VISN 5 MIRECC Matters Newsletter
The VISN 5 MIRECC newsletter has been in circulation since 2000!
The MIRECC Matters is a way we can provide resources and guidance on mental health recovery for Veterans with serious mental illness. Regular features also include Director's Corner, conference updates, upcoming events, recognition of investigators' accomplishments, and a welcome to new staff members.
MIRECC Matters 2023 | Volume 24
Hightlights: Needs Assessment Identifies Training Areas in Women’s Mental Health for Peer Support Services • Menopause Experiences among Women Veterans with Mental Health Concerns • PTSD Treatment for Veterans with Serious Mental Illness to Improve Functional Outcomes • Recovery Bridge: A Peer facilitated intervention to help bridge the transition from psychiatric inpatient hospitalization to living in the community
2022 | Volume 23
Hightlights: MIRECC Peer Specialist selected VISN 5 Peer of the Year • VISN 5 MIRECC Among 2022 Lived Experience Community of Practice National Service Awardees • The Shores of Recovery RRTP at Perry Point VAMC • The New Community Living Bridge Program Completes its “Pioneer” Cohort
Spring 2022 Bulletin
Hightlights: Supervised Fitness Training for Older Adults with Psychotic Disorders • CBT-I to Improve Functional Outcomes in Veterans with Psychosis • Enhancing Access to Insomnia Care in VA PCMHI Clinics • Evaluation of Multifaceted and Multi-Systems Equity and Disparities in Low Back Pain Treatment and Outcomes in Women Veterans • New IDEAA Social Skills Curriculum in Development
2021
- Fall 2021 Bulletin
Hightlights: Directors Corner: Peer Specialist Facilitated Groups for Women Veterans • Innovative Bystander Training Aims to Reduce Harassment of Women Veterans • EBP Advances: First Evaluation of SST-Telehealth Shows Positive Preliminary Results • VHA Expands Psychosocial Rehabilitation Advanced Fellowship Training • MIRECC Research Highlights - Spring 2021 Bulletin
Hightlights: Director's Corner: Taking Stock and Moving Forward • Holistic Healing through Horses: A Small Grants for Recovery Project • Straight from the Investigator - Increasing Social and Community Engagement in Veterans Living with Schizophrenia: A Treatment Outcome Study • VA Connection Plans: A Whole Health Intervention to Promote Social Connections for Veterans • VISN 5 MIRECC Recovery-Oriented Educational Webinars and Seminars
2019-2020
- Fall 2020 Bulletin
Hightlights: VISN 5 MIRECC Director's Corner • VA Mental Health Lived Experience Community of Practice & VISN 5 MIRECC Partnership • Recovery Research Straight from the Investigator: CBT-Insomnia for Veterans with Psychosis • Small Grants for Recovery: Training on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Depression • Small Grants for Recovery: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy at the DC VA Medical Center • MIRECC Advanced Fellowship Program
- Summer 2020
Highlights: Recovery Resources During Physical Distancing, Social Skills Training for Serious Mental Illness (SST) via Telehealth: Building a VA Community of Practice, Collaboration through Telehealth Efforts, Employee Assistance Program and VISN 5 MIRECC: Work Together to Support Employee Wellness, VISN 5 MIRECC "Employee of the Week": Finding Positivity During "Ruff" Times - Spring 2020
Highlights: MIRECC Early Career Investigator Spotlight, VAMHCS Dialectical Behavior Therapy Clinical Service, MIRECC Investigator Partners with Baltimore Ceasefire 365 to Show that Ceasefires can Reduce Gun Violence, VISN 5 MIRECC Fellow Receives Research Award/Latent Class Profiles of Serum Fatty Acids are Associated with Risk of Suicide in Military Personnel, Recovery Science Transitions to National Mental Health Webinar Series, Publications Spotlight, Other Programs and Events - Fall 2019
Highlights: Update on Implementing an Evidence-Based Practice (SST) to Support Recovery, Social Skills Training Program: Suicide Prevention Initiative, Conference on Whole Health for Transgender Veterans, Labyrinth Journey Workshop Brings a New Recovery Practice to the Perry Point VA PRRC, MIRECC Investigators Present at the NAMI Maryland Annual Meeting, Publications Spotlight, Other Programs and Events - Summer 2019
Highlights: Using Qualitative and Mixed Design Methods Research to Enhance our Commitment to Putting Recovery into Practice, MIRECC Seed Grant: Inspiration Buttons at the Martinsburg VAMC, VAMHCS Employees Participate in Baltimore LGBT+ Pride, Publications Spotlight, Other Programs and Events - Winter 2019
Highlights: FY18 Accomplishments & Highlights, VISN5 Veterans, Inspiring and Inspired at the 2018 Alternatives Conference, Meet a MIRECC Clinical Advisor, Publication Spotlight, VISN5 MIRECC Recent and Upcoming Educational and Research Activities, Learn about Current Research Studies at the VISN5 MIRECC, Other Programs and Events
2017-2018
- Fall 2018
Highlights: Living Well: Putting Recovery-Oriented Research Into Practice, Mentoring the Future of Serious Mental Illness (SMI) Treatment, Meeting the New MIRECC Post-Doctoral Fellow, VISN5 MIRECC Recent and Upcoming Educational and Research Activities, Learn about Current Research Studies at the VISN5 MIRECC, Comings and Goings, Other Programs and Events - Summer 2018
Highlights: Feeling Engaged and Energized, Summit on Military Sexual Trauma, Veteran Spotlight, Seed Grant Update: Martinsburg VAMC, Current Research Studies, Comings and Goings, Upcoming Educational Activities, Other MIRECC Programs and Events - Winter 2018
Highlights: VISN 5 MIRECC Infrastructure: Maximizing National and Local Impact, Chronic Pain and Serious Mental Illness, Understanding Women Veterans’ Experiences with Weight Gain from Commonly Prescribed Psychiatric Medications, Current Research Studies, Publication Spotlight, Educational and Clinical Activities, Comings and Goings, Other Programs and Events - Fall 2017
Highlights: Technology and SST, Seed Grant: Vocational Rehabilitation Challenge Coin, In Memoriam Valerie Price, Innovative Peer Housing Program, Meet the New Fellow, Toolkit: Caring for Veterans With SMI in CLCs, Current Research Studies, Publication Spotlight, Educational and Clinical Activities, Comings and Goings, Other Programs and Events - Summer 2017
Highlights: Engaging Multiple Stakeholders in Our Mission to Put Recovery Into Practice, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research and Training, Learn about Current Research Studies at the VISN 5 MIRECC, Publication Spotlight, VISN 5 MIRECC’s Education Mission, Comings and Goings, Clinical and Educational Activities - February 2017
Highlights: Peers and Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT), MIRECC Open House, Warriors & Tattoos Photo Exhibition, Helping Veterans Quit Smoking, Training Opportunities, Publication Spotlight, Comings and Goings, Clinical and Educational Activities
2015-2016
- October 2016
Highlights: Advancing the Delivery of Social Skills Training in the VHA; Veterans Volunteering in the Community; PTSD and Recovery among Vietnam Era Veterans; Meet the New VISN 5 MIRECC Fellow; Publication Spotlight; Comings and Goings; Educational and Training Opportunities - June 2016
Highlights: Supporting VISN 5 and VACO Initiatives and Operations; A Creative Approach to Recovery-Oriented Programming: Recovery Film Festival; Mobility Function in Older Veterans with Psychotic Disorders; Meet Our New Staff Peer Specialist; Recent MIRECC Publication; Upcoming Conferences and Events - February 2016
Highlights: Network Realignment: Putting Recovery into Practice Across an Expanding VISN; Trauma-Informed Care for those with Serious Mental Illness; Meet Our New Fellow; Recent MIRECC Publications; Comings and Goings; Upcoming Conferences and Events - October 2015
Highlights: Championing Recovery Oriented Clinical Training; Smartphone Applications and Cigarette Smoking; Meet Our New Fellow; Recent and Upcoming Educational Activities; Recent MIRECC Publications; Comings and Goings; Upcoming Conferences and Events - July 2015
Highlights: SST Training for Peer Specialists; Resilience, Perceived Burden, and Suicide Risk; Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at the DC VAMC; Meet a MIRECC Investigator; Comings and Goings; Upcoming Trainings and Events - February 2015
Highlights: Mission Alignment with the VHA Blueprint for Excellence; Leadership Changes at the VISN 5 MIRECC; Understanding Insomnia in Veterans with Serious Mental Illness; Mindfulness Therapies at the Baltimore PCT and SerV MH Programs; Meet the New MIRECC Post-Doctoral Fellows; Upcoming Educational Activities at the MIRECC; Comings and Goings; Upcoming Conferences and Events
2013-2014
- October 2014
Highlights: Letter from the Director; Understanding Racial Disparities in VA Mental Health Care; Green Acres Garden; WRAP Facilitator Training: a Veteran Interview; Recent MIRECC Publications and Presentations; Upcoming Educational Activities at the MIRECC; Upcoming Conferences and Events - June 2014
Highlights: Letter from the Director; Shared Decision Making and Family Engagement in Care; MBST and PTSD; Meet a MIRECC Investigator; Upcoming Educational Activities at the MIRECC; Recent MIRECC Publications and Presentations; Comings and Goings; Upcoming Conferences and Events - January 2014
Highlights: Letter from the Director; Rapid Response Project: Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Smoking Cessation in VHA HIV Care; Training VA Peer Support Specialists as Facilitators in Wellness Recovery Action Planning; Meet a MIRECC Investigator; Upcoming Educational Activities at the MIRECC; Recent MIRECC Publications and Presentations; Comings and Goings; Upcoming Conferences and Events - September 2013
Highlights: Letter from the Director; Reducing Internalized Stigma among Veterans with PTSD; Veterans Talk SST; Meet the new MIRECC Fellows; Upcoming Educational Activities at the MIRECC; Recent MIRECC Publications; Comings and Goings; Upcoming Conferences and Events - April 2013
Highlights: Letter from the Director; Three Terrific New Recovery-Fostering Small Grants Awarded; Meet a Member of the MIRECC Veterans' Advisory Panel; Meet the MIRECC Fellow; Upcoming Educational Activities at the MIRECC; Recent MIRECC Publications; Comings and Goings; Upcoming Conferences and Events - January 2013
Highlights: Letter from the Director; Using Technology to Support Smoking Cessation in Individuals with Schizophrenia; Educational Conferences Planned for Spring 2013; Webpage Launch - VISN 5 MIRECC Educational Products; Meet a MIRECC Investigator; Recent MIRECC Publications and Presentations; Comings and Goings; Upcoming Conferences and Events
2011-2012
- September 2012
Highlights: Letter from the Acting Director; HIV and Mental Health: The Basics and Beyond; Club Vet Hosts Successful Stigma Conference at DC VA, Supported by MIRECC Small Grant; An Interview with Sophia Autry, MPH, FAC-P/PM; Recent MIRECC Publications and Presentations; Comings and Goings; Upcoming Conferences and Events - May 2012
Highlights: Letter from the Acting Director; The Relationship of Internalized Stigma with Dysfunctional Attitudes, Depression, and Quality of Life in Schizophrenia; Supporting the Mental Health of Women Veterans; Meet a MIRECC Investigator; Recent Publications by VISN 5 MIRECC; Farewell and Good Luck; Upcoming Conferences and Events - January 2012
Highlights: Letter from the Acting Director; Club Vet Suicide Prevention Conference; Recently-Funded Grants by MIRECC Investigators; Welcome to New Staff; Recent Publications by VISN 5 MIRECC; Presentations by VISN 5 MIRECC; Upcoming Events - October 2011
Highlights: Letter from the Acting Director; 5th Annual VA Mental Health Conference - Improving Veterans' Mental Health Care for the 21st Century , Baltimore, MD; August 23-25, 2011; Meet a MIRECC Investigator; Farewell and Good Luck - June 2011
Highlights: Letter from the Acting Director; A Recap of the 36th Annual US Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association Conference; Reducing Internalized Stigma in Individuals with Serious Mental Illness; Meet a MIRECC Investigator; Celebrating "Mental Health Month" at the VAMHCS - March 2011
Highlights: Cognitive Behavioral Social Skills Training to Enhance Mental Health Consumer Recovery; Utilizing the Treatment Mall concept to provide Psychosocial Rehabilitation Programming; VISN 5 MIRECC Psychopharmacology Case Conference; New MIRECC Pilot Grant; Problem Solving Training offered to OEF/OIF Veterans
2009-2010
- December 2010
Highlights: Letter from the Director; Mental Illness: Stigma and the Family Conference Recap; VISN 5 MIRECC Staff Present at Various National Conferences; Farewell and Good Luck - October 2010
Highlights: The Role of Resveratrol in Reducing Atypical Antipsychotic-Induced Metabolic Changes; VISN 5 MIRECC at Society for Psychophysiological Research Meeting - August 2010
Highlights: Hub Site for the Psychosocial Rehabilitation Fellowship Program at the Annual USPRA Conference; Another Successful VA Social Skills Training for Serious Mental Illness Workshop! - June 2010
Highlights: VA Social Skills Training for Serious Mental Illness: Workshop Progress and Website Launch; Proton Spectroscopy Can Give Us a Peek into the Living Brain; Re-Evaluating the Cost-Effectiveness of MHICM Services - April 2010
Highlights: Error Observation in Schizophrenia; The Maryland Assessment of Recovery in Serious Mental Illness - February 2010
Highlights: MHICM Recovery Incentives Program Holds Recognition Ceremony - December 2009
Highlights: Veterans Attend Wellness Recovery Action Planning Workshop; Have Recruitment Needs? An Opportunity for Investigators; Improving Psychiatric Care in VISN 5 - October 2009
Highlights: Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenic Episode (RAISE); Meet the New MIRECC Researchers; New MIRECC Administrative Core Manager; Helping Veterans with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness Quit Smoking; "The Enemy Within: Understanding the Impact of Stigma on the Recovery Process in Mental Health" Conference - August 2009
Highlights: Meet the New MIRECC Investigators; Meet the New MIRECC Researchers; The MIRECC at USPRA - June 2009
Highlights: Vets Represent VAMHCS at Annual Conference; Meet the New PSTs; Many Faces of Mental Illness; Psychopharmacology Case Conference Expanded - April 2009
Highlights: Resisting Internalized Stigma Intervention; Peer Support Technician Presentations; Martinsburg Family Support & Wellness Program - February 2009
Highlights: Collaboration to Advance Negative Symptom Assessment in Schizophrenia; Oxytocin and DMXB-A as Possible Treatments in Schizophrenia
2005-2008
- December 2008
Highlights: 2008 Advisory Board Meeting; MIRECC Launches Studies at DC VAMC - October 2008
Highlights: Evaluation of the Points Incentive Program: A Contemporary Token Economy Program; What is a Peer Support Technician?; VISN-5 MIRECC Veterans Advisory Panel - August 2008
Highlights: Small Grants Program Update; Screening for Metabolic Side Effects; National Mental Health Conference 2008 - June 2008
Highlights: An Integrated Approach to Smoking Cessation in SPMI; MIRECC Small Grants Program Supports WRAP Training; MIRECC Small Grants Program Supports Holistic Health Symposium - April 2008
Highlights: The Family Intervention Team (FIT); USPRA Annual Conference - February 2008
Highlights: Psychosocial Rehabilitation Training Program; MIRECC Evaluation a Success - December 2007
Highlights: Updating the Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) Treatment Recommendations; Does Diabetes Worsen Cognitive Impairment in Schizophrenia? - October 2007
Highlights: OOOPS, You Did It Again! (A Study Of Error-Related Brain Activity); New Behavioral Health Lab - August 2007
Highlights: CDP-Choline & Galantamine In Schizophrenia: A Sustained Alpha-7 Nicotinic Agonist Strategy; Transforming VHA Mental Health Care: Promoting Recovery and Integrated Care - June 2007
Highlights: Overlooking the Obvious: A Meta-analytic Comparison of Digit Symbol Coding Task and Other Cognitive Measures in Schizophrenia; Psychiatrists and Primary Caring; Psychology Interns Lead Recovery Groups at Baltimore PHP - April 2007
Highlights: MHICM Veterans Expand Their Cultural Horizons; MIRECC In JAMA; Understanding Treatment Study Drop-Out and Retention - February 2007
Highlights: Improving Consent Capacity for Research in Schizophrenia; Perry Point PHP Veterans Volunteer at Local Nursing Home; Does Family Member Provider Outreach Improve the Quality of Care for Persons with Severe Mental Illness? - December 2006
Highlights: The Returning Veterans Outreach, Education And Care Program (RVOEC); New Peer Housing Location Assistance Group (PHLAG); Mental Illness: Pathways To Recovery Conference - October 2006
Highlights: The MHICM Study, and Family Forum: Implementing Family Services for Persons with SMI in the VA: Barriers, Facilitators, and Solutions - August 2006
Highlights: Monthly Clinic for VAMHCS Clinicians; Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy with Trauma Survivors; Cognitive Therapy at Mental Health Recovery Conference; Veterans Lend a Hand - April 2006
Highlights: New VISN 5 MIRECC Administrative Database for Patients with Severe Mental Illness; New PIP Up and Running; and Evaluation of the Peer-to-Peer Program - February 2006
Highlights: Small Grant Program Awards; Social Skills Training the Centerpiece of Health Improvement Program (HIP); VISN 5 MIRECC South by Southwest (DC update) - December 2005
Highlights: HIV Dual Diagnosis Research; Another Successful Family Conference; Learning Through Teleconferencing - October 2005
Highlights: Assessing the Family-to-Family Education Program; Program Evaluation for PTSD Treatment Programs; DVD: “Schizophrenia And Other Mental Illnesses: Involving The Family, Improving Care” - August 2005
Highlights: Taking a Look at Stigma; Small Grants Program for Recovery-Fostering Clinical and Educational Innovations; New Training Series: Treating Dually Diagnosed Veterans in the MHICM Program - June 2005
Highlights: Advisory Board a Success; The Role of Motivation to Change Substance Use in Schizophrenia Patients; National MIRECC Conference highlights; Understanding and Treating PTSD in Women Conference highlights - April 2005
Highlights: MOVE! Weight Management and Physical Activity Intervention for Seriously Mentally Ill Veterans; HIV Infection Among Seriously Mentally Ill Veterans - February 2005
Highlights: New MIRECC Recovery Coordinator; Monthly Family Support and Education Program; New MIRECC website
2000-2004
For access to issues published bewteen 2000-2004, please contact us.
- December 2004
Highlights: VA Special Fellowship Program in Advanced Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry; M-PROVE: The Maryland Program for Vocational Effectiveness; Working with Families of the Mentally Ill conference update - October 2004
Highlights: Two New MIRECCs; New Clinical Core Associate Director; MIRECC Clinical Psychophysiology Lab - August 2004
Highlights: Does a Critical Time Intervention Improve Psychiatric Inpatient-Outpatient Transition Outcomes?; Best Practices in Network Mental Healthcare Systems conference update - June 2004
Highlights: Conference updates - April 2004
Highlights: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Training update; The Making of a DVD: "Involving Families: Improving Care for Individuals with Schizophrenia" - January 2004
Highlights: Development of a Computerized Method for Veterans to Enter Clinical Reminder Data; Spotlight: Guvant Thaker, MD - October 2003
Highlights: New Schizophrenia Research Training Program; Suicidality presentation update; Preventative Health Behaviors in Women with SMI - June 2003
Highlights: MIRECC Walks for the Mind of America update; Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders in People with Schizophrenia; Implementing Recovery-Oriented Approaches for Veterans with SMI - March 2003
Highlights: Engaging Dually Diagnosed Vets; The Academic Scaffolding of the Mental Health Service Line; CBT & Me - January 2003
Highlights: Advisory Committee update; IRIS Database; conference update - November 2002
Highlights: Computer Assisted Cognitive Remediation study; Critical Time Intervention for Vets with SMI; Discharging Long-Stay Patients Into the Community: Understanding Our Successes and Failures - September 2002
Highlights: Motivational Interviewing in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders; Risperidone Long-Acting Injection; Generalization of Training in Schizophrenia study - July 2002
Highlights: How Well Do You Know VA Culture?; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Addictions; VISN 5 Prison Initiative - April 2002
Highlights: Conference update; Empirically Based Therapies in Addiction Treatment; Advancing Evidence-Based Prescription of Antipsychotic Medications in the VA - February 2002
Highlights: New Interventions for Cognitive Deficits in Schizophrenia; What Leads to a Successful Discharge? - December 2001
Highlights: Database Management System; "Virtual Voices"; The Assessment Core - October 2001
Highlights: MIRECC Conferences: Our First Year and Beyond - August 2001
Highlights: Veterans Family Contact Project; Cognitive Remediation Program - June 2001
Highlights: Novel Continuum of Care for SMI Veterans; H. McKee Jarboe Award winners; Stanley Foundation Treatment Trial grant awardees - April 2001
Highlights: Investigator accomplishments; Family Needs Assessment Project - February 2001
Highlights: Points Incentive Program (PIP) at Perry Point VAMC - December 2000
Highlights: MIRECC Dedication ceremony; new Associate Director of Research; MIRECC Research Database - October 2000
Highlights: Protection of Human Research Subjects; Women Veterans Needs Assessment update - August 2000
Highlights: National & state resources; Psychopharmacology and Movement Disorders clinics - May 2000
Highlights: MIRECC mission, structure, & focus
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
VISN 5 MIRECC
Baltimore VAMC Annex Building
209 W. Fayette Street,
7th Floor,
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-637-1850:
Putting Recovery into Practice
MIRECC DIRECTOR
Richard Goldberg, Ph.D.
MIRECC ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
David Czajkowski
RESEARCH CORE
Associate Director: Julie Kreyenbuhl, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Director: Robert Buchanan, M.D.
EDUCATION CORE
Co-Associate Director: Melanie Bennett, Ph.D.
Co-Associate Director: Samantha Hack, Ph.D.
Coordinator: Ralf Schneider, MA, CPRP
CLINICAL CORE
Associate Director: Amy Drapalski, Ph.D.
Assistant Director: Anjana Muralidharan, Ph.D.
MIRECC MATTERS EDITOR
Chris Irr, Communication Specialist
MIRECC MATTERS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Ralf Schneider, MA, CPRP
PHOTO CREDITS
Dr. Goldberg's photo: Medical Media, VA Maryland Health Care System
University of Maryland School of Medicine
MIRECC MATTERS
An electronic publication of the VA Capitol Health Care Network (VISN 5) Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)
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