|
|
December 2022
E-News
401.726.2285
|
|
In This Issue:
- The Holidays and Mental Wellness
- Get to Know RI's Mental Health Advocate! An interview with Megan Clingham
- Speak Up for Mental Health!
- Article Review -- Don't say LGBTQIA+ is a mental illness!
- MHARI In Action: Patient Privacy Update
- Healing Trauma: Podcast with Paul Conti, MD
-
From the Desk of RIParity: U.S. Senate Finance Seeks Policy Reforms to Fulfill the Promise of Mental Health Parity
- In Case You Missed It: Mental Health Benefits of Yoga
- With Gratitude...
- Trainings for Mental Health Professionals
- Calling All Providers: OHIC's Administrative Simplification Workgroup Needs Your Input
|
|
The Holidays and Mental Wellness |
|
The last several weeks of the year are full of parties, gift-giving, and festive meals. While many eagerly anticipate this time of year, some feel more anxious or depressed during the holidays. A study by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in 2021 found that 3 out of 5 people said their mental health worsened during the holiday season. Financial pressures, conflict with family members, loss of loved ones, and busy schedules were common reasons people felt stressed, anxious, or depressed.
If you notice your mental health worsening during the holidays, take hope! You can do many things to boost your mood or reduce stress.
Consider these options:
-
Practice self-care. What activities help you feel refreshed or relaxed? Taking a walk, watching a favorite movie, or visiting a holiday light display are all simple activities that can bring happiness.
-
Avoid negative coping strategies. It is common for people to enjoy alcoholic beverages, but excessive drinking can harm your physical and mental health.
-
Set healthy boundaries. It is okay to say “no” or “not right now.” If your schedule is too busy, consider limiting the number of invitations you accept. If family gatherings are a little contentious, plan to stay for only an hour or two.
-
Follow your regular routine. Enjoy holiday treats AND remember your veggies and protein. Settle in for a fun movie night AND aim for 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Proper rest and nutrition help your mental health tremendously!
-
Acknowledge your feelings. Talk to a trusted friend or family member and tell them how you feel. Sometimes, just saying words out loud can help remove a burden from our minds. Your loved ones may also be able to provide additional support.
|
|
|
|
Sometimes, our own efforts aren't quite enough. |
Don’t hesitate to contact a trained professional if your mental health worsens or you experience a mental health crisis. You can use the new 988 Suicide and Crisis Prevention Lifeline. Just call or text 988, it's open 24/7. A trained counselor will listen to you, support you, and share resources in your area. s |
|
Get to Know Rhode Island's Mental Health Advocate! |
|
Watch this engaging conversation between Laurie-Marie and Megan Clingham, Rhode Island’s Mental Health Advocate. Rhode Island's Office of the Mental Health Advocate is a state-funded legal office that works hard to ensure the legal, civil, and special rights of people with mental illness in Rhode Island. The office and its hard-working staff provide an array of free legal, investigative, and advocacy services. If you or your loved one need assistance, please call the Mental Health Advocate at (401) 462-2003. Click the video to watch the conversation.
|
|
Speak Up For Mental Health! |
|
The General Assembly will be back in session in January. Oh, how time flies! Since September, MHARI has been leading a coalition of allies to prepare for a cohesive and strategic advocacy campaign for much needed mental health policy, including funding for improved Medicaid reimbursement rates, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, 988 Crisis Line, Eleanor Slater Hospital, and much more.
It’s helpful to have a coalition of so many passionate and dedicated organizations, consumer groups, and providers involved in this effort. However, voters make all the difference when it comes to our elected officials.
We need voters like YOU to share your stories and ask our leaders for positive change.
We need you to write letters/emails, make calls, testify at public hearings during the evenings, and meet with your state legislators — even if just for two or three minutes. If all this sounds intimidating, but interesting nonetheless, we’ve got you! MHARI can provide an overview of how the legislative process works. And we can hook you up with our good friends at NAMI Rhode Island, which offers free virtual Advocacy Smarts training to teach you how to develop your two-minute story for legislators.
If each of us does a little, we can accomplish a lot.
If you want to get involved in advocacy, click here to email Karen Malcolm, our Parity Initiative Project Manager.
|
|
Don’t Say LGBTQ+ Identity
is a Mental Illness!
An Article Review
by Eunice David, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Project Manager
|
|
The first line of the article reads, “Ask just about anyone in the LGBTQIA+ community and they'll have a story about how someone told them their identity was a mental illness.” I have heard this many times from people in the LGBTQIA+ community, and I can imagine how demoralizing it is. As the article notes, "Up until 1973, homosexuality was actually a diagnosis in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)." As we now know, gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexual expression/gender expression are not and should not be considered a mental illness. Unfortunately, the DSM’s misclassification has left behind a legacy of stigma.
The article explains, “Many in the community do also have mental health struggles related to their identity. But they are not the same…” The mental health challenges stem from the impact of stressors including discrimination, prejudice, and disparities. This is doubly burdensome to those who identify as both BIPOC and LGBTQ. The article notes that there is a higher level of suicidal ideation in the LGBQTIA+ community compared to heterosexual individuals.
The article encourages readers to recognize the value of being seen and accepted as you are. It also provides tips on how allies can help and where the LGBQTIA+ community can find support. It is important for our community to feel safe and to educate one another about the struggles of each person's lived experience. It is equally critical to have gender-affirming care and support groups in which individuals can feel connected and receive needed care and services. Lastly, we need robust public education to help address stigma.
|
|
Patient Privacy UPDATE
As noted in last month's newsletter, in 2021, the RI Department of Health and RI Office of Health and Human Services passed a law changing the state’s Health Information Exchange (HIE) from an opt-in system – wherein a patient expressly grants permission for their records to be shared with another provider – to an opt-out system. This means that all our medical and behavioral health records will be shared in the HIE unless we choose to opt-out. There is great concern that sensitive mental health records will be shared without patients’ knowledge, and this can lead to discrimination and stigma. Federal law requires records related to substance use disorders and psychotherapy notes to be kept confidential unless the patient explicitly opts to share their records, and we believe that all mental and behavioral health records should be afforded the same protection.
UPDATE -- MHARI collaborated with RI ACLU, NAMI RI, Oasis Wellness and Recovery Center, the RI Elder Mental Health and Addiction Coalition, RI Cares, SAGE RI, the Office of the Mental Health Advocate and others to persuade the state to afford special protection for all sensitive records, including those pertaining to behavioral and mental health. We sent a joint letter to RIDOH expressing our concerns and asking for amendments to their proposed regulations, which dictate how the law will be implemented. In response, the state agreed to include the following amendments in their proposed regulations: (1) a reference to laws that prohibit providers from disclosing substance use or psychotherapy notes without the patient’s explicit permission, (2) a reference to the state’s mental health law affording special confidentiality requirements for records relating to services provided to persons who have been civilly committed, and (3) a requirement that opt-out forms be written at an appropriate reading level and with community input.
We also asked RIDOH to amend their proposed regulations to allow patients to request detailed reports from the Health Information Exchange identifying which providers have accessed their medical and behavioral health records and for what purposes. The state denied this request, stating that current law allows patients to ask individual doctors or behavioral health providers for disclosure reports.
While we did not get every amendment we asked for, the regulations are slightly less problematic. MHARI and other groups will continue to work with the state to protect patient privacy as its new opt-out system moves forward.
|
|
Did someone forward you this newsletter?
|
|
Healing Trauma
According to the National Council for Behavioral Health (NCBH), about 70% of adults in the United States will experience a trauma in their lifetime. Trauma is a risk factor in nearly all behavioral health and substance use disorders. Click here to check out NCBH’s infographic for more information.
Untreated trauma can affect every area of our lives. Paul Conti, MD, is a psychiatrist and expert in treating trauma, personality disorders and psychiatric illnesses. He is the author of Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic. In a recent podcast episode, Dr. Conti discusses trauma: what it is and its far-reaching effects on the mind and body, as well as the best treatment approaches for trauma. He also offers advice on how to choose a therapist, how to get the most out of therapy, as well as how to do self-directed therapy. Click here to listen to the conversation.
|
|
|
|
From the desk of...
Karen Malcolm
Project Manager
|
|
U.S. Senate Finance Seeks Policy Reforms to Fulfill Promise of Mental Health Parity Law |
|
Bi-partisan members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, led by Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are continuing their effort towards addressing policies that will help realize the promise of our nation’s federal mental health parity law. On December 2nd, the committee released a discussion draft that includes policies aimed at improving mental health parity in Medicare and Medicaid and helping to put access to mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) services on par with physical health care.
Chairman Wyden noted that, "Too often the notion of mental health parity falls short of reality." Committee member, Senator Michael Bennet, D-Colo., noted, “As I travel across Colorado, I consistently hear about the mental and behavioral health challenges Coloradans and their children experience and the difficulties they face finding affordable, high-quality care. We need to change our approach to ensure our health care system equitably addresses both mental and physical health."
Policies in the discussion draft include:
- Strengthening the accuracy of provider directories in Medicare Advantage plans.
- Strengthening requirements in Medicaid for managed care organizations and states to maintain regularly updated provider directories that include, in part, information on accessing care from behavioral health professionals.
- Direct the Government Accountability Office to report on Medicaid payment rates for behavioral health services compared to medical and surgical services across a sample of states, among several others.
This discussion draft is the fifth and final legislative draft the Senate Finance Committee has released since kicking off its bipartisan mental health initiative. Other drafts focused on telehealth policies; youth mental health; expanding the mental health care workforce; and, on integrating physical health and mental health care providers.
|
|
Mental Health Benefits of Yoga! |
|
|
|
Did you miss Laurie’s video chat with local yoga teacher Bristol Maryott? Click here to watch this video to learn how yoga improves mental health. You can find Bristol and other caring yoga instructors at Jala Studio in Providence.
|
|
With Gratitude!
Thank you to the Rhode Island Foundation for their ongoing support of the RIParity Initiative!
Thank you to Blue Cross Blue Shield of RI for supporting MHARI's Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion scholarships & internship stipends!
And, special thanks again to this year's tennis tournament sponsors and organizers!
|
|
Calling All Professionals!
OHIC’s Administrative Simplification Work Group needs your input
Our healthcare system is complicated. This Fall, the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) will reconvene the Administrative Simplification Task Force, a diverse group of stakeholders, to develop processes, standards and guidelines to streamline healthcare administration. This year's focus will be on prior authorizations. The Task Force will gather input and make recommendations on insurers’ prior authorization requirements and processes. To learn more, visit OHIC.
The meetings are open to the public. See details below to participate. Contact Courtney Miner to be added to the meeting list. Courtney.Miner@ohic.ri.gov
Upcoming meetings:
Location: State of Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, 1511 Pontiac Avenue, Building 73-1, Cranston, RI 02920-4407
|
|
Trainings for mental health professionals! |
|
The Substance Use Mental Health Leadership Council (SUMHLC) offers a number of useful trainings for providers. Click here for a listing of training opportunities available, and check back periodically as new classes are added.
|
|
The Mission of the
Mental Health Association of RI (MHARI) is to promote and nourish mental health through advocacy, education, and policy development.
Our website is filled with resources to help those living with mental health challenges. Please feel free to visit the site as often as you need. Your shares of relevant pages on your social media could offer just the help that someone needs. Thank You!
|
|
|
Laurie-Marie Pisciotta
Executive Director
|
|
Karen Malcolm
Project Manager, RI Mental Health Parity Initiative
|
|
Eunice David
Bridging the Divide: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Mental Healthcare
Program Coordinator
|
|
The Mental Health Association of RI (MHARI) is a private, 501(c)3 non-profit organization and is 100% funded by grants and donations.
Won't you consider supporting MHARI today?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
