focus

Focus 47: The Challenge of Higher Education for Mental Health Consumers—A First Hand Perspective

The benefits of educational attainment are clear and widely recognized. People with better educations have access to better jobs, and earn more over the course of their lives. They also develop careers, and benefit from the sense of purpose and direction that accompany a life of meaningful work. For people with mental health conditions, the […]

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Focus 45: Finding the Right Fit: What to Look For in a College or University

The demand for mental health services is at an all-time high, and colleges and universities are struggling to meet the need for support and counseling among their student bodies. The end result is a crisis not just among the students, who report extraordinarily high levels of depression and anxiety, but among institutions of higher education

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Supported Education: Examining the Evidence

Supported education is a simple idea that makes intuitive sense. Getting a college degree can be extremely beneficial, both personally and professionally. Higher education allows people the chance to explore their interests and fulfill their dreams, while also markedly improving their employment prospects for a lifetime. At the same time, people with mental health needs

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A Focus on Postvention: How Colleges and Universities Can React to Suicide Clusters

In the latest Focus newsletter, CAFE TAC examines the phenomenon of “suicide clusters” on college and university communities, and how they might be prevented. Students in higher education face a myriad of challenges and threats to their emotional wellness. That’s why many institutions make an effort to publicize their counseling services, and campaign against stigma

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A Focus on Transition to Higher Education for Students with Mental Health Needs

For students with mental health needs, the transition to campus life can be a major challenge. Students must adjust to living independently, take on new academic work and also manage their health and wellness. Despite the fact that most colleges and universities have some kind of support in place, an unacceptably large proportion of students

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A Focus on SAMHSA’s New Strategic Plan

Like any organization, from the largest corporation to the smallest grassroots advocacy group, our nation’s lead agency for behavioral health, SAMHSA, has a strategic plan to guide it. After more than 1,400 public comments and months of refinement, the latest version of that plan, Leading Change 2.0: Advancing the Behavioral Health of the Nation 2015-2018

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Focus: Peers at the Center of New Approaches to Coordinated Care

It’s no secret that we live in an extraordinarily dynamic moment for behavioral health, and the healthcare system in general. Major changes to healthcare laws, including the Affordable Care Act and mental health parity legislation, have opened up access to behavioral health care. At the same time, the value of lived experience as a professional

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A Focus on The Mental Health Workforce Crisis

As last year’s SAMHSA report to Congress on the nation’s substance abuse and mental health workforce noted, the demand for behavioral health services in the US exceeds what is available. With expanded access to care through the Affordable Care Act and new Mental Health Parity rules, that demand will only increase in coming years, and

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