Like nearly every other state, Maine can compel those with serious mental illnesses to comply with outpatient treatment. But the law is rarely used. Some fear it threatens to return America to a dark era of institutionalization.
mental health
Posted inLocal & State
4 key findings about Maine’s law to compel mental health treatment
We spent months talking to experts in mental health care about what happened in Lewiston and how to treat people who cannot or do not accept their mental illnesses.
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Posted inHealth, Local & State, News
Staff safety at Maine’s 2 psychiatric centers back in spotlight
Two lawmakers have requested a full-scale review of safety and staffing concerns at Riverview in Augusta and Dorothea Dix in Bangor, which house patients with severe mental health issues.
Posted inLocal & State
Lewiston victims, survivors threaten to sue Army over ‘failure’ to prevent mass shooting
Lawyers for 100 survivors and victims’ family members say they’ve notified the Department of Defense and the Army that they intend to sue. The government has 6 months to investigate their claims before they head to court.
Posted inLocal & State, News
‘We’re suffering here’: Maine families of children with disabilities wait for help
The Department of Justice this month sued the Mills administration over the state’s services for disabled children. Families hope the legal action is a catalyst for change.
Posted inLocal & State
Department of Justice sues Maine over treatment of children with behavioral disabilities
The lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Portland says the state has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Posted inBusiness, Food & Dining, Local & State
New program to provide free counseling for Maine food industry workers
The Behind You pilot program, funded by a Texas nonprofit and implemented by the clinical students at the University of Maine, will cover up to 200 hours of free counseling in its first year.
Posted inHealth, Nation & World, News
U.S. surgeon general was warned by his mom to avoid politics, but he jumped into the fray anyway
Nominated by Obama as surgeon general, Murthy made comments calling guns a health care issue, something that delayed his confirmation until late 2014.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, Maine Crime
Maine is still sending psych patients to controversial South Carolina hospital despite complaints
Justin Butterfield, 35, was committed to a state psychiatric hospital after killing his brother during a mental health crisis. His family is worried about him after he was transferred to a private hospital in South Carolina that has been likened to a prison.
Posted inHealth
Veterans lobbied for psychedelic therapy, but it may not be enough to save MDMA drug application
Military veterans have spent years lobbying for the use of psychedelic drugs to treat PTSD, but a sharply critical review of the club drug MDMA has put the therapy’s approval in doubt.