APNA President’s Message: Onward & Upward
Read APNA President Zim Okoli’s message on fostering shared knowledge and inspiration through a new initiative, the PMH Nurse Luminary program. Go onward and upward

PMH Nurses in the News
13 of your APNA colleagues were recognized this month for their outstanding work in PMH nursing. Here’s why

Finding Solutions for Nurse Suicide Risk
Jan York speaks on nurse suicide risks and how to be a part of the solution, championing wellness initiatives and mental health resources. What can I do about nurse suicide?

Suicide Prevention Training Expert Empowers Nurses
Rebecca Puchkors shares exciting updates in suicide prevention education, including important aspects like risk formulation and safety plan intervention.  Discover what’s new

Meet Gayle, My PMH Nurse Luminary
Kris Lambert shares her story about a nurse luminary who embodied the spirit of psychiatric-mental health nursing and inspired her to be more authentic and genuine in her own professional practice. Meet Gayle

Observing Suicide Prevention & Recovery Month
September is National Suicide Prevention & National Recovery Month. Join APNA in raising awareness and take advantage of free CE and resources. Earn free contact hours & more

Ketamine Infusion Therapy Resources Updated
An updated APNA & AANA Joint position, as well as an updated treatment considerations checklist are now available! Learn about treatment considerations for this therapy

Free Medications for Substance Use Disorders Training
A new MSUD Training for nurses features 9 modules with content for nurses offering medication — including buprenorphine — for persons with substance use disorders: 100% online and free! Stay up-to -date and meet current DEA Requirements

7 Takeaways from the APNA Annual Awards Recipients
How can these APNA Annual Awards Recipients positively influence your work? Here are 7 takeaways that are just the beginning of the impact these visionaries are creating. I want to be inspired!

The APNA Annual Conference is Almost Here
Coming in hot! We are just days away from the APNA 37th Annual Conference this October 4-7 at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. If you’re registered, get prepped with these tips. If not, there’s still time to register!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded $279 million to 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 40 local health departments to help stop overdoses within their communities. The resources come from two new Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) funding opportunities and fill a long-standing gap in funding for local communities by specifically supporting city, county, and territorial health departments. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced that it has awarded $127.7 million to expand Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) across the country. The awards will work with provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) to expand access to the CCBHC model across the U.S. Under BSCA, HHS will enable up to 10 additional states to create state CCBHC programs under Medicaid every two years starting in 2024, providing sustainable funding for CCBHC services to Medicaid beneficiaries. Full Story

A precision treatment model for internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy provides a low-cost, accessible, and effective alternative for treating anxiety and depression, reported MedScape. Full Story

On May 23, 2023, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences hosted a workshop titled Current Practices and Challenges for Identifying and Managing Suicide Risk Among Veterans in Non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare Systems to explore the landscape of veteran health care and suicide risk; consider strategies to identify veterans who receive their health care outside of the VHA; and identify best practices for suicide risk identification and care for VA-purchased care in community and at non-VA entities. Proceedings from the workshop are available here.

There’s been a rise in behavioral health providers caring for a targeted population, including the BIPOC community, seniors, LGBTQ+ individuals and Gen Zers. These providers have prioritized tailoring programs to a particular community by hiring clinicians representative of the patients served or offering specific services, such as gender identity therapy. Behavioral Health Business recently profiled five behavioral health companies treating these targeted patient populations. Full Story

Use of dialectical behavior therapy significantly reduced suicide attempts in adolescents with bipolar disorder, compared with standard of care, based on data from 100 individuals aged 12-18 years, reported MedScape. Full Story

Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) are entering the field at a rate far exceeding psychiatrists. A recent Behavioral Health Business article looks at how PMHNPs can help address the mental health care shortage. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), issued a proposed rule that seeks to establish comprehensive staffing requirements for nursing homes—including, for the first time, national minimum nurse staffing standards—to ensure access to safe, high-quality care for the residents living in nursing homes. Full Story

NAMI released a new publication: NAMI State Legislation Report: Trends in State Mental Health Policy (2022), which highlights and summarizes significant state mental health legislation from 2022. This report is intended as a guide for mental health advocates and policy makers when looking to create comprehensive mental health policies in their states. Full Story

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released Recovery from Substance Use and Mental Health Problems Among Adults in the United States, a new report that provides data on the adults in recovery from their substance use and/or mental health problem and provides policy recommendations identified as supporting recovery. Full Story

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a new report: Coordinated Specialty Care for First Episode Psychosis: Costs and Financing Strategies which gives states financing strategies to provide critical services for first episode psychosis. Every year, an estimated 100,000 people in the U.S. experience first episode psychosis, the early period of psychotic symptoms. Psychosis is a condition that affects the mind, where the individual experiences some loss of contact with reality. Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) is a multi-component, evidence-based, early intervention service for individuals experiencing a first episode of psychosis that can improve their quality of life and social and clinical outcomes. Full Story

Click here to see letters APNA has signed on to as a part of its participation in coalitions that further policy for nursing and mental health.

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.