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Becky Wheelock has struggled with mental health issues since childhood.
Diagnosed with depression at age 7, she was treated with prescription drugs throughout her teens and 20s, but nothing seemed to work. Wheelock also developed an anxiety disorder due to trauma in his life, experienced panic attacks, and began self-medicating with pills and cocaine, eventually turning to heroin and methamphetamines.
“Never in a million years did I think I would go down that path,” she said.
Wheelock hit rock bottom in his mid-30s, was treated for intravenous drug abuse and related mental health issues, and has been sober for more than eight years, after several relapses. She currently serves as Director of Operations for Wasatch Crest, a drug and alcohol addiction treatment center with facilities in Park City and Heber.
As Wheelock searched for treatment options, she sought guidance from a relative who was already in recovery. She feels lucky because many people don’t know where to start finding the care they need.
The Summit County Mental Wellness Alliance is helping by providing information to the community about resources available to those who are struggling. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the Alliance will host “Finding Mental Health Services: How to Navigate Resources and Advocate for a Loved One.” https://www.mham2024.com/
The free event, a partnership between the Park City Community Foundation, the Summit County Health Department and the Intermountain Health Department, is scheduled for May 22 from 6 to 9 p.m., with a re-session on May 30. It will be done. These sessions will be held at the Blair Education Center, Intermountain Health Park City Hospital, 900 Round Valley Drive.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1 in 5 adults in the United States have a mental illness, and more than 1 in 5 youth ages 13 to 18 have suffered from a severe and debilitating mental illness. there is. According to the CDC, about 1 in 25 adults has a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression.
Jamie Belknap, lead clinician for women’s residential treatment at Wasatch Crest, said public awareness of mental health issues and substance use disorders is increasing. She said many of her clients have experienced trauma in childhood or adulthood and are trying to overcome it.
Mr Belknap said the pandemic had exacerbated mental health issues as people lost access to in-person support and became more isolated.
“I think community is so important for both substance use disorder and mental health in general,” she said.
Several places and organizations, including Wasatch Crest, have designated May as Women’s Mental Health Month.
The center has separate residential programs for women and men, as well as mixed-gender outpatient treatment. Gender-specific care, which began in April 2023 when Wasatch Crest opened its women’s facility in Park City, includes lots of group therapy and individual sessions with therapists, Belknap said. It is said to be a success.
“This allows many clients to open up about their physical and sexual trauma, and it creates a positive environment where they can talk openly and honestly about it,” she said.
Before Wasatch Crest started its own program, Wheelock received gender-specific outpatient treatment at another facility.
“There’s power in a large group of women supporting each other,” she said. “There is a sisterhood of supporting and encouraging each other.”
Law enforcement agencies are also reaching out to those in need. Park City Police Department officials took action after seeing an increase in mental health calls in 2020 and attributing some of the increase to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lt. Jay Randall said all Park City police officers are currently taking courses in the Crisis Intervention Team program to increase awareness of mental health issues and learn techniques for dealing with people in crisis. Ta. The first course was 40 hours long and training is ongoing.
The team includes specially trained members from law enforcement, criminal justice services, and behavioral health fields. The training will ensure officers have the tools to de-escalate situations and provide services when responding to calls about people with mental health issues, Randall said. he said.
The department also has partnerships with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Mobile Crisis Assistance Team and nonprofit organizations across the Wasatchback to quickly provide services to people in crisis, he said. Stated.
In addition, the department works with local communities to ensure that police, fire, and medical services can quickly access critical information about people with special needs or mental illness when they are in crisis. We are implementing support programs to
Individuals or their guardians can fill out a special needs/mental health outreach form that includes name, date of birth, physical characteristics, known triggers and behaviors, calming techniques, and more.This information is stored in a database that is only accessible by the Park City Police Department, Park City Fire District, Summit County Sheriff’s Office, and Camas City Police Department: parkcity.org/Departments/police/special-needs-mental-health -outreach/Special Needs Mental Health Information Form
This program is designed to improve response times, reduce confusion, and allow responders to be better prepared when they arrive at the scene of a call.
Mr Randall said he had received calls about children with autism who said it would be helpful to know that children with autism are triggered by uniforms and are attracted to water. Knowing that, he said, would allow people not in uniform to respond to calls and focus on water sources in the search for a missing child.
“There were several incidents where that information was important,” he said.
Randall says people are more likely to seek help when they know there are resources available. He stressed that the police stand ready to connect people facing hardship with these resources through partnerships.
“It’s great to know that we have professionals and nonprofits and organizations that truly want to make a difference,” Randall said.
