Interface Consultation Services, PLLC

Interface Consultation Services knows all-to-well the challenges and struggles experienced by both community-based and private mental health providers. In today's market, several key areas of concern for all mental health providers include access to mental health services, appropriate clinical assessments & interventions, level of care coordination and management of the mental health resources based on the right service, at the right time, in the right amount. Our business' work in Michigan with several Community Mental Health agencies has given us a unique perspective on helping agencies achieve this delicate balance between their providing services while efficiently and responsibly managing the available monies. It is always a difficult balance for mental health providers who typically are oriented toward helping and giving and who struggle with any perception of rejecting or denying people help. Achieving this balance requires a willingness to consider both clinical

McLean researchers explore genetic links between schizophrenia and family traits By Carey Goldberg, Globe Staff January 22, 2007 They are not things anyone would typically notice: Do your eyes fall behind as you try to follow a cursor zipping across a computer screen? Is the roof of your mouth a touch high? Do you sometimes use words in a way that, on closer examination, does not quite make sense? They don't matter at all in daily life, those funny little traits. But researchers at Harvard's McLean Hospital believe they may contain important clues about the elusive genes of schizophrenia, the devastating psychiatric disorder that affects 1 percent of the population. To further explore this provocative theory, the hospital's Psychology Research Laboratory recently won a $3 million federal grant. Consider, said Deborah Levy , the lab's director: "The incidence of schizophrenia is stable at about 1 percent, and schizophrenics have very low reproductive rates. So w

By Crystal PhendReviewed by Rubeen K. Israni, M.D., Fellow, Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Jan 19, 2007 WAGENINGEN, The Netherlands, Jan. 19 -- Folic acid supplementation appears to improve cognitive function, particularly memory, among older adults with poor folate status, Dutch researchers said. Three years of daily 800 ?g folic acid orally bestowed on patients the equivalent of a 4.7- to 6.9 years of younger memory, reported Jane Durga, Ph.D., of Wageningen University here, and colleagues, in the Jan. 20 issue of The Lancet. These results follow on the heels of an observational study in New York that found a weak link between higher folate levels and a lowered risk of Alzheimer's disease in older Americans. more....... by the Psychiatric Times Explain to interested patients that folic acid supplementation may benefit cognitive function among older adults who have poor folate status. Inform interested patients that in t

A brief overview of Interface Consultation Services current endeavors: I. Blog Focus - We continue to post 2-3 times a week on ICS and Counseling Connections . Our posts include mental health research, news and thoughts we feel providers and clients will find valuable. II. Counseling Connections - Provides Licensed Professional Online and Telephone Mental Health Counseling, Coaching and Services. II. PESI Seminars by ICS: Behavioral Managed Care - How to get what your clients Need in Georgia with key information for success with managed care in April 2007. Managed Care is no fun but these skills are necessary to navigate our complicated health care system! High Risk Mental Health Emergencies - "How To" Techniques & Interventions in Nebraska with state specific statistics and research...Don't Miss It! Coming in February. C clients in Crisis: Assess, Intervene and Succeed in Virginia. Tips and research on risk and warning signs for the suicidal and homicidal patient

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

The drumbeat is getting louder : Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, San Francisco (and possibly California) took action on the issue of covering the uninsured this year, gaining traction for reforms that might have been shot down with little comment a few years ago. Among the highest-profile changes is taking place in Massachusetts , where legislators are looking at a mix of Medicaid expansion efforts, required purchase of insurance and employer incentives to fund health coverage for all citizens. Other states, such as Illinois and Maryland, are considering related measures. Meanwhile, interest in a federal universal healthcare measure seems to be rising . For example, a universal coverage plan by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, which would call for offering access through a pool of private insurance plans, has attracted some support from both conservative and liberal legislators. While Wyden's plan may not be the horse that crosses the finish line, it seems likely that the

Psychiatric TimesBy Richard A. Sherer December 2006, Vol. XXIII, No. 14 A new study comparing the benefits of second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) with their older counterparts in patients with schizophrenia has yielded a surprising result. The study, funded by the UK National Health Service, found that the overall differences between first- and second-generation antipsychotics "did not reach statistical significance." Appearing in the October 2006 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, the findings from the project called the Cost Utility of the Latest Antipsychotics in Schizophrenia Study (CUtLASS) surprised the research team that reported them. "If the investigators themselves had any bias or previous expectations, it was in favor of SGAs; we were surprised to refute that hypothesis," they wrote. "The results of this pragmatic randomized trial refute the hypothesis that the use of SGAs is superior to the use of FGAs [first-generation antipsychotics] in

Provided by: Canadian PressWritten by: SHERYL UBELACKER Jan. 3, 2007 TORONTO (CP) - Severe depression and binge drinking are more likely to go hand-in-hand among women than men, a Canadian study has found, suggesting that a more gender-specific approach may be needed in diagnosing and treating this common mental illness. "If you're treating a person for depression, especially if it's a woman who's suffering from major depression, it would be a good idea to look at their drinking pattern - and especially looking at how much they drink per occasion," said lead author Kathryn Graham, a senior scientist for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. "I think men are more likely to be asked about their drinking than women are by physicians, so this would be a particular trigger to at least caution them (women) about not drinking too much per occasion." Graham, an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Western Ontario, said the 14-month study fo