Mental Health Treatment Makes a
Difference
By Rich Bayer, Ph.D.
Mental health services help a growing percentage of
residents in Cecil County, sometimes even saving lives. Here are two
examples illustrating the importance of mental health in our neighborhood.
At a young age, John noticed that his moods varied to
the extremes. When he was eight years old he began sneaking alcoholic
drinks from his parents. But by his mid-teens he had become a full-blown
alcoholic and at age 16 he had quit school.
Soon he started getting in trouble with the law and
was in and out of jail. During this time his moods were still
uncontrolled. They ranged from extreme sadness to extreme anger with
occasional violent outbursts. Also alcohol gave him the false impression
that he could control these moods.
Finally, an officer of the court recognized the
mental health problems and referred John for treatment. John was reluctant
but agreed to come for therapy. Over time, he developed a rapport with his
therapist. But he steadfastly refused to take any medication so he
continued to struggle with mood swings. In addition he still struggled
with his alcohol addiction.
In his late twenties, he was committed to a mental
health hospital. There, he finally submitted to medication. He remained in
this hospital for a couple years before being released to the community to
live in a supervised apartment. In this apartment he had access to mental
health counselors and he began seeing his therapist again.
He also started going to a day program that offered
psychiatric rehabilitation. At this point in his life he kept taking his
medication and he stayed off the alcohol. Soon he became interested in
working and, through the rehab’s employment program, he found a
part-time job.
Around that time, John also began dating. Eventually
he married and moved into different housing to live with his wife. Soon
after, he graduated from the day program.
Now he continues with the medication to control his
moods and comes for therapy just once every two weeks.
This, of course, is a success story. It illustrates
what happens when mental health treatment works well.
Over the years countless individuals have been able
to improve their lives through mental health treatment. In fact, many of
these individuals were able to get jobs to support themselves and their
families. Here at Upper Bay, we’ve seen many of these successes.
It’s true that effective mental health care not
only helps people to improve their lives, it also helps to save lives. In
almost all cases it saves people from years of emotional torment and
dysfunction, and it has brought many people back from the brink of
suicide.
On the other hand, there’s a problem when mental
health services are taken away. Here’s another true story…
Marie started doing well and her life continued to
improve after she began attending a specialized therapeutic school
program. Prior to entering that program, she had times when she threatened
suicide and occasionally she would cut on herself with a knife or
razorblade. Prior to attending the therapeutic program, she was doing
poorly in school but, while attending, her school performance improved.
Unfortunately, due to the present state budget crisis
in Maryland, the state has cut back on approvals for children going to
this type of therapeutic program. Due to these cutbacks, Marie lost access
to her program.
In a letter of protest, Marie described the positive
results she had gotten from the program. She closed by stating, “This
program has helped me so much. What will I do now?”
What Will She Do Now?
Both of these cases represent the kinds of situations
regularly faced by people in Cecil County and across the state. Their
examples document the critical importance of having a wide range of mental
health services available to people in our community.
Basic mental health treatment is fairly simple. It
consists of outpatient counseling and medication. These two interventions
alone serve 80% of those in need. But the remaining 20% have more complex
problems and require more intensive services, such as day programs, case
management, therapeutically supervised apartments, supportive employment,
school based therapy, and therapeutic afterschool programs.
But now these programs—for our most vulnerable
citizens—are being downsized or cut completely. To do without such
programs puts many our citizens at risk of more problems, and it puts the
remainder of the health care and human service system on the line to pick
up the slack.
In the past few years our legislature has been
verbally supportive of the mental health system, and our Governor made and
kept several promises to help fund the system. But with the continued
growth in the number of people receiving Medicaid, the demands on mental
health have exceeded budget. So state mental health officials have been
forced to cut back on critical services.
So what can you do?
If you believe that mental health treatment makes a
difference in our community, you can take action by calling or writing
your representatives in congress. You can request that state funding for
mental health services be made an ongoing priority. This would show your
support for improving the lives of some of this community’s most
vulnerable citizens.
Helping them can help you too.
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Rich Bayer,
Ph.D., is the CEO of Upper Bay Counseling and Support Services, Inc. and a
practicing psychologist.
# # #
For More Information Contact:
Upper Bay Counseling and Support Services, Inc.
200 Booth Street, Elkton, MD 21921
Tel: 410-996-5104
Toll Free: 877-587-7750
FAX: 410-996-5197
Internet: info@upperbay.org
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