Mental Health | CalMatters

Patients at the Central Coast’s Atascadero State Hospital walk the halls in 2006. Due to COVID, patients have at times been confined to their units, but still mingle in bathrooms, the dining hall and common day rooms. Of the state’s psychiatric hospitals, Atascadero houses the largest number of mentally ill inmates from state prisons. Photo by Peggy Peattie, ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo

Could California’s psych hospitals be ordered to admit inmates with COVID?

by Lee Romney November 18, 2020November 18, 2020

The Department of State Hospitals is facing pressure in federal court to speed up admissions of mentally ill inmates from the COVID-riddled state prison system.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the reparations bill over Zoom on Sept 30, 2020. Screenshot via youtube

Reparations study, police reform coming to CA

by Emily Hoeven October 1, 2020October 1, 2020

Portrait of Celinda Gonzales in Weitchpec on Sep. 17. Gonzales looks off over the Klamath River towards a large rock her son Paul Moreno used to jump off into the water. The rock’s height, she said, deterred Moreno’s friends, but he was a thrill seeker and enjoyed the challenge. Photo by Alexandra Hootnick for CalMatters.

Mental health ‘tsunami’ looms: Can California prevent a surge in suicides?

by Jocelyn Wiener September 30, 2020October 1, 2020

Peter Murphy, an outreach manager for the Mental Health Association of San Francisco, struggled to find people who could support him with his mental health issues before joining the organization. He says peer support gives people a chance to be heard and understood. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

‘I was looking for someone like me’ – Is peer counseling the answer?

by Jocelyn Wiener September 8, 2020September 25, 2020

We need to train and certify more peer supporters to save lives, I should know

by Guest Commentary September 5, 2020September 3, 2020

health club

It’s time to reopen health clubs and gyms

by Guest Commentary August 31, 2020August 31, 2020

California poised to become national leader on mental health and addiction coverage

by Jocelyn Wiener August 27, 2020September 25, 2020

Kayla Monnette, 20, of Corona, Calif. majors in cognitive science at the University of California San Diego. Photo by Mohammad Djauhari for CalMatters

Pandemic tests an already-fragile college mental health system

by Ethan Edward Coston August 27, 2020August 26, 2020

Adam Sciambi, right, and daughter Noa, 3, play with sidewalk chalk on Valencia Street in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco on July 25, 2020. Several blocks of the neighborhood are closed to vehicles every Thursday through Sunday to allow for outdoor dining and foot traffic. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Pandemic, wildfires, scorching heat: How to help our children cope

by Barbara Feder Ostrov August 20, 2020August 21, 2020

An inmate is moved after a session with a psychologist at the the mental health unit at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, June 9, 2014. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo

Overtime at California’s prisons swelled to almost half a billion dollars last year

by Raheem Hosseini August 10, 2020August 10, 2020