mental health

Over the next several weeks, the N.H. Dept. of Health and Human Services is looking for input from the public on a draft of a new ten-year plan for the state's mental-health system that has been in the works for several months.   Among the areas in need of substantial improvement, according to many: children's mental health care.  The draft is due by mid-October, with the final version due in November.       

GUESTS: 

Loneliness can have a powerful impact on our mental, physical, and social wellbeing. We look at what might be causing loneliness in children, teenagers, and adults, and what it means for our health and happiness.

Over a year ago, St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire published an investigation that revealed decades of sexual abuse allegations. The school is currently being sued by two alumni over faculty sex abuse allegations.

And yet they haven’t established a therapy fund for alumni who were abused, something academics, attorneys and victims believe is essential for healing.

Our series on mental health in New Hampshire concludes with a look at the role of the state psychiatric hospital in responding to crises, and at what happens once a patient leaves, including what's available in terms of treatment, jobs, housing, and community support. 

The Exchange: In-Depth

On the first of our four-day series, we get an overview of mental health care in New Hampshire, including efforts to bolster the community support system, as required under a 2013 legal settlement.  We'll also find out how a new 10-year plan for mental health is shaping up, and how it differs from the last 10-year plan.  Among the issues yet to be solved: long emergency-room waits for people in crisis, an average of 37 people daily, according to the N.H. chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. 

It’s a special edition of the Weekly New Hampshire News Roundup - recorded in front of a live audience at The Barley House in Concord.  The legislature tackles a lengthy, snow-delayed slate of bills including marijuana legalization, family medical leave and a possible state department of veterans affairs. Plus a new transitional housing unit signals a new approach to mental health care in N.H.  

This show was taped Thursday, January 11, 2018.

Our listeners voted for their favorite 2017 episodes of The Exchange. Today, it's our conversation about the controversial Netflix series "Thirteen Reasons Why," which brought  the issues of sexual assault, cyberbullying, and suicide to millions of young viewers.  But it upset many in the mental health field, concened that the show glorifies suicide.  That sparked a renewed conversation about these topics and the best way to present them, especially in an age when shows and images can go viral before parents can tune in.

This program was originally broadcast on May 17, 2017

A new, national study has alarming predictions for New Hampshire. The report draws a strong connection between substance abuse and suicide, and says the Granite State will have among the country's highest suicide risks in the upcoming decade.  We get more details, also local reaction to this report, and ideas for mitigating this possibility.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults in New Hampshire, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Exeter Hospital recently endorsed an initiative for suicide prevention as a part of a five-year strategy to address the on-going issue in the state.

Morning Edition Host Rick Ganley spoke with Debra Vasapolli, director of community relations for the hospital, about the Zero Suicide initiative.

  (Editor's note: this transcript has been edited lightly for clarity.)

Fifteen years ago, former New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick was attacked by his son, who had an undiagnosed mental illness. Now, Broderick  is on a mission to increase awareness of the signs of mental illness that he missed in his son.

Last year he began speaking to high school and college students as part of the Change Direction New Hampshire campaign and he continues that effort tomorrow in Canaan, N.H., in a joint appearance with state Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut.

We talk to NHPR reporter Paige Sutherland about two topics in her series, "Alternatives - N.H. Gets Creative to Curb Ongoing Opioid Crisis": an acupuncture detoxification treatment and involuntary commitment. 

Medical scholars have long researched and debated the best methods to treat people with mental health problems. A recent Exchange episode explored how the philosophy of wilderness therapy – the idea that camping in a natural setting can be a treatment for patients struggling with mental health problems. But when gauging the benefits of wilderness therapy, it may be useful to examine the success of more common methods used to treat mental health: medication and talk therapy.

During the last 15 years, the number of opioids sold in this country has quadrupled, contributing to an epidemic of addiction and overdose that has ravaged communities in New Hampshire and across the country. 

A major political controversy broke last week when state officials accused Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital of failing to live up to the terms of a contract to run the state psychiatric hospital.

Every day, an email goes out to leaders in New Hampshire’s mental health system. It gives an updated count on the number of people in immediate need of inpatient psychiatric care, but are being denied that care because of a shortage of beds in New Hampshire hospitals.

On February 20th of this year, that email contained a staggering number: 68 adults and children were being housed in hospital emergency rooms and hallways because of a lack of available beds. It was a new high.