1

Department of Health & Human Services
The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration provides statistics related to mental disorders and treatment modalities in the United States.

American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association publishes the text from which mental disorders are diagnosed: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV Text Revision. The first edition published in 1951. This "science based" organization represents 36,000 physicians.

2

American Psychological Association
The APA is the association for psychologists with 150,000 members (2005).  Psychology, the study of the mind and behavior, has been researched for centuries--with some of most comprehensive research documented by the APA.

3

National Association of Social Workers
The NASW is a leading US membership (153,000 members; 2005) association that provides for the ethical standards of the profession.  Research, educational standards, and published journals are facilitated by the NASW, founded in 1955.

4

American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy
The AAMFT is a leading US membership (23,000 members; 2005) association that is involved in "research, theory development and education" for professional Marriage & Family Therapists.  The association was founded in 1942. 

5

American Mental Health Counselors Association
The AMHCA is a leading US membership (# unknown; 2005) association instrumental in research, policy, education, and licensure issues specific to Mental Health Counselors.

6

American Psychiatric Nurses Association
APNA is a nurse practitioner website for those ARNP's who specialize in psychiatric mental health.  The organization publishes it's own journal and promotes research, education, and policy related to the mental illness treatment and mental health. 

7

Association for Play Therapy
The APT, founded in 1982, promotes that national interests of the play therapy profession.  It's work is rooted in research that often appears in associations professional and academic journal, which has been in circulation since 1992.

8

American Art Therapy Association
The AATA publishes its own journal promulgating the research that supports the use of art therapy.  It is a member association.  The history of the profession indicates that art as a treatment method traces to the 1940's, generally beginning in institutional settings.

9

American Music Therapy Association
The AMTA is a member association (5,000 members; 2005) with history that dates its founding to 1950.  It promotes evidence-base practice, meaning the AMTA recognizes the value of research that supports the use of music in treating mental illness.

The National Institute of Mental Health

The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice
Dennis Saleebey (2002) promotes various aspects of the use of this perspective in working with clients for the purposes of enabling people to use current skills to overcome current stressors.  Third Edition.  Allyn and Bacon: Boston.  ISBN: 0-8013-3310-5.

The Nature / Nurture Debate: Environment
Origins of Individual Differences in Theory of Mind: from Nature to Nurture, highlights how environment can alter development.  It was published in Child Development, March-April 2005.  (Vol 76(2), 356-371).  Hughes, Jaffee, Happs, Taylor, Caspi, & Moffitt.

The Nature / Nurture Debate: Biology
Learning, Cognitive, and Attentional Problems in Adolescents Born Small for Gestational Age, reveals biological factors impact mental processes.  Published in Pediatrics, August 2003; 112(2), 301-308. O'Keeffe, O'Callaghan, Williams, Najman, Bor.

Diagnosing a Disorder if the Criteria says Otherwise
Impaired but Undiagnosed addresses failures to diagnose based on DSM criteria. The researchers say diagnosis should happen anyway. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, February 1999; 38(2),129-138.  Angold, Costell, Farmer, Burns & Erkanli.

Peer Reviewed / Refereed Articles
The University of North Florida (with the help of Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Educational Psychology and Administration (2000-2003) defines and describes the peer review and referee process in many journal publications.

The Practice of Social Work
Charles H. Zastrow (2003) discusses Person in Environment (PIE).  The ecological model (1960's) links all systems of life to a person while addressing related maladaptive responses.  Seventh edition. Brooks/Cole; Pacific Grove, IL.  ISBN: 0-534-60030-1.

DHHS & The National  Mental Health Information Center
The federal government summarizes research interpretations made by the US Surgeon General in the 1999 report titled Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Changes in Children's Psychiatric Symptoms
This Finland study reveals that mental illness is an increasing problem.  It suggests that the same will be true in the US as childhood disorders become less stigmatized.  Have there been changes in psychiatric symptoms and mental health service use?  A 10-year comparison from Finland was published in the September 2004 edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (vol 43(9)).  Saourander, Santalahit, Haavisto, Piha, Ikaheimo &U Helenius.

Are American Children's Problems Still Getting Worse?
Achenbach, Duymenci & Rescorla (2003) conducted a 23-year comparison study and concluded that the incidence of mental illness in the US is not on the rise--in spite of prior decades showing childhood mental disorder increases. The article appeared in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology (vol 31(1). 

Risk Behaviors in Maltreated Youth Placed in Foster Care.
Tausig (2002) completes a longitudinal study that suggests that identifying certain behavioral issues early in care is a key issue in child welfare but that also "problems" can be linked to the absence or presence of certain social supports.  The article appeared in the Child Abuse & Neglect (vol 26).   

Empirically Violated Treatments.
Bohart, O'Hara and Leitner (1998) argue, through survey research, that methods of treatment, measures of outcomes, and achieving "cures" are not necessarily the best indicators of counseling success.  Bohart, et al., postulate that the relationship between the therapist and the client is key.  Psychotherapy Research 8(2). 

How do I Know If My Therapist is Good at Counseling?
Larson & Daniels review psychometric research from multiple studies discussing how a counselor's view of "self-efficacy" impacts outcome expectations.  Expectations and actual outcomes appear to correlate.  Review of the Counseling Self-efficacy Literature appears in the 1998 edition of The Counseling Psychologist, 26(2).