Month of May dedicated to raising MENTAL HEALTH awareness
May is national Mental Health Awareness Month, established in 1949 to bring attention to mental illness and to the efforts to treat those in need of help. During this important month, Imperial County Behavioral Health Services (ICBHS) would like to raise awareness about mental illness and available services. “Behavioral Health has always challenged itself to either enhance or develop new programming to meet the mental health and substance use disorder treatment needs in Imperial County,” said Scott Dudley, Behavioral Health Manager of the Center For Clinical Training. On many occasions, people don’t seek help because they don’t know what services are available in their community. ICHBS offers a variety of services that have proven to be effective in treating mental illness and substance use disorders. These services and programs are located throughout Imperial County and have qualified professionals ready to provide the assistance needed to improve your mental health. Backed by funding from the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), State and Federal grants, ICBHS has recently implemented four new and innovative programs to support Imperial Valley residents on their journey to mental health and wellness.
PROJECT HOPE
One of the newest programs is Project HOPE— Holistic Outreach, Prevention and Engagement—which is meant to support the Valley’s teen and young adult population, those ages 13 to 25, through preventative services. “The teen population is under significant pressure,” said Dudley, who added that between 2009 and 2021 statistics show that persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness among all teens climbed from 26 percent to 44 percent. Project Hope is meant to guide participants into positive activities, like physical fitness, mindfulness training, arts and crafts, and music, that can meet mental, physical, and social needs. The program will connect participants with individuals with lived experiences known as peer support specialists who serve as mentors and provide support to those in the program as they engage in activities. “The goal is to prevent youth from needing higher levels of treatment and support,” Dudley said, adding the program will target youth and young adults who have experienced a psychiatric emergency.
POSITIVE ENGAGEMENT TEAM (PET)
Another key program is the Positive Engagement Team (PET) where trained dogs are teamed with clinicians during client sessions. By utilizing the dogs, ICBHS is looking to both reduce the stigma related to seeking mental health support and improve retention among clients. Started in 2019, the PET quickly proved to be beneficial and is now funded under Prevention and Early Intervention programming, specifically to target the stigma associated with mental illness and seeking help. The focus, said Maria Wyatt, Behavioral Health Manager of Children’s Programs, who heads the PET program, “is to reduce the negative feelings, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, stereotypes and/or discrimination related to being diagnosed with a mental illness, having mental illness, or seeking mental health services.”
CASA SERENA
A third program recently implemented by ICBHS is Casa Serena, a temporary care facility for those experiencing a psychiatric emergency, but who do not meet the criteria for involuntary hospital care. Housed on the first floor of the ICBHS building at 202 N. 8th St., the facility offers a therapeutic center to help individuals de-escalate from their mental health crises. Casa Serena can also help individuals ease back into their lives after an involuntary hold.
CRISIS CARE MOBILE UNIT
A fourth critical program is the Crisis Care Mobile Unit, which consists of teams that respond with law enforcement to calls that involve a mental health emergency with the goal of resolving the crises at the point of contact through immediate support and care. The Crisis Care Mobile Unit has the ability to both help individuals through their moments of crises but can also help bring substantial cost savings to the individual and the county through this early response and preventative care measure.