Dorms, dining halls and depression: College students at risk
The awareness of depression as a human condition is not modern or new.
The earliest written accounts of the condition emerged from the second millennium BC in Mesopotamia when it was seen as more spiritual than physical.
Know the signs: Help prevent a loved one’s suicide
Anna was one of the most talented and creative people I had ever known, and just about everyone who met her felt the same.
Anna was sadly successful, as she was in everything, in ending her life. . . .Unfortunately, the story of a Beacon Health Options employee’s friend is not unique or unfamiliar to many people. Often, the friends and families of people at risk for suicidal behavior disorder have no idea of that risk.
Confronting an opioid crisis: Beacon funding supports local efforts
Beacon Health Options (Beacon) believes that excellent health care is local health care.
Standing by that belief, Beacon is distributing $128,000 in grants to four community-based behavioral health organizations that are combatting the opioid crisis in Massachusetts at the grassroots level.
Beacon Health Options offers questions to ask and answer during Mental Health Awareness Month
In any given year, an astonishing 1 in 5 Americans will face mental illness. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., with more than 40 million lives affected. Additionally, about 16 million have major depression. But despite the prevalence of mental health conditions, only about a third of Americans seek treatment. Just as other illnesses – such as high blood pressure or diabetes – are treatable and manageable, so too are mental health issues. That’s why May has been designated as Mental Health Awareness Month, an observance developed to raise awareness of mental health issues and the stigma attached to them. At Beacon Health Options, our entire focus is on mental and behavioral health, because that’s…
Autism: Wide-ranging study reconfirms the need for care coordination
A study released on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the January issue of JAMA Psychiatry sheds new light on old knowledge – that individuals with ASD have a higher rate of co-occurring disorders than the general population.
However, the study raises the bar in two ways: 1) it draws on an unmatched amount of data – nearly 6 million people; and 2) provides greater insight into the association between pairs of conditions over time.
Improve behavioral health: Together, we can
The 2019 National Council for Behavioral Health Conference that occurred in Nashville last week provides reason to pause. Its theme, “Celebrating 50 Years of WE”, gets to the very heart of what will bring about change – for behavioral health and beyond. Together, we can make a difference.
Cutting-edge rating system for addiction treatment heralds new era of transparency
The United States is in the midst of an unprecedented opioid epidemic, but the unfortunate reality is that only one out of 10 Americans with a substance use disorder (SUD) receives treatment.
That statistic alone is shocking, but even worse, widespread adoption of evidence-based practices has been limited.
Retail therapy: The best health care is local
With one in five Americans suffering from a mental illness at any point in their lives, the demand for behavioral health services is loud and clear, but the reality is that many people do not have access to quality care.
Indeed, only 26 percent of the need for mental health services is met in this country, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Culturally sensitive trauma-informed care: Healing the mind through the heart
Unfortunately, trauma exists across all cultures and communities, but there are some cultures that inherit the pain of their forebears.
This is particularly true for Alaska Natives/American Indians whose hearts are intertwined across generations and losses of loved ones. That experience, coupled with a vanished way of life, perpetuates a sense of grief and trauma into present day.
Two Beacon programs help to shape American healthcare landscape
For approximately 35 years, Beacon Health Options has worked to deliver on a fundamental yet singularly important goal: helping people live their lives to their fullest potential by driving and supporting evidence-based, integrated care.
Today, Beacon serves more than 40 million members, but the company’s efforts extend to all Americans as it strives to improve the US healthcare delivery system at large.