Mental Health - Information

Facts / Resources

NAMI is developing a social networking website and online resource center, similar to FaceBook and MySpace, for transition-age youth and young adults (18 to 24 years old). The website will be designed for individuals living with a mental illness, friends and family members, and others interested in learning more about mental health.

Resources: Click here for a complete list

PRESIDENT FOR SIGNS HISTORIC ADDICTION & MENTAL HEALTH PARITY LEGISLATION INTO LAW Oct. 3, 2008
Washington, D.C. – Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) commends the President for signing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which will improve access to lifesaving addiction and mental health treatment by eliminating the discriminatory barriers that have kept thousands of Americans with substance use and mental health disorders from receiving the care they need, into law. <Read More>

Local/Online
Mental Health Services for Cleveland's West Side

Families Anonymous - A Beacon of Hope: Are you at your wits’ end?  Does someone you love have drug, alcohol or behavioral problems?  We can help. Read their open letter to the P2PN.
Local Meeting Schedule Description of Services

Lorain County Youth pages

Listing of Lorain County Resources/those accepting new patients.

See Me, Hear my Feelings: A link for teens, "A place where you can come to find answers to your questions, hear the voices of your peers, and realize there are so many out there JUST LIKE YOU."

Bart's Place: Bringing All Relatives Together, Dr. Patricia Masterson shares how siblings and offspring can cope with and understand mental illness in their family. Call for times and locations 216-875-776 or tmiller@nami.org Read Article
More info: 216-787-0500 ext. 2697 Mission Statement Services

Cornerstone of Hope: A non-profit bereavement center designed to offer grief support for children, adolescents, and adults.

Ohio Mental Health Network for School Success

National
Mental Health America

Substance Abuse and Mental health Services Administration (samhsa) Link to their list of National Resources.

ADHD Information and Support

American Academy of child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)

American Psychological Association (APA)

Child Welfare League of America Inc. (CWLA)

Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)

Elimination of Barriers Initiative: The objectives of the EBI are to counter stigma and discrimination, reduce barriers to treatment, build public support around the idea of recovery, and emphasize the importance of having quality, community-based services accessible to people with mental illnesses. Ohio Info / Mental Health: It's part of all our lives (download pdf)

Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health

Hardwired to Connect: In this pioneering report, the Commission on Children at Risk, a panel of 33 leading children's doctors, neuroscientists, research scholars and youth service professionals, draw upon a large body of recent research showing that children are biologically primed ("hardwired") for enduring connections to others and for moral and spiritual meaning.

National Association of Psychiatric Treatment Centers for Children (NAPTCC)
National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

NetworkOfCare.org: an online information place for individuals, families and agencies concerned with mental and emotional wellness.

Articles

Study Links Inhalant Use to Depression (CADCA, Sept. 18, 2008)
Researchers found that those with a past-year major depressive episode (MDE) were more than three times as likely as their counterparts with no past-year MDE to start using inhalants. <Read More>

How to know when a therapist can help you (Clev PD, June 24, 2008) "If you're unhappy, if you're not as productive as you want to be, if other obstacles exist between you and your goals, it's a good idea to seek professional advice," says Joel Gecht, a psychologist and president of BMA Impact in Beachwood, which provides counseling and other services to colleges, universities, corporations and individuals. <Read More>

Behavior Disorders in Teens Are Focus of New R&D Effort (EdWeek.org, Sept. 2, 2008)
The numbers tell a grim story: By the time students with behavioral or emotional problems get to high school, they may be so alienated from adults or disruptive to their classmates that they simply drop out. <Read More>

Know! stress is a major contributing factor in teen drug abuse (KNOW Newsletter, Sept. 2008) Youth deal with stress differently. Some find healthy constructive outlets to release built up stress while others make decisions that ultimately prove destructive. Recent survey results indicate the number one reason teens say they would use drugs is to deal with the pressures and stress of school. While 73% of youth cited stress as a major contributing factor, only 7% of parents believed teens might use drugs to relieve stress (Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, 2007). <Read More>

Bipolar Disorder
What's happening to my son? by Irene S. Levine, PhD (Readers Digest Oct 2007) "But in the past few years, more and more kids are being diagnosed (with bipolar disorder). Mental health professionals have been rethinking the criteria after finding that many adults with bipolar disorder claimed to first experience its symptoms in childhood."

Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation

The Bipolar Child: The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood’s Most Misunderstood Disorder Book by Demitri Papolos, MD and Janice Papolos The Bipolar Child Web site of authors Demitri Papolos, M.D. and Janice Papolos, author of best-selling book, The Bipolar Child (Broadway Books, 1999). Offers excellent newsletter with archived articles of interest to families.

Web Resources for Bipolar Disorder
BPChildren.com features information, publications, and resources for young people and adults to help them understand pediatric bipolar disorder. 
Connect for Kids, a program of the Benton Foundation. Searchable state-by-state listing of advocacy and other helpful programs for kids in your state.

Co-Occuring Disorders
The term "Co-occurring Disorder" (COD) refers to both substance-related and mental health disorders affecting an individual at the same time. Symptoms from both substance abuse or dependency and mental health problems can overlap. They can even imitate each other, making treatment and diagnosis difficult.
Mental Health America: Links and Resources

Depression
SafeYouth.org: A link to a list of articles and fact sheets relative to depression in youths.

Children's Depression Checklist (pdf)

Youth Depression and Substance Abuse (pdf)

Suicide Prevention
Know about suicide, you could save a life: Article gives stats about suicide and what parents can do.

Suicide rate among U.S. girls soars The biggest increase - about 76 percent - was in the suicide rate for 10- to 14-year-old girls.

Responding to a depressed or suicidal student: Step by step information about how to respond in this situation.

Child and Adolescent Suicide (pdf)

Suicide FAQ

What can I do to help? Gives a list for parents and friends

Epilepsy drugs may raise suicide risks, study says

Information from the Family Education site: Link to many articles on teen suicide including warning signs, FAQs, and how you can save a life.

Parents make a difference
Get Involved : Young people are much less likely to have mental health and substance use problems when they have positive activities to do and when caring adults are involved in their lives.

Failure and recovery - without parental meddling (Plain Dealer Editorial, Feb 6, 2008) As a mother of two small children, I find this type of parenting suffocating. As a career educator, I find it a hindrance to a child's social and academic development. While we presume that nobody wants to see his or her child suffer frustration or face failure, an experience I had last year illustrates the benefits that can come from letting a child find solutions to problems that are sometimes of his or her own making.