William Lang was in a “pretty dark place” when he arrived in Boone last May.
His wife had died five years ago, a death he was still struggling to come to terms with.
“I was confused, crying all the time, feeling isolated and hopeless,” Lang said. “It was just a terrible situation.”
His doctor recommended Boone County Hospital’s Senior Life Solutions, a program that provides mental health services to seniors.
Since then, Lang has endured a complete mental reversal and said he feels as good as he did 10 years ago.
“(Participating in the program) was the best thing I’ve ever done,” Lang said. “I still have problems, but they gave me the tools to counteract all those bad thoughts. I know how to deal with it now, which I didn’t before.”
Lang became Senior Life Solutions’ first graduate in March.
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Supporting the elderly generation
Psychiatric Medical Care’s Senior Life Solutions is an outpatient mental health program for individuals age 65 and older.
Boone’s program, which launched in March 2023, is one of 123 local locations offering mental health programs to underserved populations.
Program Director Heidi Kennedy said Senior Life Solutions identifies mental health symptoms in older adults and brings mental health awareness to the demographic.
She has worked in the healthcare field for 23 years and said SLS has been one of the most satisfying experiences she has had.
“It’s been a truly moving experience to be part of the program from the beginning and watch our patients grow,” Kennedy said. “It’s really humbling to know that even though we’re only helping a small group of people, we’re making such a big difference in their lives and the lives of our community.”
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What services does Senior Life Solutions offer?
SLS provides three main services: individual psychiatric care, physical health checks, and group therapy.
“Some of the nice things about our program is that it has a variety of different components,” Kennedy said. “A lot of times, people turn to a therapist when they’re getting through things, but they don’t learn how to incorporate what they’re talking about and working through into their social sessions or how to incorporate it into their life as a whole.”
Medications, vitals, weight, mood changes and pain will be monitored throughout the program to see how your mental health affects your physical health.
“Our program covers all the important things,” Kennedy says. “Typically, you see a therapist and then you see a physician or psychiatrist just for pain medication, but those aren’t necessarily interchangeable. Our program is designed to address all of that. Together, we help individuals become more well-rounded people.”
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Who can access the Senior Life Solutions Program?
Although SLS is located in Boone, it is not limited to Boone County residents and serves an 80-mile radius. Dr. Kennedy has seen patients from their 60s to their 90s.
You can participate in the program for two months or two years. Kennedy estimates that his senior living solution has already reached 60 to 75 people in 12 months.
Build long-term relationships with patients
Jim Miller, who was one of the first to attend a local SLS program last April and is still a patient, was encouraged to attend to help with his issues with depression and anxiety.
Miller was initially hesitant for fear of being labelled “crazy”, but after 12 months he was quick to recommend the programme, noting how staff have helped to dispel the stigma around mental health.
“Just because you’re getting help doesn’t mean you’re (crazy), it just means you need help along the way,” Miller said.
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Talk openly about mental health
Kennedy said the generation SLS serves may have a hard time connecting because they aren’t encouraged to discuss their feelings.
“A lot of people in that generation have this mentality of, ‘Enough is enough, just deal with it,'” Kennedy said. “So if you’re dealing with a sensitive issue like mental health, a lot of times they don’t want to talk about it.”
Older adults often think of symptoms of depression and anxiety as a natural part of aging, but that’s usually not the case, Kennedy said.
“One of the things we’re really trying to spread awareness about is that as we get older, there’s a big difference between the symptoms of normal aging and the symptoms of normal aging with the addition of a diagnosis of depression or mental illness. “There is,” Kennedy said. “There are many symptoms of depression and anxiety that result from changes in life as an older adult.”
Reluctance to leave the house or interact with others is a symptom that SLS often addresses, and staff can help educate patients about what normal aging looks like and what aging with mental health symptoms looks like.
find help from peers
Group therapy can be a great way to destigmatize mental health, Kennedy says. Patients soon realize they are not alone.
“When you go into a group of people like that and you hear other people say, ‘I’m having trouble sleeping and I notice that when I’m really anxious,’ they think, ‘Oh, this is why I’m not sleeping well,'” Kennedy said.
The group sessions were a revelation for Lang: he found people he could trust.
“Before, I was all alone,” Lang said. “But then we got into a group and we all started talking about the same things. That immediately made me feel better. I knew I wasn’t alone and that there were other people going through the same things as me. I was there too.”
Lang is part of a group of patients, past and present, that meets once a week, and even after graduating, they still crave the camaraderie of the group.
Our staff understands that mental health does not simply disappear and maintains contact with patients even after graduation.
“They are treatable and they can be latent, but there comes a time in life when you get a shock and these things come to the surface,” Kennedy said.
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What mental health services are available in Ames?
Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames can accommodate 24 patients in its inpatient mental health clinic.
The hospital also has an eight-bed facility on the other side of town where patients can learn additional coping skills before returning home, and Mary Greeley also operates an adult outpatient clinic staffed by two medical professionals and a therapist.
One of Mary Greeley’s standout mental health services is its Community Health Alternative Response (ARCH) team: When someone in the Ames area calls 911 reporting a mental health crisis, two people respond to the call in place of a police officer, as would normally happen.
Chris Mayfield, director of adult behavioral health, said ARCH team members can help patients feel safe during a mental health crisis.
Celia Blocker is a government, crime, politics and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. Contact her at CBrocker@gannett.com.
