What is Mental Health?
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning.” Mental health disorders do not develop because someone is weak. Mental health disorders do not discriminate; anyone can develop a mental health disorder at any time. There are many types of mental health disorders, such as:
- Anxiety Disorder
- Panic Disorder
- Phobias
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Depression
- Major Depression
- Bipolar Disorder
- Schizophrenia
Many of these illnesses can occur in episodes. This means there are times when symptoms are there and times when symptoms seem to lessen and almost disappear. Mental illness symptoms usually worsen if left untreated.
Recovery from mental health disorders involves understanding the condition, learning new skills and developing a new way of life.
SCLHSA offers the following Mental Health Services:
- Behavioral Health Assessments— Determines the level of care and individualized treatment needs.
- Individual Therapy— Utilizes evidence-based techniques focused on the client’s identified in the individualized treatment plan.
- Marriage and Family Therapy— Utilizes evidence-based techniques focused on teaching skills for healthier marriage and family relationships.
- Group Therapy— Utilizes evidence-based practices focused on building and practicing recovery support skills for the special populations including:
- Addictive Disorders
- Mental Health
- Co-Occurring
- Gender Specific
- Adolescent
- LGBTQ
- Psychiatric Evaluations— Determines the diagnosis and the medication needed to help the client accomplish a recovery lifestyle.
- Medication Management— Visits to monitor and/or adjust the client’s medication regimen to reduce mental health symptoms.
- Crisis Intervention— Risk assessment, triage and the appropriate interventions for acute psychiatric and/or substance abuse needs in an effort to maintain the client in the least restrictive environment.
- Certified Peer Support Specialist Services— Provides skill building sessions, Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) group, referral assistance and other support services to clients in each of the Behavioral Health Centers.
- Psychological Testing— Utilizes standardized testing to assist the treatment team with differential diagnosis, and in determining levels of psychological functioning including cognitive ability, intellectual functioning, achievement, learning disorders, psychological disorders, personality dynamics, and attention problems.
- Anger Management Services— An assessment and anger management screening tool will be utilized to determine the appropriate level of care needed. If client meets the criteria for education or treatment of Anger Management, he/she will be enrolled.
- Anger Education Program— This program consists of 2 sessions (4 total hours) focused on defining anger, identifying problematic anger, exploring myths of anger and anger as a habitual response pattern, identifying personal events/cue for anger responses, and developing an anger control plan. Individuals successfully completing the Anger Management Education Program will receive a certificate.
- Anger Treatment Program— This is a 16-week evidenced-based program that utilizes group and individual sessions to teach core concepts and skills necessary to successfully manage anger, develop self-control over thoughts and actions, and utilize various strategies needed to cope with feelings of anger functionally. The program requires an individual to attend 4 individual sessions and 12 group sessions to receive a certificate of completion.
- Parent Management Training— Evidence-based intervention for children under 8 years old aimed at reducing symptoms of Disruptive Behavioral Disorders (DBDs).
- Child-Parent Psychotherapy— Evidence-based intervention designed for working with children from birth through age 6 who have experienced a traumatic event.
- Youth Post Traumatic Disorder— Evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for 7-18 year old children and adolescents experiencing trauma-related symptoms and involves caregivers.