Mental Health in Oregon
High bar for hospitalizing mentally ill Portlanders without consent leaves those in great need on the street
Oregon’s failure to provide adequate mental health treatment for its residents has grown more severe and more visible in recent years, but its beginnings go back decades. This reporting from The Oregonian/OregonLive aims to shine a light on barriers to quality care, identify failures of policy, and illuminate a path forward.
Oregon mental health resources
Oregon ‘community navigator’ program aims to ease transition out of state psychiatric hospital
The state plans to test the program in six counties then decide whether to expand it statewide.
High bar for hospitalizing mentally ill Portlanders without consent leaves those in great need on the street
Aspects of Oregon’s mental health system can endanger lives, particularly local officials’ interpretations of the state’s civil commitment law.
Meet the Alabama yogi who built Birmingham’s first Black-owned yoga studio
After being denied from predominantly white yoga studios, Black yoga teacher Adi Devta Kaur decided to build a home of healing for Black people in her own neighborhood.
Multnomah County mental health leaders agree some patients need involuntary treatment — but where?
Five mental health leaders discussed the need for immediate places to treat people going through mental health crises.
Oregon mental health leader says state finally has money to boost treatment beds; Staffing them is another matter
Ebony Clarke said the state is trying to find ways to attract more behavioral health care workers.
Tigard man gets time-served for threats to ‘shoot up’ elementary school in Sherwood
Braeden Richard Riess, 27, was diagnosed with schizophrenia after his arrest last year.
Why Portland has failed to open a desperately needed new sobering center as addiction soars
Conflicting interests, egos and competition for money sank a four-year effort that drew a broad coalition of supporters to design a place where police and first-responders could drop off people high on drugs or alcohol for immediate help and connections to longer-term treatment.
Washington County succeeded where Portland failed: Its addictions triage center is scheduled to open in 2025
The 24-hour, seven-day-a-week drop-off center will treat different levels of addiction from sobering to detox to residential stays of up to 60 days.
The difference between sobering, detox and residential treatment explained
The terms are often confused. Here's an explanation of the different levels of care for addiction.
Letter from the Editor: We’re focusing on mental health challenges in Oregon
This project was born from a newsroom brainstorming session, in which mental illness emerged as an undercurrent across many of the state’s most pressing problems: homelessness, drug addiction, the overtaxed criminal justice system and the underachieving education system.
As Oregon State Hospital releases more patients, community mental health programs seek help to keep up
A growing number of patients are being sent back to receive treatment in their home counties.
Readers respond: People need treatment, not handcuffs
Letters to the Editor can be submitted to letters@oregonian.com with full name and place of residence.
It’s been a bruising year for Multnomah County’s new chair. Jessica Vega Pederson says she’s ‘just getting started’
There's been no honeymoon for the leader of Oregon's largest county.
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Oregon football coach Dan Lanning calls for ‘common-sense approach’ to gun violence, mental health
"People can say, ‘Let’s make it about guns. Let’s make it about mental health.’ Why can’t we use a common-sense approach and make it about everything?" Lanning said.
Might play around and find out | Black Joy – September 27, 2023
Some cosplay, candy ladies and Hoodoo for ya soul!
Can blerd culture heal Black trauma? Meet the cosplaying therapist who thinks so.
"Cosplaying therapist" Niah Singletary is a doctoral student researching how cosplay and fantasy culture can be used to heal Black trauma through play therapy.
41 states sue Meta, alleging ‘substantial dangers’ of platforms harm youth mental health
The lawsuit alleges that the company hasn't done enough to keep children under 13 off of Instagram and Facebook, despite the fact that anyone under 13 is barred from using those platforms.
Oregon’s mental health workforce ‘crisis’ exacerbates challenges finding care
Shortages in mental health staffing are not unique to Oregon, experts say, and existed before they were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
How to take care of yourself while staying engaged during the Israel-Hamas war
Staying informed and keeping tabs on what’s going on in the coming weeks won’t be easy, so here are 8 ways to stay grounded while bearing witness during this extremely violent moment, according to mental health specialists.
First BIPOC herbalism conference opens doors to indigenous healing and learning
Heal yourself during the first BIPOC Herbalism conference.
West Virginia has the nation’s worst drug problem, but far less homelessness than Oregon
To people who believe drug addiction is to blame for homelessness swamping Portland, Los Angeles and San Francisco, West Virginia presents a paradox. It leads the nation in overdose deaths per capita but has very little homelessness.
Failures in Oregon’s mental health system led to delayed or reduced care for vulnerable residents, audit finds
Agency officials started their work on the audit after a whistleblower reported concerns about possible financial mismanagement and poor decisions about how much care Oregonians should receive.
Oregon releases mental health bed tally for first time, promising hundreds more in months ahead
The state plans to release a dashboard tracking its community beds soon.
Oregon ranks miserably for addressing mental health. The reasons are complex
A mother spent years trying to get her son mental health services, but the system failed him. His story highlights Oregon's poor mental health rankings.
Is TikTok’s shadow work journal the next big thing in mental health?
This form of psychotherapy has taken over social media and beyond with its consistent spamming, promising a better life. But what in the world is it?
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