Misconceptions about mental health care can create barriers to help-seeking, but clarifying the realities of treatment can foster understanding and support.
“In their minds, they’re thinking about old movies and movies that depict really scary things. [psychiatric] Treatment is a reality, it’s not a reality,” said Brittney Nichols, chair of the UT Tyler School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine.
The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine, in partnership with the Andrews Center, hosted the first East Texas Mental Health Summit on May 7 at the W.T. Brookshire Conference Center to raise awareness of mental health needs.
The Andrews Center, a nonprofit and government agency, provides mental health services to East Texas residents in Smith, Henderson, Rains, Van Zandt, and Wood counties.
As the local mental health authority, the center collaborates with other government agencies such as law enforcement, health care providers, and community organizations to improve local services in East Texas.
“I think there has been a shift in the conversation around mental health in this area and in the community over the past few years,” Nichols said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but I think now is a good time to have hope.”
Experts Andy Keller, Lee Johnson, and Dr. Cheryl McCallum-Smith provide insight into the current state of mental health in Texas, especially in rural areas, during an event where more than 50 mental health providers presented their services. provided.
“We’re connecting people and sharing resources,” said Keisha Morris, chief SIM officer at the Andrews Center. She said, “People don’t know about other programs, so it’s good to connect and link gaps in services.”
Keller, CEO of the Meadows Institute for Mental Health Policy, set the stage and introduced guests to the shortcomings of the current model of mental health treatment.
“If you have a mental health disorder, no one may be able to help you until you are in crisis or someone around you thinks you are in crisis,” Keller says. he says. “We’re waiting for you to realize you’re sick, but that doesn’t go very well.”
Even when people receive mental health care, there is an average delay of 10 to 11 years between the onset of symptoms and the initiation of mental health care. This is why mortality statistics for patients with mental illness are disproportionate to other medical statistics.
“That’s why so many people are in prison, so many people are in emergency rooms, so many people are suffering, and each year we lose more people than the year before. ,” Keller said.
Events like the summit prioritize improving access to mental health care by integrating screening and intervention into primary care, in collaboration with other medical practices. Dr. Keller also shared that 75% of mental illnesses develop before adulthood and 50% by age 14, highlighting the need for early childhood screening tests.
“We need to do it like any other medical care,” Keller said. “Over the past 10 years, Texas has made great strides toward that.”
McCollum-Smith, chair of UT Tyler’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, has spent his career advocating for the integration of psychiatry into the model system of care.
“Every county in Northeast Texas has had a suicide rate higher than the Texas average over the past several years, and all but one county has had a suicide rate higher than the national average,” McCallum-Smith said. “This is not good for me.”
In her presentation, she reflected on the top three needs the Andrews Center has identified through community surveys: the shortage of behavioral health workers and the need for access to timely and appropriate treatment services, while also providing evidence-based Emphasis was placed on patient-based treatment, individual-centered care, and community collaboration. .
Most counties in Northeast Texas do not have outpatient psychiatrists, so Smith County and other counties with psychiatrists end up serving most of the area.
Even though access to mental health providers is significantly correlated with suicide rates, many people do not consider suicide as a result of death from untreated mental illness.
“Mental illness needs to be treated like any other illness,” McCallum-Smith said. “We still have a ways to go, but I’m excited to be here with you all to accomplish it.”
