well, we're worried in the drug and alcohol side and grateful for the efforts going on between samhsa legal action center. we've got a patient population that doesn't want somebody to know they are using an illicit drug. we are kind of grateful that this is moving slowly with careful consideration of each wave. our folks sometimes don't come to help because they are afraid somebody will find out they have a problem, so this has to be handled with extraordinary sensitivity. it's the same thing with the mental health consumer community. there's actually a large division because some people really do see the benefit of having a single healthcare record that contains all the needed information. but there's also a lot of history behind the mental health consumer movement that has left a lot of people very bitter and not trusting of the system. so we actually, we have many different names that we call ourselves as people who receive mental health services. some of us choose to call ourselves consumers of mental health services, some call themselves survivors. and generally when they use the

in fact, we do have a faith-based program at samhsa. the objective is to educate members of the faith community about a wide range of issues-mental health issues, substance abuse issues, and trauma- because we find that the ministers, the rabbis, the imams, the religious leaders do want to know because they're unable to have a positive impact if they're not aware of some of these issues. we don't ask people to change their philosophical or theological beliefs. we do want them to be familiar with some of the negative consequences that do result from physical abuse, sexual abuse, a violation of trust that happens in households, as miss cain pointed out. and i think it's significant what happens when you tell. were you believed? were you told to keep those dirty little secrets in the house, as dr. harris said, and how you were soothed when you told. there's many folks that we've worked with, many women in the criminal justice system were very clear when they were told they were not believed. they were told to keep that secret in the house.

well, we have eight strategic initiatives at samhsa. one of them is indeed trauma and justice, making it clear that we believe that we have to deal with trauma as an integral part of the behavioral health strategy to assist people in need of services. so the strategic initiative lead is lar quong dr. lar quong, appointed to that role by pamela hyde, the administrator of the substance abuse and mental health services administration, with the focus on working not only with issues of domestic violence but also working with the issues of the criminal justice system because, indeed, as i mentioned, it's not the abuse excuse, it is trying to break the cycle. we spend a lot of money reincarcerating individuals who have primary issues that have never dealt with, so especially in nonviolent situations. we wanted to break that cycle and, as dr. harris pointed out, we also want to create a workforce that has a stable appreciation of traumatic phenomenon so that, again, we don't blame the child, we don't blame the wife, we don't blame the spouse wh

joan gillece, project director and principle trainer, samhsa national center for trauma-informed caree, md; tonier cain, team leader and director of peer/consumer involvement, samhsa promoting alternatives to seclusion and restraint through trauma-informed practice, rockville, md; dr. h. westley clark, director, center for substance abuse treatment, substance abuse and mental health services administration, u.s. department of health and human serviceses, rockville, m; dr. maxine harris, ceo and co-founder, community connections, washington, dc. dr. clark, what is trauma and how do we define trauma? the definition of trauma is a little ambiguous, but it's tied to specific adverse events that a person may experience or a community may experience, including disasters, physical or sexual abuse, or witnessing the above-mentioned. it's of that nature, it could be psychological as well as physical, and there are a wide range of issues associated with the definition. very good, and what are the various sources of trauma? well, the sources are similar to the precipitant. it could be from a rel

well, samhsa has eight strategic initiatives. we are focusing on everything from prevention right straight through to several different populations. we are looking at trauma and justice issues. we are looking at the military, because the military right now and the military families are really using the services that we have and are showing signs of both mental illness issues around depression and anxiety and suicide as well as addiction. and we know a little bit more about addiction, but we are really learning now some of the other areas of mental health. we're also focusing in on health electronics, technology so that we can start to speak to each other across all systems. so the doctors, physical doctors can talk to your psychiatrist. and we can ... and therapists can talk to other therapists, not only in the united states but across the world where there has been some other advances. and we're doing several other issues. we are looking at the recovery, which i know that you... this is why we are all here, to look further into

[music] samhsa is playing a huge role in helping to implement the affordable care act. first of all, we are trying to make sure that behavioral health is considered in every decision that is getting made, whether it's about the exchanges or whether it's about the rules that medicaid or medicare put out or whether it's about the information that goes out to the public about the kinds of things that are covered or whether it's about the preventive services that will get coverage without a copay, for example, or screenings or meaningful use activities. there's a whole bunch of stuff going on and we're trying to make sure behavioral health is at every one of those tables, so that is part of samhsa's role. one of the most important things to remember is that the affordable care act will offer services to a larger number of people that who were previously without such services. and it will treat behavioral health service needs on par with the general health service needs. it will foster an integration of care so that we can address both the physical health, as well as behavio

(music) go out of your way to find out what faces and voices and samhsa and your local organizations are doing for next year, for 2012, and-and do what you've got to do, you know, to get out there and say "hey, yes. we're in recovery. we do recover. we are active, productive citizens in your community. hear us." (music) it's such a special day in so many different ways. it's a community coming together, out in the sunshine in the city of providence, to say to all the residents of our great state that people in recovery are important, that the message of recovery and hope is possible for anyone. (music) from where it came from and taking recovery out of church basements and shadows, and putting it right in the biggest block party in the city of providence, it's mind-boggling, it's astounding, it's awesome. members of the recovery community in rhode island have all come out, and we've had wonderful speakers and a great day of celebration of the value and importance of support for people who are in recovery. actually seeing recovery in the heart of providence, on main street, bringing t

we have a saying in samhsa, which is, "behavioral health is essential to overall health." and that is our goal, is to help our country understand: by looking at and treating and preventing and intervening into behavioral health, substance abuse, and mental health issues, we will save our country a lot of money and a lot of health. and dr. greene, it really goes beyond the treatment of mental illnesses and alcohol and drug use disorders, correct? i mean, there are other complicating factors of individuals that have those problems that then develop or may already be in the dna of the person that has those problems

and samhsa was very helpful in that and provided us with a grant to train our residents and our staff about screening, brief intervention, and referral for treatment. so when a patient comes in on whatever service... they may not have come in for an alcohol or substance abuse problem, but the results of the discussion may have been screening that patient just to see, is this person at risk? and once you have done that, you really go through a process of educating the residents and staff about how you can have open-ended questions, affirmative listening, reflective listening, that really allows a person to open up and tell you what is going on. now we know physicians and health care personnel are very busy, so the training was a consinct one, but it was effective. and the studies, especially in the trauma literature, show the reduction at the moderate-risk drinkers was very impressive, by allowing the physicians to come in and do these screenings and brief intervention. and the big thing we emphasize is that we are not telling the patient what to do. we are letting them know, we are gi