According to Psychiatric News (5/19), on May 18, “the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)…announced plans to establish a Behavioral Health Coordinating Council focused on collaboration and strategic planning across the department.” That “council will ‘ensure that millions of Americans receive prevention, early intervention, treatment, and recovery services for mental illness and substance use disorders,’ an APA news release stated.” For its part, “APA applauded the Biden-Harris administration for creating the council, which will be composed of senior leadership from across HHS.” In the news release, APA President Vivian Pender, MD, said, “In the wake of the pandemic an unprecedented, and as of yet untold, number of Americans are faced with mental health and substance use disorders, particularly in communities impacted by structural racism.” Dr. Pender added, “With the creation of this Council and this investment in mental health, the administration is taking a huge step forward.”

Related Links:

— “HHS to Establish Behavioral Health Coordinating Council, Distribute $3 Billion in MH, SUD Funding, Psychiatric News, May 19, 2021

Healio (5/19) reports, “Delivery of a psychological intervention during a patient’s antidepressant tapering may be an alternative long-term antidepressant use for treating recurrent depression,” researchers concluded in a four-trial meta-analysis encompassing 714 participants. The findings were published online May 19 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Psychological intervention during tapering an alternative to long-term antidepressant use “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 19, 2021

Healio (5/18, Gramigna) reports, “School-aged children with autism spectrum disorder [ASD] and/or” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “were capable of face covering across activities during the COVID-19 pandemic,” investigators concluded after assessing “face covering behavior among 104 children aged 5 to 13 years (mean age, 8.9 years; 81% male) who took part in a summer treatment program at the University of Washington Autism Center in July 2020.” The findings of the “cohort study” were published online May 17 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Children with autism, ADHD capable of face covering during COVID-19 pandemic “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 18, 2021

Modern Healthcare (5/18, Brady, Subscription Publication) reports SAMHSA “will give states and territories $3 billion in block grants to support behavioral health.” Half of the funding “will help states and territories provide comprehensive community-based mental health services and improve existing services for people with severe mental health conditions,” and the other half “will go toward substance use disorder prevention and treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Modern Healthcare (Requires Subscription)

Healio (5/18, Gramigna) reports, “Stigmatization surrounding alcohol use disorder is high compared with most other mental health conditions,” researchers posited in a systematic review that “updated findings of a prior systematic review conducted in 2011 that evaluated attitudes toward individuals with alcohol use disorder.” The findings were published online May 10 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

“We identified 20,561 records, of which 24 met the inclusion criteria, reporting results from 16 unique studies conducted in 9 different countries. Compared to substance‐unrelated mental disorders, persons with AUD were generally less likely to be considered mentally ill, while they were perceived as being more dangerous and responsible for their condition. Further, the public desire for social distance was consistently higher for people with AUD. We found no consistent differences in the public stigma toward persons with AUD in comparison with other substance use disorders.

Related Links:

— “Alcohol use disorder has more stigma surrounding it than do other mental health conditions “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 18, 2021