Becker’s Behavioral Health

Young people’s mental health has been a pressing issue in recent years. With Medicaid as the country’s largest payer for mental health services, the program’s role is all the more essential. The National Academy for State Health Policy evaluated state…

Nelsonville, Ohio-based Integrated Services for Behavioral Health and Lancaster, Ohio-based Fairfield Community Health Center have consolidated under a single leadership structure, effective Jan. 1. Samantha Shafer, president and CEO of Integrated Services, will lead the combined organization, according to a…

Researchers at Columbus-based Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine found that virtual, text-based crisis response planning may help reduce suicidal thoughts among adolescents, Spectrum News 1 reported Jan. 5. The research was led by Stephanie Gorka,…

A representative behavioral health workforce is critical to reversing worsening mental health and substance use trends in the U.S., according to a comment piece published Jan. 5 in Nature Mental Health.  The paper — written by researchers from Baltimore-based Johns…

The Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine has updated its guidance on drug testing in emergency departments to reflect evolving drug misuse trends and testing technologies.  The update replaces guidance first issued in 2003, according to a Jan. 5 news…

Delray Beach, Fla.-based Ethema Health Corp. and Lousia, Ky.-based Addiction Recovery Care have terminated a letter of intent to partner.  The mutual decision ends plans first announced Oct. 22 for Ethema to acquire multiple assets and separate entities of ARC,…

Bradford, Vt.-based Valley Vista has opened 27 additional residential treatment beds at its facility in Vergennes, Vt., in partnership with the Vermont Department of Health.  The expansion raises the total number of low-level residential treatment beds in the state from…

Aurora (Colo.) Mental Health and Recovery will open a walk-in access facility this month that aims to alleviate the burden of mental health emergencies on local hospitals.  The Potomac Pavilion will offer same-day access to mental healthcare and substance use…

Private equity firms have rapidly expanded their footprint in autism care, acquiring more than 500 therapy centers across the U.S. in the past decade. Nearly 80% of those transactions occurred between 2018 and 2022, according to a study published in…

A Colorado law leveling behavioral and physical health in insurance coverage went into effect Jan. 1, preventing carriers in the state from limiting the “medically necessary treatment” of behavioral, mental health and substance use disorders. The law was passed in…