Teens And Parents Need Help Identifying Suicidal Adolescents

Adolescents and parents need help recognizing that suicide is a problem in their own communities, as well as help identifying teens who are suicidal, according to the study, "Attitudes and Beliefs of Adolescents and Parents Regarding Adolescent Suicide," published in the February issue of Pediatrics (appearing online Jan. 11). In the United States in 2006, 1,771 children and adolescents ages 10 to 19 committed suicide, making suicide the third leading cause of death in this age group.

To design a better suicide prevention program, researchers set out to understand what interventions would be most effective. In focus groups in Chicago and Kansas City, both teenagers and their parents correctly identified many of the known risk factors for suicide, including mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse, relational or social loss, and hopelessness. However, study authors said it was concerning that some of the parents reported regular drug and alcohol use as being a normal part of adolescent development, rather than problem behavior.

Parents and teens suggested guns should be removed if an adolescent is known to be suicidal, but parents acknowledged they may not be able to identify a suicidal teen. Parents and teens didn't think suicide was a problem in their communities. All groups were interested in learning how to identify and intervene with a suicidal adolescent. Study authors conclude pediatricians should regularly screen all adolescents in their offices and encourage families to be open to discussing depression and suicide.

Source
American Academy of Pediatrics

American Soldiers Mental Toughness Training

American soldiers are to undergo training in mental toughness or "resiliency" as part of the Army's larger "Comprehensive Soldier Fitness" program, that aims to ensure troops' mental toughness matches their physical toughness.


According to a bulletin posted on 19 August, the first part of the program has already started: some 100 unit leaders and drill sergeants have just completed the first of two classes in learning to teach "master resilience training" to their units. The classes are taught at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where Martin Seligman, renowned for his work on optimism and positive thinking, heads the Positive Psychology Center.

According to an AFP news agency report, the classes draw on over 20 years of Seligman's research and teach soldiers how to change the way they think learn to apply optimism to problems and avoid getting trapped in self-defeating thoughts.

Brigadier General Rhonda Cornum, director of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness told the press that the solider trainers are:

"Learning all the different thinking skills, and how to impart them to other people."

She said resiliency training will help soldiers put worries about money, relationships, health and even tragedy on the battlefield into perspective.

Another part of the program is self-guided learning, and soldiers will also undergo online assessments during the basic training and then every two years afterwards.

Mental fitness is like physical fitness: life-long and ongoing, said Cornum.

"Resilience is a way of thinking -- you apply optimistic thinking to a problem," said Cornum. "It teaches you to remember that problems are temporary, that they are local," said Cornum explaining that while some people are naturally resistant thinkers, others can become so with training.

Cornum said every platoon sergeant and drill sergeant will undergo the master training.

"It's tools, thinking tools, how not to fall into thinking traps or catastrophic thinking," said Cornum.

Summarized from "American Soldiers To Undergo Mental Toughness Training"
by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today

A new scoring system IQ tests are useful for children with mental disabilities

Researchers are developing a procedure for more accurate capacity of children. Parents of children with mental disabilities, were disappointed with IQ tests, they said virtually nothing about their children in the long-term training opportunities. This is because the tests are conducted in accordance with the average performance of children without disabilities, so that the raw scores of many children with intellectual disabilities at a low level of output: as a rule, no.

"We send back these reports that don't tell parents anything about their child," explained David Hessl, associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of California Davis M.I.N.D. Institute.

Well, Hessle, and a team from the new system, points IQ tests, the number of children with fragile X syndrome, genetic disorder that causes mental retardation, including autism. His studies were in-line Springer in the journal Neuro-development disorders.

"If this new method becomes widely available, we will be able to tell parents something more useful and more accurately diagnose and treat young children who are learning disabled," said Hessl, a physician who cares for children with fragile X syndrome.

According to Hessler, "There are many differences in the performance of children with mental disabilities in IQ tests. IQ tests are frustrated by "lack of sensitivity, Hessle develop scoring method to assess the advantages and disadvantages of each child.

"I knew a more accurate estimation of the potential of these children would make a big difference in their lives," he said.

In collaboration with researchers from the MIND Institute and Stanford University, as well as statistics from the National University of Pennsylvania, the group came with the new standardized scores of 217 children with fragile X syndrome, IQ test.

"The new scores tell us more precisely how a child with fragile X syndrome deviates from the normal population in every sub-test area," Hessl said.

Treatment of fragile X syndrome depends on its manifestation in each of the behavioral therapy to medication. The widespread use of new skills at a higher level will be the doctors treat their patients.

Hessl concluded, "In the future, the publishers of IQ tests should include lower functioning individuals in their standardization studies. This might mean over-sampling those with intellectual disability in order to get more sensitivity, but it would help so many children."

Springer Science+Business Media
http://www.springer.com

Health Commission bar for mental health service users, Britain

With regard to the annual review of health, Lisa Rodriguez, president of the Network for Mental Health NHS Confederation, as well as the executive director of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said:

"This is the second year running that NHS mental health trusts have been rated as one of the best performing parts of the NHS, the strong performance in the areas of quality and the effective management of resources is particularly pleasing.

"As a mental health trust chief executive myself, I know how hard our staff have worked not only to offer excellent services, but also to provide the evidence for doing so.

"Members of the network will continue to work with the Health commission and its successor the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to develop indicators which more effectively measure outcomes for service users."

"Mental health services are coming increasingly under the public spotlight, and we welcome more scrutiny. We are not complacent, and we know that improvements must continue. The public should be reassured that mental health services are getting better year on year. There is no health without mental health."

Mental Health Network represents the majority of mental health trusts. It was the spring of 2007, the voice of NHS service providers in mental health.

NHS Confederation represents more than 95% of organizations that are members of the NHS. Its members are the most acute NHS trusts, ambulance trusts, the Fund hopes, mental health trusts, primary care trusts, special health authorities and strategic health authorities in England and hopes that local health authorities in Wales, as well as medical and social services trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.

source : NHS Confederation [www.nhsconfed.org]

After Hurricane enhance the credibility of the efforts of mental disorders

This is a storm that people usually do not speak - of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder that strikes after a catastrophic experience. Post-traumatic mental conditions are one of many mental disorders, which affect about 57.7 million Americans in a year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which occurs Improving Mental Health Week, 5-11 October 2008. Organizations, including Allsup, that people across the country Social Security disability benefits, will help raise awareness about mental illness and support for individuals and their families.

Anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder and phobias, more than 40 million U.S. reports. One of the five veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan (about 300,000 soldiers) will experience major depression or post-traumatic stress when they return home. Other types of mental disorders also affect millions of people, including 5.7 million bipolar disorder and 2 / 4 million people who have schizophrenia.

"People with mental disabilities are often among the most vulnerable in our society. Unfortunately, too often forgotten in times of natural disasters," said the executive director of NAMI Michael J. Fitzpatrick, recently announced the creation of a U.S. Hurricane Relief Fund to individuals and families In Gustav hurricanes and Ike.

U.S. makes a number of resources and support through its website, including:

• On Drugs: to find information about drugs, dose and processing of information.


• State and local NaMiS: Get information for local associations from state to state leadership.


• Support Program: to find support and build on the basis of point-to-point connections, family and care proposals.
  

One of the most important facts about mental illness is that two-thirds of people with the condition for which there is no cure. During Mental Health Awareness-week, the Association stresses the theme "Building Community. Taking Action".

Mental illness can affect anyone at any time, and good for people and their families, realized that mental health is part of the world's well-being and health.

Allsup notes Mental Health Enhancing Week Free posters for hospitals, clinics and other groups calling Karen Hercules-Doerr at (800) 854-1418, ext. 5770th

source : National Alliance on Mental Illness