Development of a family-based program to reduce risk and promote resilience among families affected by maternal depression: theoretical basis and program description.

Depression is a family matter. It not only diminishes the quality-of-life of the depressed person, but also strains the resources of the family unit and increases the children's risk of developing significant problems that start early and persist into adulthood. Although treatment of a parent's depression is critical, many families also need professional intervention to reduce children's risk.

Physicians and nurses with substance use disorders.

Background: The literature addressing substance use patterns among medical professionals suggests that specialty, gender, age, familial substance abuse, and access/familiarity with prescription drugs are associated with particular chemical dependencies. These studies have rarely compared nurses and physicians directly, thereby making if difficult to tailor interventions to the potentially unique needs of each group.

Aim: This paper reports a study to compare the initial clinical presentations, service utilization patterns, and post-treatment functioning of nurses and physicians who received services in an addiction treatment programme.

Racial differences in the mental health needs and service utilization of youth in the juvenile justice system.

Mental health placement rates by the juvenile justice system differ by race. However, it is unknown whether mental health needs differ by race. This study attempted to investigate potential differences in mental health needs and service utilization among Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic juvenile justice involved youth.

Regional variation and clinical indicators of antipsychotic use in residential treatment: a four-state comparison.

The last decade saw an increase in psychotropic use with pediatric populations. Antipsychotic prescriptions are used frequently in residential treatment settings, with many youth receiving antipsychotics for off-label indications. Residential treatment data from 4 states were examined to determine if regional variation exists in off-label prescription and what clinicalfactors predict use.

Psychiatric comorbidity and physicians with substance use disorders: a comparison between the 1980s and 1990s.

The assessment and treatment of physicians with substance use disorders has been of considerable interest over the past twenty years. This study compares two cohorts of addicted physicians treated at a single program. Data from 101 physicians treated during 1985 to 1987 were compared with 73 physicians treated from 1995 to 1997.

Gender of physicians with substance use disorders: clinical characteristics, treatment utilization, and post-treatment functioning.

Gender has emerged as an important variable in both the course and treatment of substance-use disorders. This study examines the role of gender in a sample of physicians (n = 73) treated for substance-use disorders. Pilot data gathered on physicians treated during 1995 to 1997, included initial pretreatment characteristics, service utilization, and posttreatment functioning.

Use of measurement audit in outcomes management.

With the growing emphasis on accountability in mental health services, outcomes management strategies are gaining popularity. However, for these techniques to be credible, it is necessary to ensure the reliability of clinical data. In other words, outcomes measures must accurately reflect the actual status of service recipients.