Carmine Deo and Susan Visser, from Community Hope and members of the Healthy Outcomes Partnership, provided this presentation late this morning. It is entitled The Broad Spectrum of Mental Illness and Its Treatment.  We were in the intimate setting of the Blue House and had a quite energetic discussion.

We talked about frequency of mental illness in society. One statistic is a useful starting point for the discussion. 1 in 4 people annually will have a mental health “problem.” 14% of those with a “problem” will be diagnosed, by doctors and therapists (professionals, credentialed, certified) in accordance with the DSM methodology, as having a moderate to severe mental illness.

We in HOP want to raise community awareness and reduce stigma. We want to make that first call for help as easy as possible.

And it is an interesting question whether having more people labelled mentally ill increases the stigma or having more people labelled that way reduces the stigma. The argument for the former is that with narrow, clear definitions of illnesses adjudicated by doctors and therapists, the stigma is reduced because the public at large is reassured that not every case of sadness or loneliness or rage is an illness. But the flip side is that the more common the illness, and the more likely each 1 of us, individually, will have a need during our lifetime to see a therapist, the less scary and more normal the illness becomes.

This is a question of semantics. And a lot of it has to do with these words “illness” and “disease.” The presentation starts by defining those terms and others, starting with “health.”

We didn’t come to a resolution.  But I would like to say that these definitions are not near as cavalier as they are often portrayed in the public by the media.  And this stuff is very, very complicated stuff.  Our brains complex.  Not well understood.  The definitions evolve, and science improves.  But this is not casual stuff.

What services does Community Hope provide?

The support services provided by our professionally trained and dedicated staff are essential for continued recovery and a successful reintegration to family and community life.

Their programs “offer as much or as little support as an individual requires.”

Daily Living Assistance — Counselors teach the daily living and social skills essential to living with a home and a community.

Case Management — Linkage to behavioral health and medical care and community based services ensures a continuum of care and quality support.

Medication Monitoring — For most of our residents, medication is crucial to recovery and daily functioning.  Staff monitor medications, educate residents about the need for prescribed drugs and coordinate medical appointments.

Crisis Intervention — In the event of a relapse, our crisis intervention team helps the individual minimize or avert hospitalization