anniversary, and she wanted books—so they could drive by the
Vancouver, Wash., home of Laurie Recht and her 14-year-old daughter, Rebecca.
The last days of Private Scheuerman
Seattle PI - December 19, 2007
Private First Class Jason Scheuerman nailed a suicide note to his barracks closet in Iraq, stepped
inside and shot himself.
State takeover of mental health system goes forward
Tacoma News Tribute - December 19, 2007
Pierce County’s mental health system – which the county turned over to the state after a
funding fight – will remain intact after Jan. 1. The transition to state control after the new
year "should not be noticeable" to local health care providers and the roughly 15,000 residents who take
part in the program, said Lyle Quasim, County Executive John Ladenburg’s chief of staff.
Juvenile serial killer remains in prison
Seattle PI - December 15, 2008
They called him Iron Man, a hulking teenage football player with a baby face and winsome smile
who lived with his parents in a small ranch house in the Buttonwoods section of town. Then, one
summer night in 1987, Craig Price crept across his neighbor's yard, broke into a little brown house
on Inez Avenue and stabbed Rebecca Spencer 58 times. She was a 27-year-old mother of two. He was 13.
Court: Forced meds for kidnap suspect OK
Seattle PI - December 14, 2008
The Utah Supreme Court on Friday upheld a judge's order that the woman accused of aiding in the 2002
kidnapping of teenager Elizabeth Smart be forcibly medicated for mental illness.
Va. gov. proposes mental health changes
Seattle PI - December 14
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on Friday proposed remedies for failings in the state's mental health system that
were exposed by the Virginia Tech shootings, including making it easier to force treatment and
opening communication between care providers and courts.
Data sought on veterans' suicide
Seattle PI - December 12, 2008
The parents of an Iraq war veteran who committed suicide and members of Congress on Wednesday
questioned why there's not a comprehensive tracking system of suicide among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Patterns: Parkinson’s Raises Risk of Depression in Relatives
New York Times - December 11, 2007
First-degree relatives — parents, siblings and children — of people with Parkinson's disease are about
50 percent more likely than relatives of healthy people to suffer depression or anxiety, a new study
reports.
Teen dating violence leads to risky health behavior
Reuters - December 10, 2008
Teens who have suffered violence at the hands of an intimate partner are more likely to display a
number of risky health behaviors, from disordered eating to suicidal thoughts, research shows.
'Women Behind Bars' is a shocking new booke
Seattle PI - December 10, 2006
Silja J.A. Talvi of Seattle is a 21st-century muckraker. The 37-year-old native of Finland is an
independent investigative reporter with an intense dedication to exposing societal wrongs in hopes
of affecting change.
New center helps adults with mental illness avoid isolation
Skagit Valley Herald - December 08, 2007
As recently as a month ago, most of the
Court to rule on acting as own lawyer
Seattle Pi - December 07, 2007
The Supreme Court said Friday it will review whether a defendant who is judged competent to
stand trial has the right to be his own lawyer, even if he has a history of serious mental illness
Forgotten Suitcases, Emotional Baggage
New York Times - Decmber 07, 2007
TO a child a forgotten trunk in an attic opens the door to a beguiling fantasy world where a castoff
shawl can be transformed into a king’s robe, a superhero’s cape or a genie’s flying carpet. But the forgotten
trunks and suitcases found in an attic at the abandoned Willard Psychiatric Center in the Finger Lakes
region of New York represent the opposite: how the door to a desperately desired reality was closed to
virtually all its patients.
Mental health support helps Ellensburg woman rebuild her life and her family's
Ellensberg Daily Record - December 02, 2007
It was a nightmare that began under the guise of love. By the time the relationship was over, Candy
Burge was a shell of her former self: abused and severely traumatized, her confidence destroyed,
her trust obliterated.
Army charges Iraq vet over self-inflicted gun wound
Seattle Times - December 02, 2007
In a nondescript conference room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside
listened last week as an Army prosecutor outlined the criminal case against her. The charges:
attempting suicide and endangering the life of another soldier while serving in Iraq.
Getting help, getting well
Ellensberg Daily Record - December 01, 2007
If the same thing had happened two years ago, Monie, a 49-year-old woman living in rural Kittitas
County, doesn't know what she would have done. It possibly could have sent her into a self-destructive
spiral of depression.
November 2007
County undertakes informal mental health court
Ellensberg Daily Record - November 30, 2007
Kittitas County District Court is experimenting with a way mentally ill defendants in misdemeanor
criminal cases could get treatment, including medication, instead of jail.
Life between the cracks
Ellensberg Daily Record - November 30, 2007
Although the 20-year-old Ellensburg man is in Kittitas County jail after disappearing with two
Ellensburg youths in mid-October in violation of his probation, he doesn’t understand why.
Seeing people get better a thing of beauty for mental health worker
Ellensberg Daily Record - November 29, 2007
The call came late one winter night a couple of years ago. A woman — disoriented and delusional — was found
wandering in the snow in the mountains of Upper Kittitas County. Police needed to get a mental health
assessment for the woman.
More mentally ill barred from gun buying
Seattle PI - November 29, 2007
A federal list of mentally ill people barred from buying guns has doubled in size since the Virginia
Tech shootings, and U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey encouraged more states Thursday to add
information to the database.
Mental health: ongoing need for services, awareness
Ellensberg Daily Record - November 28, 2007
The source of Jessica Bell’s passion about getting mental health services as early as possible
to people who need them runs deep in her life, and it still hurts. Bell's best friend since sixth grade,
Julie, took her own life on Sept. 12, 2002, the day the two were planning to run together — just weeks
before Bell would leave to attend her first year at Central Washington University.
10 months in jail, a 90-day sentence: Now a lawsuit
Wenatchee World - November 28, 2007
An Omak man is suing Okanogan County and Eastern State Hospital over delays that he says left him in
jail months longer than he should have been awaiting a mental health evaluation to determine i
f he was competent to stand trial.
A hidden epidemic
Washington Post - November 18, 2007
Virtually everyone knows about the connection between smoking and health. Smoking causes 440,000
deaths a year in the United States (50,000 of which are from exposure to secondhand smoke) and
5 million worldwide. It shortens smokers' lives by 10 to 15 years, and those last few years can be
a miserable combination of severe breathlessness and pain.
Serbia rejects allegations of abuse
Seattle PI - November 15, 2007
Serbia's prime minister on Thursday angrily rejected allegations by a U.S. human rights group
that disabled people have been systematically abused in the Balkan country, calling the
report "dark propaganda."
AWOL soldier seeking treatment arrested
Seattle PI - November 14, 2007
A soldier who served two combat tours in Iraq was arrested Wednesday for leaving the Army without
permission more than a year ago to seek treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. At a news
conference hours before his arrest, Sgt. Brad Gaskins said he left the base in August 2006 because
the Army wasn't providing effective treatment after he was diagnosed with PTSD and severe depression.
Human rights group report alleges systematic abuse of mentally disabled children in Serbia
FoxNews.com - November 14, 2007
Troubled children bound tightly to fetid cribs they have never left since birth. A 6-year-old boy who tried
to rip off his ear while tied to a chair. A teenage girl who attempted to gouge out her eyes as mental
hospital staff stood by and did nothing. The scenes of horror are chronicled in a report released
Wednesday by Mental Disability Rights International, a U.S.-based human rights group that alleges
systematic abuse of mentally disabled patients in Serbia's psychiatric hospitals and social care
institutions.
Japan's suicide rate remains high
Seattle PI - November 09, 2007
Japan's employers should provide mental health services to workers suffering from depression and
other illnesses, the government said Friday after reporting that more than 30,000 people killed
themselves last year. In its first annual report on suicide and suicide prevention measures, the
Cabinet Office said 32,155 people killed themselves in 2006, the 9th straight year the figure
has exceeded 30,000.
State stops admissions at home for mentally ill after man's suicide
Seattle PI - November 02, 2007
The state has halted admissions to a Seattle boarding home for the mentally ill after a
recent suicide, ordered psychological assessments of residents and required the home to
hire a nurse to monitor medications.
Web-based stress therapy shows promise for vets
Washington Post - November 02, 2007
Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (
PTSD) shows promise, according to a pilot study in the November issue ofThe American Journal
of Psychiatry.
Ill man's suicide raises questions for Capitol Hill boarding home
Seattle Times - November 01, 2007
Clyde Keith Bugher's jump to his death from his room at a Seattle boarding home for the
mentally ill has provoked accusations from a state watchdog and questions from his mother.
October 2007
How to figure out when therapy is over
New York Times - October 20, 2007
If you think it’s hard to end a relationship with a lover or spouse, try breaking up with your
psychotherapist. A writer friend of mine recently tried and found it surprisingly difficult.
Several months after landing a book contract, she realized she was in trouble.
Emotional abyss; physical cause?
Washington Post - October 30, 2007
My father killed himself at 46. So not surprisingly, at 46 I felt nervous and a bit depressed.
As a scientist, I looked at the facts, the data. Life was fundamentally fine — married to a
supportive man, with three healthy sons and a good career. But the anxiety prompted me to seek a
psychiatrist.
Younger veterans at greater suicide risk
Washington Post - October 30, 2007
A study of U.S. veterans suffering from depression finds that their risk factors for suicide
differ in surprising ways from those of other depressed Americans. Specifically, the risk for suicide
appears highest among younger veterans -- the reverse of what's seen in the general population.
Seeing the light of day
Washington Post - October 30, 2007
Oh, the light! The autumn light! Is there anything more glorious than an October day, awash in
the sun's low-slung amber rays? And yet . . . perhaps you feel the dread, too. The looming inkiness
that, like the tide, crawls up your legs a little higher each day, turning that honeyed light to
molasses and molasses to muck until you realize, too late, that the birds have left and the world
has gone dark. Dark when you wake up, dark when you go home.
Union letter spawns ethics complaint
SpokesmanReview - October 25, 2007
Dozens of Democratic state lawmakers last month sent a letter to a mental health center,
sharply criticizing the agency's"hostile bargaining position" in negotiations with unionized
employees.
Depression, anxiety tied to allergies in kids
Reuters News Service - Oct. 19, 2007
Research in psychiatrically ill children and adolescents suggests that those with depression,
anxiety and other so-called "internalizing" disorders are more likely to have allergies. Among a sample
of 184 young people being evaluated for psychiatric disorders and allergies, 105 (57 percent) had a
history of allergic disorders, including asthma, hay fever, hives and eczema.
Evidence unclear on treating U.S. veterans' stress
Reuters News Service - Oct. 18, 2007
Many U.S. combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are clearly suffering from post-traumatic stress
disorder, but it is not at all clear which treatments work to help them, an Institute of Medicine
panel said on Thursday.
Heart deaths, suicides up after weightloss surgery
Reuters News Service - Oct. 15, 2007
Among people who have undergone so-called bariatric surgery for obesity, death rates are
higher than seen among other people of the same age, new research shows. In particular,
deaths due to suicide and coronary heart disease are higher than might be expected normally.
State must hear parents' plea for help
Seattle Times - October 12, 2007
At age 13, Henry had his share of problems. He flew into rages and bouts of uncontrolled weeping;
he cut himself and threatened suicide; and most frightening of all, he threatened to kill his parents
and his younger siblings.
Panel: Boost vet benefits by 25 percent
Seattle PI - October 3, 2007
Veterans disability payments should be increased immediately by up to 25 percent as part of a sweeping
overhaul designed to compensate for a wounded warrior's lost "quality of life," a special commission
recommended Wednesday.
Talk therapy pivotal for depressed youth
New York Times - October 2, 1007
A talking cure for depression called cognitive behavior therapy appears to cancel the risk of
suicidal thinking or behavior associated with taking antidepressant medication, according to
the most comprehensive and long-running study to date of depression treatment among adolescents.
September 2007
In-school clinics provide Seattle students free health care and mental health services
Seattle PI - September 30, 2007
Jasmine Tantoco, 18, sits patiently in the health clinic waiting room, on time for her doctor's
appointment. Her name is called and she walks into an exam room. When her appointment is finished,
she walks out into the hallway, joining hundreds of other teenagers, and heads back to class.
What killed Rebecca Riley?
CBS News - September 30, 2007
On Dec. 13, 2006, police responded to a 911 call and found a little girl lying dead on the floor next
to her parents' bed. The autopsy revealed that she had died from an overdose of psychiatric drugs.
Rebecca Riley was being treated for bipolar disorder, or manic depression, even though she was just
four years old.
15% of women struggle with pregnancy-related depression
Washington Post - September 28, 2007
One in seven women suffers from depression before, during or after pregnancy, a new study finds. The
consequences of depression can be devastating to the mother, her baby and her entire family, according
to the report in the October issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry.
Senate bumps mental health reimbursement
Seattle PI - September 26, 2007
The Senate has voted to allow the Pentagon to raise reimbursement rates for mental health treatment,
following reports that soldiers returning from war have had difficulty getting services because of
reduced payments to therapists.
Rethinking Antidepressants and Youth Suicide
Alternet.com - September 25, 2007
Rosa Rodriguez, now a college student, recalls her suicide attempt at 13 years old:
"I decided I couldn't take it anymore, so I took some pills and went to bed early. I
threw it all up within 20 minutes, and thinking back, I'm glad it didn't work out."
Study: Firms should help unhappy workers
The Olympian - September 25, 2007
Investing in depressed employees - quickly getting them treatment and even offering telephone
psychotherapy - can cut absenteeism while improving workers' health, a study suggests.
County to negotiate with Olympia group for mental health services
Daily World - September 25, 2007
The county commissioners signed a letter of intent on Monday to negotiate a new mental health
contract with Olympia-based Behavioral Health Resources in the wake of the Evergreen Counseling
Center's imminent closure.
Clinical depression swamps Gulf Coast
Seattle Times - September 23, 2007
A gravel-voiced fire department captain, Michael Gowland says he had never been a big crier. "I'm not a
Neanderthal," he said recently, "but I wasn't much for tears." Now, sometimes, he cries two or three hours
at a stretch. Other times, his temper has exploded, prompting him one day to pick up a crescent wrench and
chase an auto mechanic around a garage. Even more perplexing to him, the once devout Roman Catholic now
wonders "if there's anything out there."
Mental health services won't be interrupted
The Daily World - September 20, 2007
Behavioral Health Resources and Sea Mar Community Health Centers will take over for Evergreen Counseling
Center when it closes at the end of the month, meaning mental health services will go on without
interruption, officials said Friday.
Teamwork key to weathering mental health care change
News Tribune - September 20, 2007
In the past several weeks, many Pierce County residents have heard the news that
the county’s mental health treatment system will undergo some change.
Senate passes mental health parity bill
Seattle PI - September 18
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday night that would require equal health insurance coverage for
mental and physical illnesses when policies cover both.
The Evergreen Blues
Daily World - September 13, 2007
Cindy Hall has relied on her counselor at the Evergreen Counseling Center to visit her in
Ocean Shores and help her manage her medication and her finances. She's worried that those life-line
visits will stop in the fallout from Evergreen's closure at month's end.
State focuses on easy transition for mental health system
Tacoma News Tribune - September 12, 2007
The state Department of Social and Health Services on Tuesday promised a smooth transition when
it takes control of the Pierce County mental health system Jan. 1. After more than a decade of running the system, Pierce County officials decided in August to return control to the state, complaining that state funding was inadequate.
Va. studies directives giving the mentally ill a say in their care
Washington Post - September 10, 2007
Yvonne Smith has had a pair of mental illnesses diagnosed over the years, but it wasn't until a
severe psychotic episode landed her in a psychiatric ward that she came to a sober realization:
Although her family and friends had long been supportive of her struggles with bipolar disorder,
they couldn't always know what to do when she was incapacitated.
Sound Off: These taxes are worth paying
Whidbey Times News - September 08, 2007
Pay more taxes? Yes, and gladly so to help sustain resources that are core to the health and well-being
of each and every one of us who resides in Island County.
Mental health shift: It's the patients who count
News Tribune - September 07, 2007
When it comes to mental health services, what counts is how much and how well it gets delivered
to the mentally ill – not who's doing the delivering. As Pierce County hands off its mental health system
to the Department of Social and Health Services, the only measure of success will be how well the county's
roughly 15,000 psychiatric patients fare in the end.
Mental health system reprieve
News Tribune - September 06, 2007
Pierce County and state officials have worked out an agreement by which the county will
manage the local mental health system through the end of the year.
Surge in bipolar diagnoses in children, study finds
Seattle PI - September 04, 2007
A new analysis suggests there's been a huge increase in the number of U.S. children diagnosed
with bipolar disorder, but experts question whether the surge is real and say some children have been
mislabeled..
Poorer nations asked to aid mentally ill
Washington Post - September 04, 2007
War, poverty and diseases such as AIDS are adding to mental health problems in poorer countries,
which are generally ill-equipped to respond to depression, schizophrenia and other such ailments,
according to health officials.
Explaining away mental illness
Washington Post - September 04, 2007
The parents had tried with little success to cope with their son's accelerating deterioration. Unable
to concentrate, he had dropped out of college and moved back home. When he could no longer function at
the job he had held briefly, his parents kept him sequestered in their house, his condition a closely
guarded secret. By the time the trio arrived in the emergency room, the youth was hallucinating and had
assaulted his parents.
Scientists test new bipolar remedies
Seattle PI - September 02, 2007
Scientists are casting a wide net to find better treatments for the crushing depression
and uncontrolled manias of bipolar disorder, and some approaches they're testing seem pretty surprising.
New medicine may help psychotic patients
Seattle PI - September 02, 2007
In a clinical trial of about 200 patients, an experimental drug from Eli Lilly reduced
schizophrenia symptoms without the serious side effects of current treatments, according to a
paper published Sunday in the journal Nature.
August 2007
Apartments nearly ready for severely mentally ill
The Olympian - August 30, 2007
A newly renovated, 34-unit apartment building soon will house homeless people whom social
workers say are some of the most difficult to treat: the severely mentally ill.
Cho's problems date to early childhood
Seattle PI - August 30, 2007
The gunman responsible for the April massacre at Virginia Tech was a sickly child - shy, frail and
leery of physical contact by the time he was 3. His teachers said he began showing suicidal and
homicidal tendencies by the eighth grade.
Evergreen Counseling closing its doors
Aberdeen Daily World - August 29, 2007
The Evergreen Counseling Center, which has 937 clients and 58 employees, will close its offices in Hoquiam at
the end of September after 39 years on the Harbor, due to a steady decline in its revenue from the county,
which distributes state and federal funding for mental health.
We must retain local leadership of mental health service
Tacoma News Tribune - August 26, 2007
Although referring to people who access health services as "patients" has fallen out of favor with many
people, I believe it is part of the problem with our current thinking about health care.
Scholarship will help Olympia officer explore stress program
The Olympian - August 28, 2007
Olympia Police Sgt. John Hutchings can add Fulbright scholar to his resume. He will spend three
months with the Northumbria Police Constabulary in England starting in October to study the effects of
critical incident stress debriefings on police officers overseas.
New database to help speed search for bipolar disorder genes
Washington Post - August 24, 2007
A free public online database launched recently may help speed efforts to identify genes associated
with an increased risk of bipolar disorder, a mood disorder commonly marked by alternating bouts of
depression and manic behavior.
FDA approves first anti-psychotic for kids
Washington Post - August 23, 2007
The powerful anti-psychotic drug Risperdal was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration on Wednesday for use in children and adolescents who have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Psych clinic releases Russian activist
Seattle PI - August 20, 2007
A member of an opposition group led by the former chess champion Garry Kasparov was released
Monday from a psychiatric clinic after being held against her will for 46 days, a spokeswoman for
the group said.
Psychologists weigh interrogation ban
Seattle PI - august 19, 2007
Stung by reports implicating mental health specialists in prisoner abuse scandals at Guantanamo
Bay and Abu Ghraib, the nation's largest group of psychologists is considering banning its members
from interrogations of terror suspects.
Army Suicides: Dire straits
Seattle PI - August 19, 2007
As if they're not dying at high enough numbers in IED explosions and such in Iraq and Afghanistan,
a new report indicates that 99 active-duty soldiers killed themselves in 2006, the highest number
since 1991, when we were at war in the Persian Gulf and the highest for the Army in 26 years.
Veterans tell Sen. Murray mental health system frayed
Seattle PI - August 17, 2007
Troops haunted by the horrors of war face another battle at home: undertrained staff, quick-fix
medications and endless bureaucratic hassles, combat veterans told Sen. Patty Murray on Friday.
County mental health pullout
News Tribune - August 18, 2007
Come Oct. 1, Pierce County's mental health services no longer will be run by Pierce County's government.
Either another county, a nonprofit corporation or state officials in Olympia will be calling the shots.
US to boost diplomat mental health care
Seattle PI - August 14, 2007
The State Department plans to create a new mental care office and require employees to take additional
time off to deal with a surge in stress disorders among diplomats in danger posts abroad,
particularly Iraq and Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.
Study links breast implants, suicide
Seattle Times - August 08, 2007
Women who receive implants for breast enhancement are three times more likely to commit suicide,
according to a new report that offers a sobering view of an increasingly popular surgery. Deaths
related to mental disorders, including alcohol or drug dependence, also were three times higher
among women who had the cosmetic procedure, researchers said.
Lawmaker calls for registry of drug firms paying doctors
New York Times - August 04, 2007
An influential Republican senator says he will propose legislation requiring drug makers to
disclose the payments they make to doctors for services like consulting, lectures and attendance at seminars.
Practically anyone can be a 'counselor'
The Daily World - August 02, 2007
A registered mental health counselor at Pacific Beach who once spent time in a mental
institution and describes himself as a paranoid schizophrenic is under investigation by the state.
He solicited women for sex via classified ads.
July 2007
House OKs boost to veteran mental care
Seattle PI - July 30, 2007
The House took steps Monday to improve counseling and care for the tens of thousands of military
personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with brain injuries and post traumatic stress
disorder.
Jumper's father questions Taser use
Spokesman Review - July 29, 2007
The father of the man who jumped from the Monroe Street Bridge is questioning the Spokane Police
Department's use of a Taser on his son seconds before he fell to his death.
VA Secretary faces wrongful death suit
Seattle PI - July 26, 2007
The family of an Iraq war veteran filed suit Thursday accusing Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim
Nicholson of negligence in the suicide death of their son.
Mental screening awaits suspect
The Columbian - July 26, 2007
Arraignment for shooting suspect Matthew R. Hastings was postponed Wednesday so Hastings can be sent to
Western State Hospital for a mental evaluation. Hastings, 28, was arrested July 19 after a violent, 20-hour
standoff with law enforcement officers at a Cascade Park home.
Teens present ideas to fight depression
The Columbian - July 23, 2007
Families and schools stack demands on teenagers without giving them enough support when mental health
problems arise, according to a new study by a team of policy-minded local teens.
County mental health: Back to the state?
News Tribune - July 19
Pierce County will be entering uncharted – and risky – waters if it turns its mental health obligations
back to the State of Washington, as it is poised to do.
Mental health decision put off by Pierce board
News Tribune - July 19, 2007
The governing board of the Pierce County mental health system Wednesday postponed discussions on whether
to give up control of local mental health services.
County asks state to fund mental care
News Tribune - July 18, 2007
Pierce County might give up control of its mental health system if county and state officials don't
reach an agreement soon over how much money the state will contribute to keep the system operating over
the next two years.
County donates parcel to Kitsap Mental Health
Kitsap Sun - July 17, 2007
Kitsap Mental Health Services has the property, now it needs the money. Kitsap County commissioners
approved a plan last week to donate a parcel of wooded land to the mental health care service
provider to build a $3.9 million, 16-bed residential facility on the 5400 block of Almira Drive.
Our view: A healthy turn
Spokesman Review - July 15, 2007
Sometimes life around here resembles the storyline of an antidepressant ad. In fall 2005, Spokane County's
mental health system sounded as irrational in news stories as the mental disorders it was designed to
treat. It had fallen into chaos. Readers discovered the county was paying exorbitant fines to the state
for hospitalizing too many patients at Eastern State Hospital, a $7.5 million shortfall required agencies
to cut programs and lay off staff in huge numbers, and the bad news just kept coming.
Army official urges mental health reform
Seattle PI - July 12, 2007
The Pentagon's top health official said Thursday he wants to see better mental health assessments,
stronger privacy protections and a "buddy system" to change the military's stigma against seeking help
for anxiety and depression.
Mental health sales tax paying dividends
Spokesman-Review - July 11, 2007
Spokane County Commission Chairman Mark Richard says he'll proudly carry a year-old mental health
tax into his 2008 re-election campaign. He and Commissioners Todd Mielke and Bonnie Mager planned to
announce at a news conference today that a 1 percent local sales tax for county mental health
programs paid big dividends in its first year.
Carter, Wellstone push mental health act
Seattle PI - July 10, 2007
Rosalynn Carter teamed up with the son of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone on Tuesday to push
for mental health insurance legislation, with the former first lady saying the goal has
never been closer to realization.
Prison officials consider several methods to curb suicides
Statesman Journal - July 09, 2007
Prison officials say they are waging an aggressive campaign to curb inmate suicides, and they are
enlisting convicts as allies in the fight. "I think we're going after it very aggressively, from the top all
the way down," said Jana Russell, the administrator of Counseling and Treatment Services for the
13,500-inmate prison system.
The wrong place to treat mental illness
Washington Post - July 08, 2007
Last month the Supreme Court rightly blocked the execution of Scott Panetti, a Texas man who was
convicted of a double murder and who suffers from delusional schizophrenia. The case drew public
attention to the intersection between mental illnesses and executions.
No court-martial for soldier with PTSD
Seattle PI - July 07, 2007
An Iraq war veteran will not be court-martialed for leaving his post without permission for 15
months to undergo treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, the Army said.
Childhood depression and suicide
Seattle PI - July 04, 2007
Patients and parents concerned about the safety of antidepressant medications will find some
reassurance in the latest research. Our Group Health research team recently found the risk of suicide
attempts declines after starting depression treatment, whether that treatment is psychotherapy or
antidepressant medication. We concluded that suicide attempts during antidepressant treatment have
more to do with depression than with treatment.
Court: Mental anguish awards are taxable
Seattle PI - July 03, 2007
Money for your mental anguish is taxable. That was the ruling Tuesday from a federal appeals court,
which reversed what it said just 11 months ago.
State board bringing power to the patient
Seattle Times - July 01,2007 - Date
When Lori Virginia Benton was diagnosed with a mental illness, the message was clear: "They told me three
things," she recalled. "It never goes away, it'll never get any better, and you'll never be able to do
anything."
June 2007
Coroner's report: Jeni was mentally ill
Washington Post - June 29, 2007
Comedian Richard Jeni, who shot himself to death in March, had a history of mental illness and was
hospitalized late last year for suicidal depression, according to a coroner's report obtained
Thursday. Jeni, 49, died at a hospital after shooting himself in the head at his Hollywood home
on March 10, authorities have said.
Mental-health hearing by county draws hundreds
Seattle Times - June 26, 2007
Hundreds packed the Shoreline Conference Center Monday night to support King County's proposed
Mental Illness and Drug Dependency Action Plan — and the sales-tax increase that would put it in motion.
Video game addiction may rate as psychiatric disorder
Seattle PI - June 22, 2007
The telltale signs are ominous: teens holing up in their rooms, ignoring friends, family, even food and a
shower, while grades plummet and belligerence soars. The culprit isn't alcohol or drugs. It's video games, which
for certain kids can be as powerfully addictive as heroin, some doctors contend.
Slaying suspect back in Seattle
Seattle PI - June 22, 2007
A man accused of faking mental illness to avoid trial for a deadly 1969 shooting at a Pioneer
Square tavern has been extradited from Canada and will now face a murder charge in the decades-old crime.
Va. mental health system found lacking
Seattle PI - June 22, 2007
Members of a commission analyzing Virginia's mental health laws on Friday debated whether language
dealing with civil commitments is too narrowly worded to force potentially dangerous people into treatment.
Gates vows to fix mental health system
Seattle PI - June 21, 2007
Defense Secretary Robert Gates promised Thursday to speed up changes to the military's
much-criticized mental health system, declaring "this is something that we can, must and will
get fixed."
Science: Insane or merely psychotic?
The Columbian - June 18, 2007
David B. Sullivan walked into a McDonald's restaurant last year and did what most people would think
of as "insane": He went up to a teenage employee, witnesses said, and knifed her for no apparent
reason. The victim, Anna Svidersky, died.
Pentagon may drop mental health question
Seattle PI - June 16, 2007
U.S. troops would no longer be asked to reveal previous mental health treatment when applying for
security clearances under a proposal being considered by the Pentagon.
3 million in Japan have mental illness
Seattle PI - June 15, 2007
The number of Japanese suffering from mental illnesses topped 3 million for the first time in 2005,
the government said Friday, amid efforts to improve mental health services in Japan.
Wellstone son presses mental health bill
Seattle PI - June 15, 2007
In a quest to overhaul mental health insurance as "a huge legacy for my dad," the son of the late Sen.
Paul Wellstone is teaming with the son of Sen. Edward Kennedy - though the elder Kennedy has a different
proposal in mind.
VA hospital conditions criticized
Seattle PI - June 15, 2007
The Department of Veterans Affairs knew for months that shower heads, handrails and other fixtures posed
serious suicide risks to Seattle-area psychiatric patients, but refused to fix the problems, inspectors
said in a report released Friday.
Murray acts after critical report on VA hospitals
Seattle PI - June 15, 2007
On floor 7W of Seattle's VA Medical Center on Beacon Hill, where combat veterans with acute post-traumatic
stress are patients, 27-year-old Dennis Palucki is reassured by a touch.
Army plans to hire more psychiatrists
Seattle PI - June 14, 2007
Overwhelmed by the number of soldiers returning from war with mental problems, the Army is planning
to hire at least 25 percent more psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers.
Mental health profession worth the stress
Seattle PI - June 12, 2007
"It doesn't pay much but at least it's stressful," said the case aide. He was tired after a rough afternoon
with one of our mental health clients. Recently out of the hospital, Jeff was off his medication.
His bizarre behavior frightened his grandchildren; the family cut him off. Hurt, angry, confused,
he caused a disturbance at the store where the aide had taken him shopping.
Our View: Safety measures needed for all health workers
The Olympian - June 11, 2007
In November 2005, Coleen Anderson called a mental health worker to help her son, 35-year-old Larry W. Clark.
She said her son, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, had stopped taking his medications and believed
his mother was trying to poison him.
Therapists for soldiers scarce
Seattle Times - June 11, 2007
Soldiers returning from war are finding it more difficult to get mental-health treatment because
military insurance is cutting payments to therapists, on top of already low reimbursement rates
and a tangle of red tape.
Mental patients find understanding in therapy led by peers
Boston Globe - June 08, 2007
Years ago, Jess Zaller came to the Pathways mental health program as a day patient. In and out of institutions,
he had fought mental illness since childhood. His life felt like a nightmare of chaos and despair.
Mental illness can't be ignored
Seattle Times - June 07, 2007
It seems like mindless shootings have almost become part of daily life in America. We all had just begun to
recover from the tragedy at Virginia Tech when yet another one occurred on May 19. This time, the scene was
Moscow, Idaho, another small college town where people usually don't fire over 200 rounds in every
direction, hoping to kill everyone they encounter.
Suicides top 30,000 in Japan in 2006
Seattle PI - June 06, 2007
The number of suicides in Japan dipped in 2006 but the total topped 30,000 for the ninth straight year,
police said Thursday. Japan's suicide toll fell 1.2 percent to 32,155 last year, the National Police Agency
said.
Law aims to make mental health calls safer
The Olympian - June 04, 2007
A safety law taking effect this week lets community mental health workers bring a second worker with
them on calls to consider detaining seriously disturbed patients.
County considers increasing sales tax
Bellingham Herald - June 01, 2007
The sales tax in Whatcom County may be increased to double the amount of money for
mental-health and substance- abuse programs.