Soros Justice Fellow, Open Society Foundation 1. You have recounted that as a young person prior to becoming incarcerated, you had experienced war, family displacement, social isolation, and bullying at school. Recognizing that many people who experience incarceration have histories of trauma, what do you recommend can be done to better support communities where there… Read More

By Jennifer K. Johnson, JD, Principal, J.K. Johnson Advisors, LLC Over the last three decades, our criminal justice system has witnessed an unprecedented shift in the approach to criminal defendants with unmet behavioral health needs. With the emergence of therapeutic jurisprudence and a focus on procedural justice, treatment courts have proliferated across the country. These… Read More

By Jeremy Reed, SMI Administrator, Community Bridges, Inc. Having people in recovery playing the role of a peer to clients is a vital part of any mental health system. Amid all the clinical interventions usually considered, this peer component can sometimes be overlooked, but I have been working with forensic assertive community treatment (FACT) and… Read More

Many communities across the United States wrestle with the challenge of providing services to individuals who are justice involved and experiencing serious mental illness (SMI) or co-occurring disorders. Forensic assertive community treatment (FACT) teams are one service option for providing a level of care that can stabilize an individual, reduce further justice involvement, and lessen… Read More

By Kevin L. Nadal, Ph.D., City University of New York Every June, people across the United States and in many parts of the world recognize Pride Month—a month devoted to celebrating the history and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. In 2019, Pride Month is especially remarkable, as it marks the… Read More

By Jennifer K. Johnson, JD, Principal, J.K. Johnson Advisors, LLC. “To be a good lawyer, one has to be a healthy lawyer. Sadly, our profession is falling short when it comes to well-being.” National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, 2017[1] According to the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, the legal profession is at a… Read More

Health Service Psychologist, Certified Group Psychotherapist | Operations Director, Behavioral Health Services, Mercy Health Q: You have received recognition for the collaborative approach you have taken in leading a regional response to the opioid epidemic in Cincinnati. What are some of the key components of this approach, and can you share any information about its… Read More

The National Association of Drug Court Professionals’ (NADCP) RISE19 Conference will be held in National Harbor, Maryland, July 14 to 17, 2019. SAMHSA’s GAINS Center is organizing 5 panels and a 3-hour pre-conference workshop session for RISE19. The pre-conference workshop will explore trauma-informed responses among judges and other court professionals. The panel sessions will explore… Read More

Leah Pope, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Vera Institute of Justice David Shern, PhD, Senior Public Health Advisor, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors This article is part of a three-part series on how the criminal justice system can play a role in shortening the duration of untreated psychosis for people with mental illness… Read More

Q: You bring to the table the perspectives of being a lawyer and someone who has experienced incarceration, homelessness, and substance use. How do you leverage these experiences in your mental health and criminal justice policy work? Henry Ford once said, “Experience is the thing of supreme value.” This remark has been a guiding principle… Read More

Victor Ray Armstrong, MSW, Vice President-Behavioral Health, Behavioral Health Charlotte, Atrium Health, Charlotte, North Carolina One of the remaining taboos in many communities of color is the stigma around mental illness. Whether it’s depression or anxiety (or, the worst-case scenario, suicide), there is a longstanding belief in these communities that such concerns are taboo, and… Read More