As mental-health concerns for youth rise, behavioral health consultants provide onsite counseling services to students in Battle Creek schools and across Calhoun County.
Mental Wellness Project
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.
Western Michigan professors and students alike are normalizing and destigmatizing conversations around mental health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two recent Western Michigan University graduates have formed a support group for Spanish-speaking young adults who may be thinking about or have previously thought about suicide.
If you are Spanish-speaking and are roughly in the age group of 18 to 25, the group meets every Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Centerpoint City Church, 326 W. Cork St. in Kalamazoo.
Experts in the field agree that some old methods of treating mental illness belong in the past. But one may be due for revival, a professor at Western Michigan University said.
A sudden lack of baby formula can be another mental health stressor for parents at a time of intense pressure. Formula can be a nutritional life saver, but its prominence has come at the expense of unrivaled mother nature’s milk.
The pandemic has increased the already large need for mental health services. The system hasn’t kept up, putting more pressure on those on the frontlines.
We call them heroes. We call them rock stars. But when it comes to meeting the emotional and social needs of educators, have school districts been paying enough attention to teachers?
The Affinity House in Centreville is part of a national network of clubhouses offering community support. Research shows the programs are a cost-effective way to reduce incarceration, homelessness and psychiatric hospitalization among people with severe mental illness, and also improves employment rates, social connections, and well-being among participants.
Recovery Institute of Southwest Michigan, Inc., at 1020 South Westnedge in Kalamazoo, is run entirely by peers. The nonprofit was established in 2006 on the peer support concept. The 16 staff members, with the exception of the executive director Shawn Harris, have all traveled the challenging path of recovery with various mental health and/or substance abuse issues.
A new program in Paw Paw is combining some tried and true therapies, in a new mix, to help military Veterans find their return to civilian life a bit easier.
You may be feeling sad, or lonely, or overwhelmed, or just confused about what to do next. You aren’t standing on the edge of a cliff, but you could really use someone to talk to. For you, a new initiative in Southwest Michigan, called the Warmline, was established in October 2021 by three local nonprofits: Gryphon Place, ASK Family Services, and Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health.
In order to better understand the local impact, the support systems that are available, and the gaps in the system in the greater Kalamazoo community, the Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative’s Mental Wellness Project held a forum with experts in the field.