mental health

The Missouri Psychiatric Center is the only inpatient psychiatric facility for youth within ninety miles of Columbia. The center just renovated their space to include more amenities for youth. The new space is brighter with natural light, new visitation and therapy rooms and three additional beds. The older site was darker and less accommodating for patients.  Director of the center, Laine Young-Walker said the beds were badly needed.

Watch the show and join the conversation on the Intersection website.

The Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia is adding seven new positions in its mental health care programs for veterans.

A report released by the Missouri Department of Mental Health shows teens in Callaway County report higher alcohol and drug use than teens anywhere else in Missouri.

One in five Americans has some sort of disability according to a study done in 2008 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This could include disabilities having to do with hearing, sight, mobility, learning, development or mental health. But not all disabilities are perceived the same way. Drew Graham has a unique perspective on this. He has both a physical and mental disability and has determined over the years that the stigma associated with mental disability carries more weight.

The Health Psychology Department in the Missouri School of Health Professions has released a study saying stress contributes to cognitive decline in women with breast cancer. 

A group that oversees mental-health services in Boone County is considering merging into another city or county institution.  The Boone County Mental Health Board has suffered from sporadic meeting attendance and failed attempts to create a community mental-health fund.

As enrollment rates increase at universities across the country, counselors say they face more difficulties handling student mental health concerns.  And as KBIA’s Scott Kanowsky reports, the University of Missouri system is feeling the strain as well.                                     

Dr. David Wallace is standing in front of a class of college students, a PowerPoint projection lit behind him.  It is Suicide Prevention Week at MU, so Wallace is giving tips on coping with severe mental health problems.

A report from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, said Missouri will see a slight increase in next year’s funding for mental health treatment and services. Despite this, the report said the state is still in the midst of a mental health crisis.

There are 1.6 million people living in rural Missouri, and many have a hard time accessing health care. In the 2011 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s healthy county rankings, Hickory County in West Central Missouri is rated one of the worst in the state in terms of mental health. It’s so bad, residents say they experience just over a week’s worth of poor mental health days each month. They are also unhealthier and experience more poverty than the national average.