schizophrenia

A blonde woman participant in the NAMI group at a conference table

Family members of people with mental illness find support, skills

August 12, 2019 by Yen Duong

Family members of people with mental illness find support, skills - North Carolina Health News

NAMI’s Family-to-Family class, offered regularly by volunteers across the U.S., teaches families how to deal with a family member with mental illness.

By Yen Duong Getting screamed at for something you didn’t do might ruin your day. But for people who have family members with mental illness, unanticipated outbursts can be just another part of everyday life that they have to cope with. “I realized that taking [the screaming] personally wasn’t ever going to make anything any […]

Pitt County jail aims to reduce recidivism and substance use relapse

June 20, 2019 by Taylor Knopf

Pitt County jail aims to reduce recidivism and substance use relapse - North Carolina Health News

There's a new sheriff in town. And she says that to reduce the number of people cycling into her jail, she needs to give them the right help when they eventually get out.

By Taylor Knopf People with mental health and substance use disorders frequently cycle in and out of jail. It can be difficult for someone to get better when floating between jails, homeless shelters, group homes and emergency departments. Officials at the Pitt County Sheriff’s Department noticed this pattern and they’re making changes to reduce recidivism […]

A smiling woman in an office chair in front of a whiteboard

Eagle program helps Mecklenburg psychosis patients spread their wings

April 2, 2019 by Yen Duong

Eagle program helps Mecklenburg psychosis patients spread their wings - North Carolina Health News

After the OASIS program at UNC-Chapel Hill opened in 2005 as the first in the country, more first-episode psychosis treatment centers have started across the country. The Eagle program is the newest of four such programs in N.C.

By Yen Duong When 21-year-old Dylan Mathis was in 11th grade, he started seeing gory hallucinations of strangers abusing him, nonexistent siblings and his actual pets. “It would be, like, really scary,” Mathis, who lived in Florida at the time, said. After experiencing more psychotic events and symptoms such as mania and depression, he went […]

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N.C.’s First Child Crisis Centers Open in Charlotte and Asheville

August 13, 2018 by Taylor Knopf

N.C.’s First Child Crisis Centers Open in Charlotte and Asheville - North Carolina Health News

It’s common for children experiencing a mental health crisis to wait in emergency departments for days or weeks to get proper care. Child crisis centers provide an alternative.

By Taylor Knopf Gwen Bartley has spent countless hours in emergency departments and at behavioral health centers around the state desperately trying to get her son help during crisis situations. He was 4 when she adopted him from foster care and out of an abusive past. On top of the childhood trauma, her boy was […]

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ACA Made it Possible for More with Mental Health Problems to Get Care

November 27, 2017 by Rose Hoban

ACA Made it Possible for More with Mental Health Problems to Get Care - North Carolina Health News

New research shows that people with a range of mental health problems were able to get insurance, and so were able to access care.

By Rose Hoban People who cope with mental health issues ranging from mild to severe were more likely to get treatment in the wake of the Affordable Care Act, according to a study led by a health economist from UNC Chapel Hill. The report, published this month in the journal Psychiatric Services, found that in […]

shows the outside of the main building for DHHS in Raleigh

Lack of Housing for Mentally Ill Adults Pits NC Against US Government in Ongoing Legal Battle

August 2, 2017 by Carolina Public Press

Lack of Housing for Mentally Ill Adults Pits NC Against US Government in Ongoing Legal Battle - North Carolina Health News

Five years after a settlement with the federal Dept. of Justice designed to stop warehousing people with mental illness in adult care homes, little has changed.

By Frank Taylor and Michael Gebelein Lawmakers created the adult care home system in North Carolina largely as a reaction to a national movement to move those with mental illness out of institutions during the 1970s and 1980s. But the nature of their solution has run afoul of the U.S. Department of Justice, which is […]

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Paying for Mistakes: North Carolina’s 10 Most Penalized Adult Care Homes

August 1, 2017 by Carolina Public Press

Paying for Mistakes: North Carolina’s 10 Most Penalized Adult Care Homes - North Carolina Health News

A look at the flawed system for citing and fining failing adult care homes across North Carolina - the third part of a series created by NC Health News publication partner Carolina Public Press.

By Frank Taylor and Michael Gebelein Adult care homes in North Carolina provide housing to large numbers of people with mental illness and physical disabilities, and these facilities face legal requirements to provide adequate supervision, nutrition, medical care and safe facility conditions. A regimen of county and state inspections monitor the quality and safety of […]

Who’s Watching: Investigation Raises Doubts About Adult Care Home Inspection System

July 28, 2017 by Carolina Public Press

Who’s Watching: Investigation Raises Doubts About Adult Care Home Inspection System - North Carolina Health News

Despite a complex and costly system designed to keep the state’s adult care home system running smoothly, serious complaints and incidents persist.

by Frank Taylor and Michael Gebelein Inspectors in one North Carolina county oversee dozens of adult care homes, but facilities there received no state penalties for years, even against facilities operating at the lowest level. In another location, county officials worked with the state to close a troubled facility. In yet another county, an adult […]

Investigation: NC Adult Care Homes System Under Fire, with Oversight Inconsistent, Unreliable

July 27, 2017 by Carolina Public Press

Investigation: NC Adult Care Homes System Under Fire, with Oversight Inconsistent, Unreliable - North Carolina Health News

A 6-month investigation of adult care homes by NC Health News partner Carolina Public Press shows a spectrum of problems, ‘gaping hole’ in NC oversight of housing for those with mental illness.

by Frank Taylor and Michael Gebelein Carolina Public Press In the early morning hours on Dec. 17, 2014, a fire broke out at A New Outlook of Taylorsville, a 34-bed adult care home that sits at the end of a winding residential street in hilly rural Alexander County. Like other adult care homes across North […]

Clubhouses For People with Persistent Mental Illness Fear State Cuts

June 13, 2017 by Taylor Knopf

Clubhouses For People with Persistent Mental Illness Fear State Cuts - North Carolina Health News

Clubhouses such as Durham's Threshold help a population that's hard to serve and they depend on state funds - and they face another round of cuts.

By Taylor Knopf Jasmine Thomas boards a van at her group home a couple days a week to visit a special kind of clubhouse tucked away in an East Durham neighborhood. Threshold is an accredited clubhouse for adults with severe mental illnesses. It’s a place for its members to socialize, eat lunch, build life skills, […]

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