Daytona clinic works to remove stigma surrounding mental illness
From an early age, Lavonda West battled mental illness.
“I have struggled with my mental health probably since my mid-to-late-teens,” said the 42-year-old West. “I come from one of those families that feel that God is your savior and he will save you from whatever. I'm originally from Miami. When I came up here (Daytona) I was still heavily in church. I was 22 when the onset of bipolar II hit me.”
That struggle became progressively worse as she got older.
“I started losing control in all areas of my life. I couldn’t master things anymore like I could when I was younger. Everything started crumbling at that point," said West.
She said she went so far as to contemplate taking her own life.
“I was 24 when I decided to write a suicide note,” said West. “I still remember the day like it was yesterday. It was in April of 2004. I was having lunch at a friend’s house. I wrote the note the night prior. I had it in my pocket while at my friend’s house. My plan was to leave the note so that someone could find it and know why I did it. I left the note on (my friend's) bed."
It was at that moment that West's friends knew something was very wrong. They took her to a mental health facility where she was detained under the state's Florida Mental Health Act of 1971, more commonly known as the Baker Act.
"That's what led me to get into treatment,” West said.
'Huge taboo'
According to the American Psychiatric Association, minorities often suffer from poor mental health outcomes due to inaccessibility of quality mental health care services, cultural stigma surrounding mental health care, discrimination and overall lack of awareness about mental health.
But attitudes in the community are changing.
“I've been in the field for 25 years and I feel that there’s a greater acceptance of mental health in the Black community from when I first started out. There used to be this huge taboo,” said Nadine Heusner, licensed clinical social worker at Outreach Community Care Network in Daytona Beach. “One of the great barriers that I see in my private practice is that many people of color don’t have health insurance.
“What I see is not that people don’t want it (mental health care). People reach out to the group that I practice with looking specifically for a therapist of color. A therapist that they feel is reflective of their experiences and when they're in the therapy session, they don't have to qualify or quantify why they feel the way they feel.”
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Heusner believes that religion and therapy go hand in hand.
“I absolutely believe that whatever your religious journey or your spiritual journey is, it does help,” said Heusner. “Religion teaches us that there's hope. It teaches us that things can get better if you believe things will get better. But therapy gives you the tools. When I meet with people who tell me ‘My family doesn't believe in this and they think I need to pray more.’ And if nothing is happening that could create some guilt, leading them to believe that they’re not doing enough work.”
'I felt ok'
It was during her time at the mental health facility when West was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. She was 22.
“I was seeing a psychiatrist and on meds during that time and for three or four years I felt OK,” said West.
"Then my grandfather passed away and I broke down. I decided to see a therapist regularly. (When I was ) 34 my grandmother passed and I went through another spiral. My grandparents were always there to soothe me. During this period I isolated myself. At this point, I realized I really needed help.”
Bipolar II disorder is characterized by depressive and hypomanic episodes. Depressive symptoms include sadness or hopelessness. Hypomanic symptoms include a persistently elevated or irritable mood. Treatment includes counseling and medications, such as mood stabilizers.
West admits that tending to your mental health is a long road that can eventually lead to healing.
“The therapist that I have now is the best therapist I’ve ever had,” said West. “She challenges me. The main benefit to therapy is having that person that truly understands you and helps you process different things. A therapist can help you return to some sense of normalcy after experiencing a loss."
West is also a proponent that mental health issues should be treated like any other medical condition.
“When someone is diagnosed with having diabetes or high blood pressure they see a doctor and are prescribed medication,” said West. “Someone dealing with mental illness needs the attention of a qualified professional the same as any other illness.”
Destigmatizing therapy
May is Mental Health Month and was established in 1949 by the Mental Health America organization (then known as the National Association for Mental Health) to increase awareness about the importance of health and wellness and to celebrate recovery from mental illness.
Kristin Crumbley, director of the mental health and substance use services program at Outreach Community Network said education is key to destigmatizing what therapy means.
“I think that the work to destigmatize mental health and therapy as a whole has a lot to do with the language we use around it,” said Crumbley. “As long as therapy has been around there have been depictions of it on TV. Some people think it's like laying on the couch and spilling your guts. I’ve found that education has been really effective. Some people think you get diagnosed and then prescribed medication.
“There's a difference between psychiatry and mental health counseling. Mental health counselors can’t prescribe any medications. We work on the holistic aspect of the person, you know, like how are your thoughts affecting your behaviors?”
'Honesty is key'
Both Crumbley and Heusner agree that in order for therapy to be beneficial the individual must be open and honest about why they decided to get help.
“Honesty is key,” said Heusner. “If you hold back I'm treating a lie. I'm only solving part of the problem. I remind them that this is a safe space, free from judgment.”
“I think that’s one of the most important things (safe space) about the therapeutic relationship,” said Crumbley. “ And that's what makes it so unique from ‘Oh, I tell my friends there or I told my parents or I go to church and I do this that the other.’ Your therapist should have no stake in your life. That's what makes it unique from any other relationship in your life. I'm a neutral, third party outside of all these things going on in your life. So I can be neutral.”
'It's a self-care thing'
Mental health awareness doesn’t have to be dedicated to one month out of the year, said Heusner.
“I feel like therapy should be treated like your annual medical,” said Heusner. “You should have at least a once-a-year check-in. It’s a self-care thing. Also check in if you notice you're a bit more irritable than normal or your level of motivation has changed. You may not want to be with friends. Significant changes that are affecting your day-to-day. This is when you need to get in as soon as possible.”
Mental health checkups don’t have to happen only when something negative happens in your life, said Crumbley.
“Any major life event needs attention,” said Crumbley. “You're about to get married. Go see somebody. You're about to have a child, go to see someone. You're about to move, go talk to somebody. You should be getting prepped if you're about to encounter some stress. Even if it's good stress like buying a house, that's stressful. That's a good thing, but it's stressful. Go talk to someone and get your mind right.”
Tiffany Toussaint, a multicultural mental health counselor at Stetson University said therapy leads to clarity and insight into behavior patterns, which will ultimately lead to healthier patterns and communication skills.
“Healing from trauma that we may not label as trauma because we haven't examined it thoroughly enough with a professional is a benefit to therapy,” said Toussaint. “Healing from trauma will lead to new generations being formed that are healthier. Mental health goes hand in hand with physical health. So when you ignore mental health long enough it will show up physically. Unhealed trauma can shorten the year off your life.”
Toussaint said having conversations about therapy and mental illness is key.
“I think there's power in testimonials,” said Toussaint. “People talking about how therapy has truly transformed their life so that people can really get an idea of what it's like. And understanding that one therapist isn't one size fits all. Shopping around and finding the person that you connect with is equally as important if you want a certain level of results.”
Erica Van Buren covers general assignment and Ormond Beach government for The Daytona Beach News-Journal and USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at EVanBuren@News-Jrnl.com or on Twitter: @EricaVanBuren32
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Mental Health Awareness: Removing stigma surrounding mental illness
