Mental Health Resources

by Stew Young

 

Finding resources for Mental Health is a kind of hit and miss activity. And even sometimes when you hit, you end up missing.

 

First, let me suggest that you check your phone book for local mental health clinics/organizations. Some states, such as California, have county wide resources which can be very good. For me, Sutter-Yuba Mental Health in Yuba City, CA was a Godsend. There I was able to get access to a psychiatrist, Dr. Randhawa, who helped get me off some of the less useful medications, and prescribe higher doses of the good meds. And since it was with the county, they worked with the county welfare agency and I was able to get things at little or no cost.

 

Nationally, I highly recommend the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (www.nami.org). Through NAMI you should be able to find local and state chapters that can assist you in finding proper therapies and doctors to help you out. In addition, they serve as a lobbying organization to help garner parity in health insurance. They also have a variety of email newsletters and advocacy forums that help eliminate the stigma of mental illness. (For example, NAMI warned the producers of the ill fated Fox TV Show “Head Cases” to present the mental illnesses in the show in a humane and real way, and not just stereotypical for a quick laugh. “Head Cases” lasted less than 6 episodes in the 2005-2006 TV season.

 

Local NAMI agencies can be of a great help, but sometimes they are lacking because of funding or volunteer help. Please note that at the local level, many NAMI agencies are run by volunteers who themselves suffer from mental illnesses. This can lead to offices only being open for very short hours, phone calls not being returned in a timely manner, and other frustrating conditions. If your illness is manageable, you may want to consider volunteering for NAMI, they sure can use the support.

 

There are a wide variety of resources available online, but be careful. Some websites look very well done and the people running the sites mean well, but they may dispense information and therapy and not be qualified to do so. Make sure you realize that people are giving their own opinion, and that it may or may not be applicable to you.

 

One website for medications that I have found extremely useful is www.crazymeds.com. The authors of this site have been on many of the medications that are prescribed for mentally ill people, and they give their experience with them. They also have a lot of good scientific information about the drugs. But again, they are mainly talking about their experience, or the experiences they’ve been told about by others. Any serious questions you have should be talked about with your prescribing doctor. But it’s always handy to hear how a particular medication affected somebody you’re talking to.

 

As for therapists and psychiatrists, don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you’re going to see a therapist, be it an MSW, LCSW, psychologist, or what have you, make sure they are licensed. Ask them what kind of accrediation and licenses they have to practice therapy. If they don’t have a license, run…run fast. They can do more harm (albeit, unintentional).

 

All psychiatrists are MDs…that means you should be able to look them up in your state’s board of physicians and get information as to disciplinary action, when they graduated, what college they graduated from, etc. If the psychiatrist you want to see has many disciplinary actions, you may want to run…run fast! Sometimes doctors who are more recent graduates have a better understanding of the newer meds that are out there. Doctors who have been practicing a while tend to get ingrained into old habits, and don’t trust or don’t even know, about the newer medicines.

 

If you don’t think your therapist or psychiatrist is working for you, don’t be afraid to say so and look for different people. This is your health we’re talking about, and you need to feel comfortable with the people treating you. I made the mistake of working with a therapist for a year, realizing for 6 months that things weren’t getting much better, before I had the strength to say, “you know, I don’t think this is working.” If you’re not comfortable with a therapist after 4 or 5 sessions, consider finding somebody else.

 

Don’t forget about your city’s/county’s Crisis Emergency number. Most cities or counties have a crisis line for people who are at the end of their rope. A trained counselor is at the other end of the line who can talk you down in a crisis situation. From personal experience though, I recommend that you don’t say you’re suicidal and than hang up. They trace the call and send first responders to your address. Having the cops outside of your apartment can cause even more stress, even when they are there to help you.

 

The ER is also a handy place to go if you’re in a crisis situation. It’s been my experience that if you go to the emergency room and tell them that you’re feeling like you may harm yourself, they’ll take pretty good care of you. They’ll put you in safe room and soon they’ll offer up somebody to talk to you. (In my experience it was an MSW.) If the hospital has a psyche ward they may take you to that and you can get the medication you need and possibly stay for observation.

 

There are several excellent books on mental illness and coping with loved ones who are burdened by it. One such book is “When Someone You Love Has a Mental Illness” by Rebecca Woolis. We highly recommend this book.