Newsletter

August 31, 2020

A Co-Response Model That Works: An Interview with Michelle Muething, Executive Director of the Hope Center, on Clinicians and Law Enforcement Responding to Mental Health Crises – Part II

By Fred Bernard, MA In Co-Response, Part I Michelle Muething of the Hope Center discussed the center’s approach to providing crisis services alongside a local police response. In Part II, JKBF talks with Michelle about the opportunities of this approach for other communities, and why she believes pairing, not replacing, is important. JKBF: Are there any high-profile […]

August 25, 2020

Mental Health and Physical Health – We Need to Advocate for Integrative Care Models

By Susan Parmelee, LCSW As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in mental health services for youth ages 12-25 years old, I spend a lot of time talking to youth and colleagues about mental health and how we can prevent suicide. Suicide remains one of the most difficult challenges in our work due to the […]

August 24, 2020

A Co-Response Model That Works: An Interview with Michelle Muething, Executive Director of the Hope Center, on Clinicians and Law Enforcement Responding to Mental Health Crises

By Fred Bernard, MA One of the many issues raised in the outcry following the killing of George Floyd has been that the social response to mental health crises, including suicidal ideation and behavior, is often to default to calling the police. In a popular segment on the Floyd protests from Last Week Tonight with […]

July 21, 2020

Diet Matters: The Food-Mood Connection

by Alison Brown, MSc “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food” – Hippocrates, 400 BC We are generally aware that our diets affect our physical health—after all, “you are what you eat” is a fairly common idiom. However, it’s interesting that 2000+ years passed before the mental health field focused on […]

July 14, 2020

Art Heals: Biology behind Art Therapy

At a time of extra stress and isolation for all of us due to the pandemic, we are pleased to present inspiration anyone can apply at home in our first From the Clinician contribution from Art Therapist, Jeanette Bullock. Jeanette outlines how art therapy works in practice, and in the brain, and in this piece connects […]

June 25, 2020

Medications May Contribute to Suicide Risk

by Meghan Bellamy  “The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.”  – Sir William Osler It’s already the final week of June! Summer crept up on us due to safer-at-home orders across the globe, and your body might be feeling it. From fresh-cut grass to blooming trees […]

June 02, 2020

JKBF Expands Board

JKBF is pleased to welcome two new Directors to our Board and we look forward to their professional and personal contributions to our mission. Fred Bernard is Jamie’s brother and a doctoral student in clinical psychology. He has received graduate-level training in psychological research and clinical psychology at The New School for Social Research in Manhattan […]

April 29, 2020

Considering the Biology of Suicide in Autism

By Liz Bell April is Autism Awareness Month (AAM), a time to showcase the one in 54 Americans living with this neurobiological condition that affects behavior and social communication to widely varying degrees. While AAM is an opportunity to celebrate acceptance and the unique gifts and contributions of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), it […]

April 13, 2020

Sleep Matters

By Alison Brown, MSc. “O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature’s soft nurse.”   – William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2 Sleep is an elusive, enigmatic activity. According to award-winning author Bill Bryson’s The Body, no one knows exactly why we sleep — to consolidate memories, reset the immune system, restore hormonal balance, or clear metabolic waste and neurotoxins? […]

April 13, 2020

Why we are talking about Sleep and Suicide

At JKBF we’ve been following the topic of sleep closely, as increasing evidence shows disordered sleep may be a modifiable, biological risk factor for suicide. Since we know that college students often have poor sleep patterns and show increasing levels of mental health concerns, we were pleased to partner with Active Minds to bring sleep […]