News

Native American females and women in rural communities suffer the highest risk of deaths from opioids and other drugs, advocates and caregivers involved in mental health and trauma said Thursday.

The risk is heightened for Native American women, who face a long history of oppression and abuse, turning to opioids as a form of pain management, and for women in rural areas, who have limited access to drug treatment programs, the experts said on a webinar organized by the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health.

Researchers found that more than 84 percent of Alaska Native and American Indian women had experienced some form of violence in their lifetimes: 56 percent experienced sexual violence and 55 percent experienced intimate partner violence, according to a study released by the National Institute of Justice in 2016.

In some villages, 100 percent of women experienced sexual assault or domestic violence, the webinar told.

Indigenous women also face a long history of genocide, removal from their land, removal of their children into state custody, and loss of culture and language- all factors that play into the high rates of opioid deaths, said Gwendolyn Packard, a specialist at The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC).

In an attempt to fight back, the Cherokee Nation has filed a lawsuit against pharmaceuticals companies for negligent conduct. Tribes are seeking monetary damages to pay for treatment programs, which are scarce.

Still, generations of trauma and abuse has left a scar on Native American populations, who are searching for the best way to tackle the epidemic within the tribes.

Read more at TheCrimeReport.org.

Although more than a decade into her career, psychologist Stephanie L. Moses had a realization. She was already aware of the stigma that accompanies therapy and mental health issues, but one thing stuck out. Even today at the Texas Tech Family Practice Center in Odessa where she practices, it’s still noticeable.

“I didn’t see people who looked like me,” she said in a phone interview. “In this field, there is huge stigma of diagnoses and treatment, but then there is this added cultural aspect to it. Often, if we talk about it, it’s weakness. I want to let people of color know there are others out there and to get proper treatment.”

But beyond not seeing people of color seeking treatment, she saw fewer women of color, which translated to women may not be searching for help if they need it. And so, Moses, 39, decided to write about it. Her book “In Session” follows four women of different ethnic backgrounds battling their own untreated mental issues and embracing psychotherapy. What Moses hopes to stress is that silence isn’t strength when it comes to mental health.

As to why diagnoses and treatment are hush-hush among people of color, Moses’ opinion is that it boils down to culture and generational beliefs, but also the misunderstanding that depressions or anxiety aren’t physical symptoms.

“I don’t profess to understand all cultures, but in my experience, it’s not OK in many of them. There is this ‘suck it up’ mentality. But also, in many minority cultures, elder family members may seek only religious beliefs to pray it away but that can sometimes be a barrier in getting help.”

The stigma increases for women. Moses said people will dismiss women’s issues as illogical because they are deemed more emotional. Women are empirically diagnosed with mental conditions at rates much higher than men, she said.

“I want it to reach adults who have either experienced therapy, have questions about or are thinking about it,” Moses said. “I feel as though change could start with the readers who can identify with these women.”

Read more on MRT.com.

A rural North Dakota school district located hundreds of miles from the nearest psychiatrist will be using telehealth to improve student access to behavioral health services and support its on-site counselors.

The Dickinson Public School District, a nine-school network serving one of the fastest-growing small towns in the country, is partnering with the Dickinson-based Southwest District Health Unit to give students access via telemedicine to psychiatrists at the Center for Psychiatric Health, located in Grand Forks, roughly 370 miles away.

“School counselors are trained in certain realms, certain aspects, and there are times when we need more than their services, and I would hope that this would help provide some of that,” Marcus Lewton, principal of Dickinson Middle School, which will host a secure room for the connected care program this fall.

Psychiatrists are few and far between, most often in urban centers, and they have waiting lists that are months long. A telehealth program can offer school districts an opportunity to get certain students in front of a psychiatrist a lot sooner and easier.

“It’s not to take the place of any existing systems that are in place, so anybody that normally goes to a counselor, normally goes to (the nearby Badlands Human Service Center) or normally goes to their providers,” added Sherry Adams, executive officer of SWDHU. “It doesn’t take the place of that. It’s just adding an additional resource for the extra psychiatric health with actual psychiatrists.”

“We have individuals in Dickinson who can do counseling and therapy – this is not that,” she said. “This is actually the physician that makes the diagnosis, they help with the medication, so it’s kind of that upper level one.”

School officials say the one-hour virtual sessions, held with parents in attendance, reduce the challenges faced by parents and students in taking time off from work and school and driving to Grand Forks or Fargo, roughly 290 miles away.

“Unfortunately, when you need those resources, it tends to cost a lot of money,” Chase Breitbach, one of the school’s student support liaisons, told the local newspaper. “You start to try and be flexible with your schedule and that’s challenging because you’re working with three different employers or you’re trying to find a way to fill your gas tank up and get you to get to and from Fargo once a week … it becomes kind of burdensome.”

“The thing that I think is kind of cool about telehealth is it eliminates some of those barriers and maybe allows a little better access to those resources in Southwest North Dakota,” he added.

Read more at mHealthIntelligence.com.

Written by and from the perspective of Shannon Miller, a writer at HelloGiggles

When I made the decision to seek therapy years ago, I had two very visceral, opposing reactions. The first was an initial burst of excitement, an eagerness to work on myself and, hopefully, become a more attentive friend, partner, and mother. That feeling was quickly chased by a jolt of panic: I knew right away that I would feel more comfortable working with a Black female therapist, and I also knew that where I lived—a small Florida town with a tiny Black population of less than 3%—would make that difficult.

The relationship between mental health and the Black community is one that is slowly evolving, but while we often talk about ancient, understandably skeptical attitudes toward therapy, we don’t talk enough about the modern roadblocks we face when we try to get help. As a Black woman, searching for therapy means looking for a professional who is equipped with the best understanding of how our identities inform and influence our experiences. How we navigate the world is colored by both racism and sexism, and that has such a major effect on our mental health that it makes it nearly impossible to avoid those topics during therapy. Our unique experiences must be properly contextualized and factored into our care. 

“Health professionals—especially those who are treating minorities—have to be mindful that treatment is not a one-size-fits-all for them,” said Patrice N. Douglas, a licensed marriage and family therapist. “What works for white patients may not work for Black patients, so it is important to get as much understanding and cultural training to give the best treatment as possible.”

Part of that understanding includes having a working knowledge of our relationships with the negative stereotypes that impact us daily. Without that, we run the risk of linking with a professional who not only lacks the cultural competence, but is also potentially working under those implicit biases. For instance, the Angry Black Woman stereotype—one that maligns Black women as aggressive, hostile, and ill-tempered—is so pervasive that it can greatly impact how we receive, or are sometimes denied, mental health treatment. A report published in the journal Social Work in Public Health notes that when mental health professionals fail to acquaint themselves with the stereotype, they often incorrectly cite certain symptoms, like mood swings, irritability, or just genuine responses to oppression, as evidence of this trope.

Read more on HelloGiggles.com.

Veterans receiving care at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas, can now connect to mental health services remotely using a computer, smartphone or tablet. The system, called telemental health, has helped nearly a thousand Houston area Veterans get the care they need.

Tele-mental health uses the VA Video Connect app, which provides a secure connection between Veteran and provider no matter where the Veteran is located. Seventy-five Houston VAMC mental health providers are equipped to provide remote services.

“The technology is ideal for Veterans who live far away, have medical problems or find it difficult to leave the house,” said Houston VAMC psychologist Dr. Jan Lindsay.

“Often, coming to the clinic is a big burden for our Veterans. Barriers include child care, traffic, parking, taking off work or feeling anxiety when leaving their homes for treatment.”

Tele-mental health eliminates those barriers. “When we provide psychotherapy via telehealth, some Veterans report that being at home makes it easier to focus on the work being done and acquire the skills they need to engage their lives more fully,” said Lindsay. “They feel safer at home.”

“It is actually easier than coming into the facility,” said Air Force Veteran Christopher Banks. “I can be in my own home, which helps me with sharing.”

Banks, who has trouble walking, often had to cancel his in-person mental health appointments. When he did make it to the provider’s office, he had to fight traffic to get there. “I’d get so stressed from the drive that I would spend 90 percent of my therapy talking about why I’m so angry,” he said.

Tele-mental health is “a major benefit for those with mobility issues,” agreed Dr. Kaki York, deputy clinical executive with the Houston VAMC Mental Health Care Line.

“We have Vets with ALS or Parkinson’s or who have had a stroke, who for whatever reason cannot get here to continue treatment. Also, family therapy services. Have you ever tried to coordinate an entire family? It’s very difficult. Video allows them to get in the same place at the same time instead of getting all of them to the VA.

“Our goal would be that any mental health clinician at the main facility will be able to provide telehealth services when the patient wants it and provider thinks it would be helpful,” said York. “We are not quite 100 percent there yet, but we are getting close.”

Read more at the VA.gov.

In order to highlight pockets of excellence across the country, the NNED selects a partner organization to highlight once a month. Florida Institute for Community Studies, Inc. (FICS) has been selected as the Partner of the Month for August.

FICS began by a combination of community advocates, students, professors and direct service workers in 2001. Since then it has developed a model that works at the community level to identify gaps and strengths. Through their community advisors, FICS uses those strengths to write plans and create effective programs that build resilience and keep youth out of gangs, help make people healthier, and HIV and Substance free. FICS’s reach extends to thousands of people per year, and have documented significant improvements in teen pregnancy reduction, violence prevention, improved community responsibility and reduced dependence on law enforcement, prisons, and healthcare systems. It’s estimated a conservative savings to the FICS community of $4.89 for every dollar spent on after school programs, meaning they have saved the community $3.2 million for youth. In terms of diabetics’ outcomes, FICS’s have documented a cost-savings of $782,811 per year. In 2018-9, FICS’ volunteers invested over 1200 hours in community clean-ups, gardening, mentoring/tutoring and teaching ESL. FICS served 160 youth in quality Out-of-School time programming and another 56 families with Partners in Well-Being, a holistic approach to mind-body balance and health (bienestar). The social media hash is #FICSCreates because they want to focus on creating: art, opportunity, wellness and resilient communities.

FICS serves as a facilitator in assisting the community by working across partners and groups in a way that allows youth, parents, researchers, community members, educators, and professionals to interact, exchange information and knowledge to create solutions. FICS is implementing Familia Adelante as an NNED partner in FY 2019. 

A few of FICS’s programs include:

• Afterschool4Success: Mentoring program that builds STEAM, improves grades and prevents youth (7-17) from getting involved in risky behaviors.
• HIV/AIDS Education, Counseling, and Testing: Providing free RAPID HIV testing and services.
• Partners In Well-Being: Transforming the Morgan Recreation Center into a Community Wellness and Arts Center, creating and maintaining ways people can get access to health.

Learn more about the Florida Institute for Community Studies, and how they are partnering with communities across Florida to help them achieve their goals through research, education, training, services and the arts.

View a list of previous NNED Partners of the Month.