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Troops returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with mental illness are receiving different levels of disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs depending on where they live, according to a McClatchy news analysis, McClatchy/Miami Herald reports. There are 43,000 recent veterans receiving monthly mental disability payments, which are worth up to [...]

Bariatric surgery is the most effective weight-loss option for people who are severely obese. However, the surgery involves substantial risks and requires a lifelong commitment to behavioral change. People eligible for the surgery often have a history of mental health problems or eating disorders. Therefore, patients must be prepared mentally as well as physically before [...]

The two-day Breaking the Silence conference in Philadelphia aimed to address an “often hidden and still taboo topic within the African-American community: mental illness and the dangers of not treating it,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. About 2,000 participants attended the conference, which ended Saturday and featured panel discussions on behavioral health moderated by prominent members [...]

Shocking true picture of mixed-sex wards: 68 per cent of mental health inpatients on these
Racial discrimination shows no improvement
Today’s patient research reveals the true state of mixed-sex wards: a disturbing 68 per cent of mental health patients were accommodated on these wards this year. This confirms what patients have been telling Mind for years (1), [...]

The Massachusetts Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector on Tuesday voted to press insurers to hold premium increases to 5% in 2008 for unsubsidized health insurance plans sold in the state, the Boston Globe reports. According to the Globe, connector officials and health care analysts “agree that neither the state nor individuals will be able to afford [...]

“Natural and Manmade Disasters and Mental Health,” Journal of the American Medical Association: In the commentary, David Satcher, former U.S. surgeon general and commissioner of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, and Sharon Friel and Ruth Bell, members of the Commission Secretariat, discuss the effects of natural and manmade disasters on mental health during [...]

In the first month after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and surrounding areas in August 2005, 17% of the city’s residents reported serious mental illness, compared with 10% of people living in areas near the city and an estimated prevalence of 1% to 3% in the general population, according to a study published Tuesday in [...]

Mental Health America released its report, “Ranking America’s Mental Health: An Analysis of Depression Across the States,” a first-of-its-kind study examining state and national data for statistical associations between factors that govern access to mental health care and actual mental health outcomes, including suicide rates. Included in the study is a ranking of the 50 [...]

Leading mental health charity Mind comments on the Government’s plans to provide specialist mental health care to ex-military servicemen. Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of mental health charity Mind, said:
“There’s no doubt that soldiers can suffer considerable trauma in conflict zones, and it goes without saying that for people experiencing trauma on a daily basis, mental [...]

The true extent of the withdrawal of services for vulnerable people has been revealed today by new figures, secured by the Learning Disability Coalition.
The data, which was provided to Mencap following a request to CSCI, reveals the full picture of which councils are rationing support by only providing social care to those people with very [...]