Henry County Substance Abuse Coalition hosts mental health awareness panel at MPCHS

MT. PLEASANT - Mental health professionals in the Henry County area were present at a mental health resource fair and panel discussion hosted by the Henry County Substance Abuse Coalition at Mt. Pleasant Community High School Tuesday night.

Tables were set up with various providers handing out pamphlets and answering questions for guests. In the school library, six panelists spoke about their own knowledge in the field.

Candi Francis, founder of Heart Connections Therapy, said one of the most common things she sees in her practice is youth presenting with anxiety. She said worrying and anxiety are often confused but are two different things.

Worrying is a normal, healthy function, she said. When the worrying crosses over to becoming disruptive and interrupts the normal functioning of the person, it becomes anxiety, which needs to be addressed.

Dr. Sarah Ledger, a physician at Family Medicine of Mt. Pleasant, said parents and guardians have an active role in their child's mental health and there are resources available to them. A family doctor is a great resource for parents because they see these problems constantly and can help direct people to the right resources.

She said the biggest thing is if there is a safety concern, she encourages the patients to visit the ER immediately to get the help they need. If there is a crisis but no immediate threat of danger, there are other local resources, she said. Chris Betsworth, with Hillcrest Family Services said his office is one of those places.

Betsworth said the office can usually help connect people right away to a crisis counselor if they walk in, otherwise they can connect someone to help by calling the office. Students at Mt. Pleasant Community High School have an in house resource they can use.

Guidance counselor, Ashlei Venghaus, said the school has a partnership with Four Oaks Family and Children Services out of Cedar Rapids. The company provides training for trauma informed care for staff and educate them on how to communicate with students in need.

She said the most common thing she sees with students is anxiety. Every student is different and needs varry, she said, but one thing she recommends is for the parents to get involved and speak to her or another school counselor if they feel something needs to be addressed.

Finding strategies that help younger people varry based on the kind of issue being addressed, said Jerry Lynn Bloom, a therapist at Young House Family Services.

Bloom specializes in helping adolescents overcome addiction and substance abuse. She said one of the most common things she sees is patients who are taking medication, feeling better and subsequently take themselves off the medication because they feel they no longer need it.

She said this can detrimental to the patient because the medication is what was helping them heal. Bloom encouraged parents to be involved and talk with youth about what is happening in their lives.

'Show concern and compassion because before you know it, they might spill their heart out and you might be that one person they needed,” she said.

Jennifer Starr, with the JBR Foundation agreed that substance abuse and mental illness work hand in hand. Starr's brother, Jamie, died by suicide 18 months ago after a struggle with alcohol and depression.

'We always thought that Jamie had an addiction to alcohol that catapulted him into depression, but looking back now we wonder if he was always depressed and learned at a very young age to self medicate with alcohol,” she said.

Starr said the thing to remember about mental illness is the patient must be committed to their recovery plan in order to begin the path to healing.