Looking Beyond the Illness and Into the Heart of the Patient

By: Peggy Cunningham, NCC, LPC

“Real success is finding your lifework in the work you love.” - David McCullough

I often marvel at how lucky I am to be able to come to work every day, being in the place I want to be, and doing the thing that I love to do.  I feel passionate about working in the behavioral health field and providing the best care we can to those who seek our assistance.  I also am glad to see the progress we have made in destigmatizing mental illness.  There was a recent commercial on TV where several celebrities are seen with family members or friends with an identifiable mental illness.  The message “These are real people with real feelings with real lives’ and people who love them.”

Supporting Those with Mental Illness is Our Responsibility

By: Mary E. Bellcock, LPC

As a manager of an Intensive Outpatient Program that serves adolescents with mental health and substance abuse issues, I have become increasingly aware of the necessity of outside support for these individuals. Equally important is the responsibility that parents and primary caregivers have in recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental health disorders, in particular adolescent depression. According to the California Adolescent Health Collaborative (californiateenhealth.org), common signs to look for include, sleep disturbances, problems with academic performance, frequent statements about feeling sad and substance abuse.

When Life No Longer Seems Precious

By: Peggy Cunningham, MA, NCC, LPC

It is estimated that over one million people die by suicide worldwide each year - 1.8% of all deaths worldwide are suicides.  Global suicide rates have increased 69% in the last 45 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized the significance of suicide and has declared September 10, 2013 as World Suicide Prevention Day.  WHO estimates that for every successful suicide there are twenty additional attempts.  It is estimated that 35,000 suicides occur in the United States each year.

Top 5 Elderly Mental Health Concerns - Do Services Meet the Needs?

Rosanne Parks, BSN, MSN, Director SAGE Unit
Managed by Research Psychiatric Center

Since our SAGE Geri-Psychiatric unit deals mainly with those who are 55 years of age or older, I often do research looking for more creative ways to evaluate and engage our patients.  During one such search, I came across an article that discussed the top five mental health issues for the elderly. 

After thinking about this article and how it accurately reflects the patients that we see daily, I once again came to the conclusion that I've reached before - public/private services for the elderly mentally ill simply can not keep pace with the need. Given the increased number of seniors, the limited resources available to educate families and treat their loved ones (especially in rural areas like ours at SAGE) I'm afraid that too many aging dementia and Alzheimer's patient will continue to suffer needlessly.

The top five elderly mental health issues are:

Depression, Alzheimer's disease, Dementia, Anxiety, Suicide

The Affects of College Stress on a Student’s Mental Health and What to Do About It

By: Linda C. Silva

I would like to share these alarming statistics with you:

“According to the American College Health Association (ACHA)…suicide is the second most common cause of death among college students…and 1 in 12 college students has actually made a suicide plan at some point…” ¹

For many students all around the world college = stress! The stress may be caused from constant feelings of being overwhelmed, intense pressure to get good grades, financial restraints and nights with little or no sleep. Speaking from personal experience, my number one stress was keeping my GPA high enough to keep my scholarship as well as to be a competitive candidate for grad school while working a full-time job. There was just so much pressure to perform well.