An event like the recent Arizona shooting tragedy makes us re-evaluate mental healthcare in the United States.  Are we truly doing everything in our power to understand mental illness? Are there enough resources to provide that education?

Luckily, the development of Mental Health First Aid has been able to answer those questions with a confident “yes.” While there is still progress to be made, this program continues to gain support, thanks to its numerous benefits.

What is Mental Health First Aid?

Mental Health First Aid consists of interactive sessions that introduce participants to warning signs and risk factors of mental illness, allowing them to build an understanding that leads to an overview of common treatments. Its an immersion into the world of mental health care and the various strategies that one can use to help those in need.

What exactly is the importance of a program like Mental Health First Aid?

For those looking to get involved in the Mental Health First Aid courses, here are just a few of the benefits:

Gives you a chance to help others
There is a greater likelihood that you will advise people to seek professional help
Improved concordance with health professionals about treatments
Stigmatizing attitudes regarding mental illness and mental health care will decrease

Naturally, these are just a few of the many benefits, but those who are trained in Mental Health First Aid courses will find themselves with a more complete outlook on mental illness.

The success of Mental Health First Aid does have a strong evidence base. After four detailed studies, nearly a dozen journal articles, and multiple studies, there is proof that a program such as this is having a positive impact on the public. People are looking for avenues to learn more about mental illness, and this program continues to provide that information.

The program now exists in 14 countries, and it continues to grow. It is obvious that the public is clamoring for opportunities like this – educational programs that provide opportunities to help those in need. It is the hope of national mental health care organizations that something like Mental Health First Aid can eventually become as common as CPR and First Aid. Only then will the stigma surrounding mental illness dissolve into a united desire to understand these issues and develop effective solutions.

Courses for this program can be found all over the country, allowing providers to improve mental health care in a wide variety of communities.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed in March of this past year, and aims to improve all aspects of our country’s health services. One aspect that will be much-improved is the area of mental health care.

Insufficient coverage and a lack of programs that educate the public on mental illness have plagued the United States for quite some time. With the passage of the new law, a number of new provisions aim to change the public’s perception of mental illnesses and offer programs and other initiatives to help those who need mental health care. A few of those provisions include:

Improvements to Medicaid (including the expansion of eligibility) that will allow more people to experience the benefits of mental health services
Several new options for people with disabilities
Improve coordination and communication between primary care and mental health services
Much more…

Essentially, what this means is that, over time, individuals with mental illnesses will have access to health insurance that covers mental health and substance abuse services, giving people unprecedented help and cooperation from the government. Other services include prevention programs, new insurance plans for long-term community care, and more.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also aims to improve health services in the workplace. It specifies that starting in 2014, employers can offer bigger incentives for employees’ positive lifestyle practices or participation in health promotion programs. The PPACA also creates a grant program to assist small businesses to provide comprehensive workplace wellness programs. Grants will be awarded to eligible employers to provide their employees with access to new workplace wellness initiatives.

The grants will be awarded beginning in 2011 with 0 million appropriated for a five-year period. The PPACA spells out that a comprehensive workplace wellness program must be made available to all employees and include health awareness initiatives(including health education, preventive screenings, and health risk assessments) as well as supportive environment efforts (including workplace policies to encourage healthy lifestyles, healthy eating, increased physical activity, and improved mental health).

The improved workplace atmosphere when it comes to mental health awareness is particularly important, as knowledge about mental health is notoriously absent from workplace programs. It has been studied that employees are eager to become more understanding of mental illnesses and ways to treat them, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims to accomplish that.

Mental health services will be experiencing a major renovation with the government’s commitment to overall health care reform.  Those with mental illnesses will find it easier to seek help and others will find much more information on mental illnesses to create a better understanding of how mental health services operate. By creating a more cohesive health care system for mental illnesses, our society will not only become more fluid in its operations, but more knowledgeable and, therefore, better for it.

New York, NY; September 21, 2010-Lyubov Gorelik was recently chosen to represent New York State as a leader in Psychiatry and was featured alongside other top physicians from around the globe. The International Association of HealthCare Professionals selected renowned psychiatrist, Lyubov Gorelik into the pages of their exclusive medical directory, The Leading Physicians of the World.

Lyubov Gorelik MD was selected to be featured in The Leading Physicians of the World, alongside the top 1PERCENT-2PERCENT of each specialty, for her experience, forward thinking, and highest quality of care. Lyubov Gorelik is known for her devotion to her patients and commitment to advancement in her specialty making her a prime example of all that a Leading Physician should be.

It is this drive, determination and compassion that landed her in the pages of this year’s 2010 publication. As a Board Certified General Adult and Addiction Psychiatrist Dr. Gorelik provides the highest quality of care to her patients, while continually seeking to serve her community in Brooklyn, New York.

Lyubov Gorelik MD has contributed both her time and knowledge to research studies and has been featured in a variety of medical publications including: the 2001 Proceedings of the Annual Symposium of the American Academy of the Addiction Psychiatry, 2002 Publication in the Alcoholism, The Official Journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism, and Journal of the Biological Psychiatry.

Dr. Gorelik participated in research in the field of addiction psychiatry during her fellowship training at the Mount Sinai Medical Center and the Bronx VA Medical Center. Her hard work and commitment have been recognized leading to her biography being published alongside the most distinguished and desired doctors from every field in exclusive publication, The Leading Physicians of the World.

About Lyubov Gorelik

Lyubov Gorelik received her medical doctorate degree with honors from the Moscow State Medical and Stomatological University in 1992. Lyubov Gorelik MD currently works as a consultant providing Addiction Psychiatry and Psychiatry services in the Metro New York area. Lyubov Gorelik specializes in Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry and is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology in both fields. She was selected America’s Top Psychiatrist by the Consumers’ Research Council of America in 2007. Lyubov Gorelik is an Honored Member of the Cambridge Who’s Who Registry of Executives, Professionals and Entrepreneurs.

For further Information contact:
Lyubov Gorelik MD
Metro Area
New York, NY 10001
(718) 616-4408