Archive for category: Behavioral Health

Post written by John Smart, LSCSW, Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker

The New Year can be a challenging time as well as a time for hope. Often, the New Year is associated with celebrations, resolutions, and higher expectations for ourselves, and life in general. This can be energizing, or it may feel overwhelming, especially for those of us whose spirits are weary from the pressures of the past year. For this reason, it is important to consider how we can recharge our spirts and nurture our well-being while looking for ways to grow in the coming year.

As we wind-down the holiday season and look ahead, we can take time to reflect on our strengths, aspirations and values. Questions to ask ourselves might be: How are my actions reflecting what has meaning to me? What am I grateful for? What have I enjoyed that also adds energy to my life? What am I doing that gives me a sense of purpose and what are my skills, talents and resources, and how do I plan to use them?

Health Resolutions

This may sound a bit idealistic, and challenging to put into action, but often we can discover answers to these questions when we ask ourselves why we would like to achieve the goals we set for ourselves. For instance, improving diet and exercising more is a very common New Year’s resolution, and one I happen to be considering. This is important to me because my health impacts other areas of life that have meaning, such as the amount of energy I have to enjoy the outdoors and get things done around the house. It also impacts the quality and quantity of time I have with friends and loved ones.

Why?

Keeping in mind why we are making healthier choices can impact how we do that in practical ways – we might exercise through enjoying nature on walks with friends, rather than telling ourselves we’re doing time on a treadmill as though it’s a punishment. Rather than trying to live on smoothies and salads, we might consider cooking healthy meals together with family, creating opportunities for conversation and making memories of collaborating around great recipes, or sharing laughter about the ones that don’t work out so well.

Be kind to yourself along the way.

Whatever your hopes and goals for the new year, please be kind to yourself along the way. Check-in with yourself often, celebrating your progress and successes, and asking yourself what support you might need when struggling to move ahead with goals. In life, we are all works in progress, and none of us can go it alone.

CECILIA PONCE, LSCSW BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINICIAN
Health Partnership Clinic

By Cecilia Ponce, LSCSW, Behavioral Health Clinician 

The National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) has adopted “You Are Not Alone” as a moto for this year and Minority Mental Health Month. Throughout the month of July, NAMI will be sharing their Strength Over Silence mini-series, personal stories of lived experiences, blogs and other publications in hopes to forge a sense of connection in a socially distanced world.

Minority Mental Health

Minority Mental Health is unique in that we must address how culture, race and ethnicity may be both a risk factor as well as resiliency factor for the individual/group/community. As mentioned in years past, the goal of this designation is to improve access to mental health treatment, to help destigmatize mental health and to promote public awareness.

Some question how minorities might experience mental health and outcomes differently. It would be near impossible to discuss this without mentioning the effects of racism (overt and institutional), homophobia, ethnocentrism and discrimination on persons from minority groups. Language is powerful and creating an “othering” of a population is a double-edged sword of sorts.

According to NAMI, mental illness doesn’t choose who is affected by it, but culture, race, gender, or sexual orientation can affect access to treatment, support and quality of care for many. Let’s change this.

At HPC, we are lucky to provide culturally-effective care in an integrated setting.

We have staff that are bicultural, bilingual, who are trained and dedicated to providing quality care. We encourage staff to build on the natural curiosity, continue their education and collaborate with patients on treatment plans and care.

The Behavioral Health Team at HPC invites you to celebrate Minority Mental Health Month this July. And let us all continue to work together to “strive to create and maintain environments that foster cultural humility, which are culturally and linguistically responsive to the needs of all people.”

Post written by Amy Gray, LSCSW, Behavioral Health Clinician

April is Autism Awareness Month. Awareness month efforts promote knowledge and increase awareness of public health issues. April is the month to learn more about AUTISM!

WHAT IS AUTISM?

Autism is formally defined as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD is a developmental disability characterized by significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. People with ASD often communicate, behave and learn in different ways. Some people with ASD are gifted and some may be severely challenged. Some people with ASD may need help in their daily lives and others may need very little. ASD now includes autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger syndrome, which are conditions that were previously diagnosed separately.

HOW PREVALANT IS AUTISM?

Data and Statistics on ASD

While there are a lot of efforts to evaluate and treat Autism, the prevalence is difficult to assess. Estimates are used to extrapolate data of known cases to determine how prevalent ASD actually is.

Key findings from the 2020 Community Report from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network’s most recent report include:

• About one in 54 or 1.85 percent of eight-year-old children were identified with ASD according to estimates from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network
• ASD is about four times more common among boys than among girls and occurs in all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

New findings in the most recent 2020 report:

• For the first time ADDM Network data found no overall difference in the number of black children identified with autism compared to white children. However, the number of Hispanic children identified with autism is still lower compared to white or black children.
• More four-year-old children with ASD received evaluation by 36 months in 2016 (84 percent) than in 2014 (74 percent).

Additional Information

The CDC has a new data visualization tool that lets users map and graph ASD data. You can see that here.

For more information, visit the World Health Organization’s website.

Or check out the Autism Society website.

By Amy Gray, LSCSW, Behavioral Health Clinician

Self-Care

Self-care almost always evokes an image for people, whether it be a hot bath, a vacation, or pampering in some way. Self-care is not one-size-fits-all and can come in all shapes and sizes. Some people are filled up by meditation or yoga, others prefer walking in the woods or journaling. Self-care requires time and attention and focus, is developed over time, and should be a part of our regular routine to keep ourselves healthy and mentally strong. Self-care is an act, a habit, or a practice.

There are several types or categories of self-care, including: Emotional, Mental, Physical, Pleasure, Sensory, Social, and Spiritual.

Emotional Self-Care Ideas

The website www.developgoodhabits.com identifies the following Emotional Self-Care Ideas:

Emotional Wellness

Emotional wellness is difficult in our world in a regular year, yet during a pandemic year, the obstacles can seem monumental. Break things down into doable steps. Ask for help when needed. Cry if you need to, and use grounding to keep focused. There is no precedence for how you should respond in times like this, it is a pandemic and nothing about that is natural.

Physical self-care is important for mental and emotional health and aids in sleep and eating habits. Motivation might be hard to come by, start small and get moving. Social self-care allows us to connect with others. Finding ways to spend time with people (via social media apps, social distancing, etc.) is important. Spending time in prayer or at online church services can mitigate the loss of church family, church events and spiritual practices. In all areas important to you, try to make new traditions that feed your needs and raise your spirits.

…In A Pandemic!!

In the past year, many people have struggled due to the changes COVID19 has made to our daily lives. Our safety and security has been threatened by a very real virus, and mental health effects have been significant. An increase in anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug use, and relationship issues have been evident in the patients seen at Health Partnership. Patients who have never experienced anxiety and depression are reporting problems for the first time, and many patients with a history are reporting a significant increase in symptoms.

More than one-third of Americans have displayed clinical signs of anxiety, depression, or both since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The American Psychological Association (which typically issues an annual mental health survey) has been releasing a monthly report, Stress in America 2020: Stress in the Time of COVID-19.

According to PEW Research, one-third of Americans (33 percent) have experienced high levels of psychological distress at some point during the extended period of social distancing undertaken to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. More than half (55 percent) of adults who describe their financial situation as poor have experienced high levels of distress, as have half of those who report having a disability or handicap that keeps them from fully participating in work, school or other activities.

It is important to normalize the effects a global pandemic, including widespread shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, remote-only school attendance and the loss of connection that people are experiencing. Weddings have been canceled or rescheduled. Funerals have been delayed or family members have been unable to travel to say goodbye. Baby showers and birthday parties and bar mitsvahs and graduations and anniversaries and holidays…the list goes on and on. In a global pandemic, the rules change, and “normal” is simplified and redefined. In a pandemic, the main goal is survival.

Dr. Joy Osofsky in Psychology Today writes: “Self-care is crucial to support health and mental health, which starts with establishing regular routines for this “new normal” environment that include getting enough sleep, eating regular meals, exercise and making connections virtually with family and friends.”

Helpful Hints for Surviving, or Even Thriving, in a Pandemic

ADAPT: Individual self-care in a pandemic needs to adapt to the current circumstances. Work on making small changes, don’t try to change everything all at once. Set a daily or weekly goal and find JOY in celebrating the small wins and good efforts you make.

GRATITUDE: Practice gratitude by journaling 5 good things that have happened, and/or make sticky notes and place them on your bathroom mirror as a reminder of positive things happening.

PROPS: A bright light or light box are used for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and mimic daylight, which can be very helpful for people who get down during the dark winter months. As little as 10 minutes a day can help lift your mood. Finding light, in a light box, a conversation, or at the end of this very long pandemic tunnel, is critical.

JOY: Find some JOY….and celebrate everything!!! Celebrate getting the laundry done, getting out of bed, feeding yourself healthy food, and making time for self-care activities. Celebrating helps focus on success and progress. Practice gratitude and celebrate surviving the year 2020.

PRACTICE…PRACTICE…PRACTICE

Post by Tristen Winston, MA, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist and Behavioral Health Director

Mental Illness Awareness Week is the first week of Oct. It begins on Sunday, Oct. 4 and runs through Saturday, Oct. 10.

According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), each year, millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental health condition. However, mental illness affects everyone directly or indirectly through family, friends or coworkers. It is vital that we recognize the importance of mental health and continue to combat the stigma that still exists.

This is why Mental Illness Awareness Week is so very important to our community.

Research shows that one in five adults will experience mental illness each year.

Since 1990, when Congress officially established the first full week of October as Mental Illness Awareness Week, advocates have worked together to sponsor activities, large or small, to educate the public about mental illness. Education is key to removing the stigma to mental illness and mental health treatment.

It is important to learn the signs, symptoms and treatment options. Access to treatment can be a challenging process. At Health Partnership Clinic we are proud to offer Integrative Behavioral Health Care to all our patients regardless of their financial status or ability to pay. We believe that incorporating mental health evaluation in the Primary Care setting can increase access to care and help educate patients to reduce the stigma.

Mental Health Facts from NAMI

• One in five (46.6 million) adults in the United States experience a mental health condition in a given year.
• One in 25 (11.2 million) adults in the United States experience a serious mental illness in a given year.
• Approximately 46.6 million adults in the United States face the reality of managing a mental illness every day.
• Half of all lifetime mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75 percent by age 24, but early intervention programs can help.
• Up to 90 percent of those who die by suicide have an underlying mental illness as revealed by psychological autopsy. Of those, 46 percent who die by suicide have a diagnosed mental illness.
• Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. With effective care, suicidal thoughts are treatable, and suicide is preventable.
• Individuals with mental health conditions face an average 11-year delay between experiencing symptoms and starting treatment.
• Common barriers to treatment include the cost of mental health care and insurance, prejudice and discrimination, and structural barriers like transportation.
• Even though most people can experience relief from symptoms and support for their recovery in treatment, less than half of the adults in the United States get the help they need.