help for children

Local group organizes free mental health support

June 10th, 2010 |

SEBRING – Lois, a concerned grandmother, restlessly called local agencies for help when her 18-year-old granddaughter had a mental health breakdown.

She finally found a doctor who diagnosed her granddaughter with bipolar disorder and gave her the proper treatment. But after a year and a half of stress she had to find help for herself.

A friend led her to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) that recently formed a Highlands County chapter.

“It was such a relief to find support. It was a weight off my shoulders that I didn’t have to carry myself anymore,” Lois said.

NAMI is a national organization that offers education to families and caretakers of the mentally ill. They also provide support groups for those diagnosed with a mental illness.

“Mental illness is the most disabling disease out there,” said Mark W. Medick, executive director of NAMI Highlands County chapter and health educator for Florida Hospital Heartland Division.

Sufferers and families often isolate themselves because they are too embarrassed to talk about the illness.

The signs of other illnesses like Alzheimer’s are visible but you can’t see mental illness, said Anthony Vaccarino Jr., NAMI provider specialist.

Peggy, whose daughter was diagnosed with a mental illness 28 years ago, said the biggest challenge is for families to understand that the illnesses are not self-provoked bad behavior.

“I had to learn that my daughter was never going to go to medical school,” she said. “We had to lower our expectations and deal with it day to day. That’s part of understanding the illness.”

Peggy and her husband were in denial for years before finally hooking up with NAMI. Now she is a volunteer who helps other families coping with mental illness.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that one in four adults, or 57.7 million Americans, experience a mental health disorder in a given year.

Local estimates are unknown because many sufferers are reluctant to come forward, Medick said.

Breaking that stigma associated with mental illness is one of the goals of the support group.

“People need to know there’s help out there that wasn’t there 18 months ago,” Lois said.

Where to go for help

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is offering free weekly classes and support groups in Sebring and Lake Placid. The Connections support group for the mentally ill will be every Wednesday beginning on June 16 at 4023 Sun’n Lake Blvd. at 1 p.m.

The family-to-family 12-week course is for caregivers and family members of the mentally ill and helps them cope with the stress and emotional overload they may be facing.

In Lake Placid the family-to-family meetings are at 1346 U.S. 27 N., from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

In Sebring the family-to-family meetings will be held at 4023 Sun’n Lake Blvd. from 7 to 8:30 p.m. No registration is required and all meetings are anonymous.

For more information on National Alliance on Mental Illness Highlands County chapter, visit www.namihighlandsfl.weebly.com or call 863-386-5687.

Marge Brewster Center is in transition

Tri-County Human Services’ transition of the Marge Brewster Center to Highlands County Outpatient Clinic is in full swing.

Mental health workers are prepared to service patients beginning July 1. The outpatient clinic was primarily a substance abuse and prevention center, but with the transition will have the capabilities to provide routine mental health services.

After the transition, Tri-County will evaluate patients’ needs and expand or provide additional services if necessary and feasible.

“There are always going to be things that we will identify down the road,” said Robert C. Rihn, executive director of Tri-County Human Services.

Florida Department of Children and Families is covering 50 percent of the operating cost of the center. That will pay for the emergency care, crisis intervention, ongoing stability of current case load and routine care for patients.

The other half of the operating expenses will be paid through patient insurance and Medicaid.

To meet the demands of the mental health services Tri-County has hired an advanced registered nurse practitioner who has the ability to treat and prescribe medications to patients with the supervision of a doctor.

They are also working with one psychiatrist who will offer telepsychiatry sessions to patients. The outpatient clinic will not be a receiving center for patients who are Baker Acted. Those patients will continue to be sent to the Peace River Center in Bartow.

“Eventually I want to network with other agencies and providers to have more access to different specialties and capabilities,” Rihn said.

Highlands County Outpatient Clinic is located at 100 West College Drive in Bldg. E in Avon Park. For more information, call 863-452-0670.

via Local group organizes free mental health support.