The Behavioral Science Association at Northwest Missouri State University will again host “I Will Listen” this month to help reduce stigmas surrounding mental illness through educational activities, support and advocacy.
I Will Listen is an annual Northwest event supporting a movement developed by the National Alliance of Mental Illnesses (NAMI) to reduce stigmas surrounding mental illness and promote mental health well-being. The event will include multiple breakout rooms with an art exhibit, exercise activities and guest speakers with a paint-and-sip activity.
The event, which is free and open to the public, is 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 27, on the third floor of the J.W. Jones Student Union.
“It’s a place where our humanness is materialized and we're able to see and meet each other right where we’re at,” said Sada Irving, the president of Northwest’s Behavioral Science Association and a senior psychology major from Elsberry, Missouri. “With people sharing their stories and experiences through words, music and all kinds of artwork – from young kids to the elderly community – I Will Listen represents community, unity and the humanization of one another, a place where we can all acknowledge that we struggle but there is hope, help and healing.”
Musicians will perform a variety of musical pieces for guitar, voice, piano and trumpet. Speakers will address topics such as financial wellness and financial literacy; art healing; leisure and recreation; working in the mental health field, spiritual care and companioning; the brain’s influence on perception; and the psychology of healthy sexual relationships.
In addition to an exercise room with yoga and circuit training sessions, the event will feature artwork created by community members of all ages to share experiences and thoughts about mental health.
“Not only does the event exemplify breaking the stigma of mental illness, but we’re actually doing it at the event,” Irving said. “By engaging in actively listening to the stories and expertise of our speakers, doing physical activity and opening conversations with our art exhibit, our whole community is contributing to the embrace of help-seeking behaviors.”
All proceeds raised during the event will be donated to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
A complete schedule of sessions is provided below. For more information about I Will Listen, contact Irving at S543952@nwmissouri.edu.
I Will Listen session schedule
Art Exhibit, 1 to 7 p.m., Student Union Ballroom
Musical sessions
Dr. Travis Dimmitt, 1 to 2 p.m., guitar and vocals
Ben Plavoski, 2:15 to 3:30 p.m., piano
Enzo Hobbs, 3:30 to 4:15 p.m., piano
Dr. William Richardson, 4:15 to 4:35 p.m., trumpet
Dr. Jacob Tengelsen, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., guitar and vocals
Exercise sessions
Cris Jacobson, 1:20 to 1:40 p.m., meditation
Becky Byland, 2 to 2:20 p.m., Pilates-yoga
Katie Byrd, 2:40 to 3 p.m., circuit training
Aura Lynch, 3:30 to 4 p.m., yoga
Nick Bolton, 4:40 to 5:30 p.m., bodyweight circuit training
Baily Schmidt, 5:30 to 6 p.m., dance
Wendy Deering-Poynter, 6 to 6:30 p.m., chair yoga
Speaker sessions
Niki Richardson, 1 to 1:30 p.m., Financial Wellness vs. Financial Literacy
Leslie Ackman, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Art Healing
Dr. Tina Pulley, 2:30 to 3 p.m., Exercise is Medicine
Dr. Tyler Tapps, 3:30 to 4 p.m., Leisure and Recreation
Holly McMillen, 4 to 5 p.m., Career Journey and Working in the Mental Health Field
Wendy Deering-Poynter, 5 to 5:30 p.m., Spiritual Care and Companioning
Dr. Amy Hillard, 5:30 to 6 p.m., Causes and Consequences of Concussion
Dr. Jacob Tengelsen, 6 to 6:30 p.m. Psychology of Healthy Sexual Relationships
Showing posts with label mental health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mental health. Show all posts
Monday, March 17, 2025
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Health care law allows consumers to easily find and compare options starting in 2014
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen
Sebelius today announced a final rule that will make purchasing health
coverage easier for consumers. The policies outlined today will give
consumers a consistent way to compare and enroll in health coverage in
the individual and small group markets, while giving states and insurers
more flexibility and freedom to implement the Affordable Care Act.
“The Affordable Care Act helps people get the health insurance they need,” said Secretary Sebelius. “People all across the country will soon find it easier to compare and enroll in health plans with better coverage, greater quality and new benefits.”
Today’s rule outlines health insurance issuer standards for a core package of benefits, called essential health benefits, that health insurance issuers must cover both inside and outside the Health Insurance Marketplace. Through its standards for essential health benefits, the final rule released today also expands coverage of mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment, for millions of Americans.
A new report by HHS, also released today, details how these provisions will expand mental health and substance use disorder benefits and federal parity protections for 62 million more Americans.
In the past, nearly 20 percent of individuals purchasing insurance didn’t have access to mental health services, and nearly one third had no coverage for substance use disorder services. The rule seeks to fix that gap in coverage by expanding coverage of these benefits in three distinct ways:
(1) By including mental health and substance use disorder benefits as Essential Health Benefits
(2) By applying federal parity protections to mental health and substance use disorder benefits in the individual and small group markets
(3) By providing more Americans with access to quality health care that includes coverage for mental health and substance use disorder services
To give states the flexibility to define essential health benefits in a way that would best meet the needs of their residents, this rule also finalizes a benchmark-based approach. This approach allows states to select a benchmark plan from options offered in the market, which are equal in scope to a typical employer plan. Twenty-six states selected a benchmark plan for their state, and the largest small business plan in each state will be the benchmark for the rest.
The rule additionally outlines actuarial value levels in the individual and small group markets, which helps to distinguish health plans offering different levels of coverage. Beginning in 2014, plans that cover essential health benefits must cover a certain percentage of costs, known as actuarial value or “metal levels.” These levels are 60 percent for a bronze plan, 70 percent for a silver plan, 80 percent for a gold plan, and 90 percent for a platinum plan. Metal levels will allow consumers to compare insurance plans with similar levels of coverage and cost-sharing based on premiums, provider networks, and other factors. In addition, the health care law limits the annual amount of cost sharing that individuals will pay across all health plans – preventing insured Americans from facing catastrophic costs associated with an illness or injury.
Policies in today’s rule also provide more information on accreditation standards for qualified health plans (QHPs) that will be offered through the Health Insurance Marketplaces (also known as Exchanges), one-stop shops that will provide access to quality, affordable private health insurance choices.
Together, these provisions will help consumers compare and select health plans in the individual and small group markets based on what is important to them and their families. People can make these choices knowing these health plans will cover a core set of critical benefits and can more easily compare the level of coverage based on a uniform standard. Further, these provisions help expand choices and competition on the Marketplaces.
“The Affordable Care Act helps people get the health insurance they need,” said Secretary Sebelius. “People all across the country will soon find it easier to compare and enroll in health plans with better coverage, greater quality and new benefits.”
Today’s rule outlines health insurance issuer standards for a core package of benefits, called essential health benefits, that health insurance issuers must cover both inside and outside the Health Insurance Marketplace. Through its standards for essential health benefits, the final rule released today also expands coverage of mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment, for millions of Americans.
A new report by HHS, also released today, details how these provisions will expand mental health and substance use disorder benefits and federal parity protections for 62 million more Americans.
In the past, nearly 20 percent of individuals purchasing insurance didn’t have access to mental health services, and nearly one third had no coverage for substance use disorder services. The rule seeks to fix that gap in coverage by expanding coverage of these benefits in three distinct ways:
(1) By including mental health and substance use disorder benefits as Essential Health Benefits
(2) By applying federal parity protections to mental health and substance use disorder benefits in the individual and small group markets
(3) By providing more Americans with access to quality health care that includes coverage for mental health and substance use disorder services
To give states the flexibility to define essential health benefits in a way that would best meet the needs of their residents, this rule also finalizes a benchmark-based approach. This approach allows states to select a benchmark plan from options offered in the market, which are equal in scope to a typical employer plan. Twenty-six states selected a benchmark plan for their state, and the largest small business plan in each state will be the benchmark for the rest.
The rule additionally outlines actuarial value levels in the individual and small group markets, which helps to distinguish health plans offering different levels of coverage. Beginning in 2014, plans that cover essential health benefits must cover a certain percentage of costs, known as actuarial value or “metal levels.” These levels are 60 percent for a bronze plan, 70 percent for a silver plan, 80 percent for a gold plan, and 90 percent for a platinum plan. Metal levels will allow consumers to compare insurance plans with similar levels of coverage and cost-sharing based on premiums, provider networks, and other factors. In addition, the health care law limits the annual amount of cost sharing that individuals will pay across all health plans – preventing insured Americans from facing catastrophic costs associated with an illness or injury.
Policies in today’s rule also provide more information on accreditation standards for qualified health plans (QHPs) that will be offered through the Health Insurance Marketplaces (also known as Exchanges), one-stop shops that will provide access to quality, affordable private health insurance choices.
Together, these provisions will help consumers compare and select health plans in the individual and small group markets based on what is important to them and their families. People can make these choices knowing these health plans will cover a core set of critical benefits and can more easily compare the level of coverage based on a uniform standard. Further, these provisions help expand choices and competition on the Marketplaces.
Friday, March 11, 2011
New Hampshire Republican Praises Hitler
Grownups Behaving Badly Department: Barrington (NH) Republican Martin Harty told the manager of a community mental health program in defending budget cuts: “I wish we had a Siberia so we could ship them all off to freeze to death and die and clean up the population.” Harty continued, “Hitler did something right, and I agree with (it).”
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/11/gop-senator-siberia/
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/11/gop-senator-siberia/
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