This document provides an overview of essential information necessary for understanding mental health and substance use disorder parity and how to implement and comply with federal parity laws. This guide applies to parity laws in employer-sponsored health plans and group and individual insurance.

There are protections in federal law, collectively known as “parity,” which are designed to ensure that certain types of health plans cover mental and substance use disorders no less generously than they cover other health issues. This resource can guide you to helpful materials and places.

The guide provides considerations and strategies for interdisciplinary teams, peer specialists, clinicians, registered nurses, behavioral health organizations, and policy makers in understanding, selecting, and implementing evidence-based interventions that support older adults with serious mental illness.

This guide reviews literature on treating college students’ mental health concerns, such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors; distills the research into recommendations for practice; and provides examples of the ways that these recommendations can be implemented.

This guide reviews ways that telehealth modalities can be used to provide treatment for serious mental illness and substance use disorders among adults, distills the research into recommendations for practice, and provides examples of how these recommendations can be implemented.

This guide will help families who have a loved one who is suicidal or has made a suicide attempt. It will provide information on understanding suicide, warning signs and action steps to take, and how to prevent future attempts and keep your loved one safe.

This guide provides mental health decision-makers (e.g., state/local mental health directors, treatment facility clinical directors, and other stakeholders) with rationale and evidence to support wide-spread expansion of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) across mental health systems.

This Advisory is based on TIP 60, Using Technology-Based Therapeutic Tools in Behavioral Health Services. It provides information on synchronous and asynchronous telehealth technologies for behavioral health treatment. Factors such as technology access and implementation are addressed.

The National report presents indicators as measured through the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services. State reports provide a snapshot of substance use and mental health in the United States.