“The goal of it is to bridge the gap by creating greater access for people of color,” said BlackWellness Network Founder Valarie Cunningham, referring to the gap she has discerned between the level of ongoing care provided to African-Americans vs. the experience of White patients.
Mental Wellness Project
With its new Behavioral Health Care and Access Center, Integrated Services of Kalamazoo builds a safety net for those with mental health issues.
“Trial and error is the hallmark of prescribing mental health medication. This test can help minimize, or even eliminate in some cases, that trial-and-error process.” — Anna Langerveld, president and CEO of Kalamazoo’s Genemarkers
While gaining some understanding of how one identifies is the first step toward being authentic to oneself, what comes next for many LGBTQ+ youth is confusion, anxiety, depression, isolation, fear and discrimination. Help is available if one is willing to reach out.
The 2023 SWMJC Mental Wellness Project produced packages of stories focusing on: the mental health of caregivers, published in March; issues around youth mental health, published in June; and mental health workforce issues, published in August.
Our final series this year is The Science and Art of Well-being: Innovations and best practices in mental health care. This package features four solutions journalism stories, all of which Watershed Voicewill publish this week.
Trained in the treatment of both physical and mental health needs, PMHNPs serve as a bridge between those worlds.
Michigan is repaying student loans for some mental health workers, a financial boost that keeps mental health workers on the job, caring for children.
Demand is high for mental health services across many agencies in Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties, and many peer supporters are ground zero — serving communities that are marginalized, diverse, and in high need.
In order to get the most from mental health care, patients need counselors who can fully understand them – from language, to culture, to the experiences of members of a marginalized community.
The demand for mental health providers has always outpaced supply. This has only gotten worse over the past few years.
Teletherapy is more common than ever after the COVID-19 pandemic practically made its use a necessity. But as with most things, online therapy comes with both benefits and drawbacks.
Editor’s Note: This story includes strong language and references to suicide.
As mental-health concerns for youth rise, behavioral health consultants provide onsite counseling services to students in Battle Creek schools and across Calhoun County.
What type of support does a child need to recover from the trauma of being shot? A Kalamazoo mother is on a lonely search for that answer.
In Marianne Joynt’s new role as mental health initiatives coordinator for the district, she’s able to go wherever support is needed for staff and students and put together plans to meet their needs as best she can.
Peek into the joyful chaos of a Sibshop, and you might think you’re seeing a playgroup where the participants all happen to be siblings of children with disabilities. Sibshops aren’t therapy, and there’s no curriculum; the goals are simply to give participants the opportunity to connect, share their experiences, ask questions, and offer advice.
Today, there are more than 550 Sibshops in 15 countries — including one at Advocacy Services for Kids (ASK) Family Services in Kalamazoo.
The Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative, through its Mental Wellness Project, is profiling six approaches that address the issue through its new solutions-focused reporting series, A Way Through: Strategies for Youth Mental Health.
It can be hard for a kid to navigate the pitfalls of adolescence. The staff at Three Rivers Middle School wants to help. That help comes in many forms, one of which is a program called TRAILS – Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students.
A holistic approach to mental health may bring in medical, social, psychological, psychiatric, behavioral, and spiritual aspects as well as consider the lifestyle of the person. While some of these approaches may have a financial cost, many do not.