News Releases

In recognition of May as Mental Health Month, DMH is announcing a partnership with the Mississippi State Department of Health, NAMI Mississippi, the Mental Health Association of South Mississippi, and the Mississippi Public Health Institute. This partnership is launching an expanded public awareness campaign titled ai???Think Again,” a grassroots effort to raise awareness about mental […]

The Department of Mental Health and a number of Community Mental Health Centers are working together to offer Youth Mental Health First Aid training to educators from throughout the state. If you are an educator, do you know to recognize the signs of mental illness in a young person? Would you know how to respond […]

March 2, 2018 (Jackson, Miss.) Registration is now open for the Workforce for the Future Mississippi Behavioral Health Workforce Forum that will be March 26, 2018 in Pearl at Hinds Community College’s Clyde Muse Center. The Mississippi Department of Mental Health’s Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Services announced in January that it was selected to […]

March 1, 2018 (Jackson, Miss.) The Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH) is joining thousands of people and organizations all across the country in celebrating the month of March as Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. In recognition of this event, representatives of DMH, the Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (BIDD) Advisory Council and […]

January 8, 2018 (Jackson, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Mental Health’s Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Services is proud to announce that it has been selected to join the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, in hosting a collegiate Workforce Forum. The combination of the […]

December 8, 2017 (Jackson, Miss.) – Thanksgiving has already come and gone, Christmas and more holidays are right around the corner, and for many people, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. But not for everyone. The holiday season brings happiness and cheer for many, but for others, the shorter, darker days of the […]

December 8, 2017 – What began as an effort to develop a collaborative partnership for Juvenile Outreach Programs in 2010 has turned into a sustained program that served 1,587 young people in Fiscal Year 2017. The Department of Mental Health supports 14 Juvenile Outreach Programs (JOP) operated by Community Mental Health Centers throughout the state, […]

December 6, 2017 (Jackson, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH) and six other agencies announced the launch of Stand Up, Mississippi, a comprehensive media campaign to address the opioid epidemic, during a press conference today at the Mississippi State Capitol. The campaign is the latest component of a comprehensive, multi-agency initiative to […]

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health’s (DMH) consolidated budget includes all budget units under DMH. DMH is requesting restoration of the $3,116,446 (1.37%) LBR reduction in state support funding. This includes general funds in the amount of $207,763,132 and healthcare funds in the amount of $18,951,886. DMH is also requesting level special fund spending authority […]

In an effort to make pre-trial competence evaluations more readily available, Mississippi State Hospital’s Forensic Services staff conducted a training program designed to increase the number of qualified evaluators available to courts to perform jail-based services. Dr. Amanda Gugliano, Dr. Stephanie Howard, Dr. Reb McMichael, Dr. Thomas Recore and MSH Court Liaison Philip Gaines led […]

A diverse group of professionals gathered at the Department of Mental Health Central Office recently for a two-day training on trauma-informed care in the criminal justice system. The training was conducted by Chan Noether, director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrationai??i??s (SAMHSA) GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation and Joel […]

Young people at risk for involvement in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems are the focus of a grant the Department of Mental Health recently received that will allow expansion of the current System of Care (SOC) programs in two jurisdictions served by Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources and Weems Community Mental Health. Current […]

Governor Phil Bryant recently signed a proclamation declaring September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, drawing awareness to a public health issue that affects people of all ages and backgrounds. He was joined by not just representatives from the Department of Mental Health (DMH), but his wife, First Lady Deborah Bryant, who has worked with DMH […]

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH) has begun the implementation of conflict-free case management services for the Intellectual Disabilities/Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD) Waiver.  Conflict-free case management is required for all states by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, and will result in the transfer of a number of DMH employees to other community providers […]

Dr. Thomas Recore, Dr. Amanda Gugliano, and Dr. Reb McMichael from Mississippi State Hospital (MSH) Forensic Services, along with hospital director James Chastain, attended a meeting of the Mississippi Association of Community Mental Health Centers on Aug. 9 to share information about two new programs impacting services statewide. MSH, the Department of Mental Health (DMH) […]

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH) is partnering with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS) to provide naloxone, a life-saving medication that blocks or reverses effects of opioid overdoses, to all sworn personnel of DPS. This effort was funded by the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grant, as part of the […]

Mississippi recently added 29 more individuals to the growing list of Mental Health First Aid Instructors in the state through a training offered by the Mississippi Department of Mental Health and NAMI Mississippi. This is the first time in Mississippi that in addition to the Mental Health First Aid course, participants also received supplemental training […]

The Department of Mental Health announced in July a consolidation of various aspects of its programs in an effort to reduce administrative overhead while continuing to deliver quality services to Mississippians in need. The department’s six programs for mental health services will be consolidated under the umbrellas of two of its current programs, Mississippi State […]

The 2017 Trauma Informed Care Conference will be September 26-29 at the Jackson Convention Center. Titled “Standing in the Eye of the Storm,” the conference brings together mental health professionals from throughout the state to build skills, knowledge, and awareness so they can effectively respond to various aspects of child, adolescent, and adult trauma. The […]