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Elevating Bebe Moore Campbell's Legacy in 2023: APA's Dynamic Approach to National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month: Part 2
In response to the U.S. Surgeon General's advisory on the youth mental health crisis in the U.S., APA held the inaugural APA Moore Equity in Mental Health Youth Summit on July 12. Through this one-day summit, APA collaborated with the Marion Barry Youth Leadership Institute to design a youth-centered mental health event focused on cultivating mental wellness among 150 young people of color in Washington, D.C. This summit aimed to increase mental health awareness, empower youth to advocate for their own mental wellness, facilitate peer support and engagement, and introduce youth attendees to early career mental health clinicians. Given the disconcerting youth mental health statistics, this event had a critical role in creating a space for open dialogue directly with youth.
How to Help Those with Opioid Use Disorder in Jails & Prisons
- By Anthony Tamburello, M.D., DFAPA, CCHP
By now we all know that opioids like heroin, prescription painkillers, and fentanyl are deadly. What doesn’t get as much attention is the wider damage done by problem use of these substances, including losses of relationships and jobs, declining health, and financial strain. These concerns affect not only the individual but also every person close to them.
Clinicians Resources Roundup: Opioid Use Disorder
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is launching a public education effort this fall on addictions and opioid use disorder (OUD). More information and resources for the public are available here in English, and in Spanish. The APA also has free and/or low-cost education for clinicians and APA members on OUD, available in various formats.
Pregnancy, Mental and Substance Use Conditions and Treatment: Advice from Mental Health Experts
An estimated one in five childbearing persons in the U.S. experience a mental or substance use disorder before, during, or after pregnancy each year. With support from the CDC Foundation, APA has developed a series of educational materials for addressing perinatal mental health. This toolkit includes four fact sheets for patients: for people planning to become pregnant, for pregnant persons, for postpartum people, and suggestions for preparing for medical appointments.
The Opioid Crisis: Impact, Challenges, and Paths to Recovery
- By John A. Fromson, M.D.
Opioids are a class of drugs that include prescription painkillers like oxycodone and hydrocodone, illegal drugs like heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. These substances bind to opioid receptors in the brain, producing pain relief and euphoria. Prolonged use can lead to tolerance, dependence, and addiction, characteristic of opioid use disorder (OUD). Fentanyl, due to its potency, has played a particularly lethal role in the opioid crisis.