NAMI Advocate Article on Colleges and Mental Health Services

Colleges and Mental Health Services

A story on NPR’s Morning Edition program in October focused on the need for colleges to increase supports for students living with mental health disorders and mental illness.

Aracadio Morales, a resident dean on campus at Stanford University, noticed that, in the last few years, calls to his help line have evolved from complaining about roommates to more serious issues such as depression. “We’re getting students that wouldn’t have been here 10 years ago,” he says, “because they’re on antidepressants or antipsychotic medication, and they’re functioning fairly well. But it can be a big challenge for colleges when these students have crises.”

Today, one of Morales’ core duties is to train his resident advisor staff, where he instructs them always to “err on the side of safety” when determining who may be at risk—both to others and themselves.

Experts and college staff agree that early intervention—addressing an issue before it reaches crises level—is the key to success in terms of mental health support. A former Palo Alto, Calif., mayor and his wife, Vic and Mary Ojakian, became mental health advocates after their youngest son, Adam, died by suicide during his senior year at the University of California, Davis in 2004. “We determined that he became very anxious due to a certain situation — what’s called a triggering event,” says Mary Ojakian. “It was ultimately severe depression that caused his death.”

The International Association of Counseling Services sets the standards for mental health services and recommends that, in order to keep students safe and healthy, a college campus should have a minimum of one therapist for every 1,000-1,500 students. When a school falls significantly short of that, the wait-lists for students seeking help can be a month or more. In one recent study, students who got stuck on a long wait list were 14 percent more likely to drop out than those who got timely counseling.

Some big fixes will indeed cost big money. But others — such as peer support groups and a basic Web site that at least points students to other telephone and online mental health resources — are cheap enough that even the most financially strapped colleges should have them in place.

“Parents [of high school seniors] need to look at a college not just in terms of its academic credentials,” Vic Ojakian says. “Ask what sort of mental health services they have.” The Ojakians were particularly dismayed as they began their work to learn that some schools have no counseling center and no mental health services at all.

To join NAMI’s efforts in creating awareness and supports for mentall illness on school campuses, visit NAMI On Campus.

NYTimes Article on Children and Anti-Psychotic Medications

Recent NYTimes article on children and anti-psychotic medications:

New federally financed drug research reveals a stark disparity: children covered by Medicaid are given powerful antipsychotic medicines at a rate four times higher than children whose parents have private insurance. And the Medicaid children are more likely to receive the drugs for less severe conditions than their middle-class counterparts, the data shows.

Full text: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/health/12medicaid.html

DBSA-GC Support Group in Evanston

Directly from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance – Greater Chicago Meetup Group listserv

What: DBSA-GC to begin support groups for consumers and their families in Evanston

When: February 1, 2010 6:30 PM

Where:
Evanston Hospital
2650 Ridge Ave, Room 1711
Evanston, IL 60201

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance-Greater Chicago has support groups for people with mood disorders and support groups for their families.

Where: Evanston Hospital, NorthShore University Health System
2650 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, Ill., 60201

Rooms G952 and G954 (ask at the front desk for directions)

When: The 1st Monday of every month beginning Monday, February 1, 2010

Time: 6:30-8:00 pm

Hospital parking available: Fees 1-2 hours $3.00, ½ block from the Purple Line, Central Ave. stop.

Questions? Call Elaine at 847-674-6376 or Dorothy at 773-907-9176

These support groups are free of charge.

Learn more here:
http://www.meetup.com/http-www-dbs-gc-org/calendar/12088639/

Financial Help with CTA Passes

I’m still looking for a way to not have to pay full price for CTA (public transportation) passes. Unfortunately, like most other programs, reduced fares seem to not be available to those with financial need.

You can get a reduced fare card for having a physical disability. However, it specifically doesn’t cover psychiatric disability. This calls into question why the case worker at Dincin Center, run by Thresholds, told me I could get it. I think I’m just going to avoid talking to that case worker again since she’s obviously not very good at her job.

I’ve already applied to the Circuit Breaker program. Online it says this can take up to 60 days.

A client at the center told me of another government agency to try. The Department on Aging on Lawrence does give out free passes, however it is to seniors and to those who have received a letter of disability. It doesn’t cover people like me whose cases are pending.

Chicago Department On Aging
2019 West Lawrence Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625-1418
(312) 744-0784

The person I talked with by phone at the Department On Aging suggested I talk with the Department of Rehabilitation Services and tell them I want to go to work or go to school. My case with them is still pending also and I haven’t heard whether or not I’ll be accepted into their program. I talk about DRS in another post.

Yelp! Review for PAWS

Yelp! deleted my EtD profile it seems and removed my reviews. I don’t know why, Yelp! just seems to randomly remove people’s reviews in general.

I’m reposting my review here. Eventually I’ll try to recreate the EtD account.

PAWS Chicago Adoption Center

Category: Animal Shelters
Neighborhood: DePaul
5 star rating
10/30/2009
PAWS is one of the few pet food pantries in Chicago. My husband recently went here and was able to get a month’s supply of food for our cats and dog. I was massively surprised by the sheer amount of food. They even gave us a cat toy! We’re extremely thankful, hence the five stars.

In addition to getting donations of food from Petco (both bags of dog and cat food are past their sell by dates, they also accept donations from the public and have a drop-off box at their Clybourn location.

On my blog, http://enlighteningthedarkness.wordpress.com, I list other pantries in Chicago and around the country. The post is titled, “Pet Food Pantries.”

Yelp! Review for Swedish Covenant Hospital

Yelp! deleted my EtD profile it seems and removed my reviews. I don’t know why, Yelp! just seems to randomly remove people’s reviews in general.

I’m reposting my review here. Eventually I’ll try to recreate the EtD account.

Swedish Covenant Hospital

Category: Hospitals
Neighborhood: Lincoln Square
5 star rating
10/30/2009
It’s very difficult to find good doctors. I’ve had a great amount of luck here with finding doctors that are not only competent, but also have excellent bedside manners. Thankfully, I’ve been able to find doctors that accept Medicaid.

It’s also a beautiful hospital. Lots of bright happy colors and interesting fish tanks. It doesn’t feel claustrophobic and sickening like a lot of other places I’ve been to.

Yelp! Review for Stroger Fantus Clinic

Yelp! deleted my EtD profile it seems and removed my reviews. I don’t know why, Yelp! just seems to randomly remove people’s reviews in general.

I’m reposting my review here. Eventually I’ll try to recreate the EtD account.

Stroger Fantus Clinic

Cook, IL

2 star rating
10/30/2009

This is a last-ditch place to go if you don’t have insurance and you can’t afford to pay for medical care out-of-pocket even on a sliding-scale basis.

I write in length about my experiences with Stroger’s Fantus Clinic on my blog http://enlighteningthedarkness.wordpress.com

The posts include:

Medical Services at Stroger Hospital: Day 1
Stroger Hospital: Day 2 and Filing for Unemployment
Stroger Day 3: Financial Services and Pharmacy
Financial Services: Stroger Hospital Day 4
Psychiatric Clinic at Stroger
Stroger, Again!

Department of Rehabilitation Services

Today we went to our appointment at the Department of Rehabilitation Services. Well, it was an orientation really, we didn’t get to have an appointment.

I’m still not sure what they do. It seems that you have to be referred to them, (we were referred by DHS), and then they’ll see if you qualify for their help. Somehow, you must walk that fine line of being disabled enough to need government help but not being too disabled to work or to continue your education. Having mental illness makes this a very blurry line.

If you qualify for their services, they help you find a job, though during the orientation the speaker said 98% of the jobs are part-time, because employers don’t want to give benefits. I also don’t know the quality of employment. Washing dishes at a naval base was given as an example.

The speaker also mentioned help paying for college or a Master’s degree if it was needed as part of your trying to work. I’m not sure when this would occur, besides having to switch fields due to a physical problem, or perhaps not having advanced beyond high school.

Because they had invited more people to the orientation than they had time slots for intakes, we have been scheduled to come back on Thursday. This was done by phone.

While on the phone with my perhaps-to-be counselor, she seemed to indicate that if you were accepted into the program and met other qualifications, you could be put on a disabled list that the government hires from.

At the end of the day, all I know is that sending out resumes and trying to network isn’t even getting us interviews, and I seriously doubt that our situation is unique. So I’m going to try and see what happens.

In the meantime, does anyone have experience with this?

Did I Mention I Have Bipolar Disorder?

Another update: I’m classified as bipolar now.

With the effects of the newest medication, I asked my (then) psychiatrist if I had bipolar disorder, rather than major depression. His response was that since I was on a mood stabilizer, then yea, I’m bipolar. I’ve been on a mood stabilizer over a year and a half, so I guess that earlier psychiatrist just forgot to give me the diagnosis.

What I have more exactly is Bipolar Depression. I have Bipolar Disorder, Type 2, but am depressed most of the type.

This means two things to me: 1) I’m crazier than I thought and 2) I’m eligible for a scholarship for which you have to have bipolar or schizophrenia.

Stroger, Again!

At this point I think I’m going to vote against Todd Stroger, Cook County’s Board President, just out of dislike of his name, nevermind his position on the sales tax.

About a week ago we were back at Stroger, before 7am, which is when it opens. (The pharmacy opens at 8am and closes at 6:30pm.) We had to go through the whole walk-in process again, despite already having going through the process before and being granted Limit of Liability coverage. (See earlier posts on this topic.)

This time, kept our mouths shut about needed psychiatric medication until we saw the doctor. We learned from last time that they’d hold us until someone from psychology was available (which might not be until the afternoon) and also had back-up appointments with psychiatrists anyway. However, this time, the doctor called psychiatry and with their permission, prescribed us psychiatric as well as general medications. Last time we were at Stroger the general doctor refused to do this. This one was less of an ass I guess.

However, I was told that I’d still need to come back. While she’d prescribe psychiatric medications (including a benzodiazepine), she refused to prescribe birth control, saying I had to go through the family planning clinic. That required a separate appointment and a separate visit which took seven fucking hours! All for one medication, which of course, had to be picked up on a separate visit!

Another nuisance is that the general doctor gave us only three refills, meaning that we’ll have to come back in about three months to go through this whole process again, since I don’t know of another way to get refills extended.

This is also my first time testing the mail-order refill system, which you have to leave a voice mail of your medications two weeks in advance of your running out.

A further annoyance is that while my husband was referred to a specialist, he has to get his test results interpreted by the walk-in clinic, rather than by a doctor with an appointment schedule. This means showing up at 7am yet again and waiting at least four hours AGAIN.

Really, wouldn’t it be cheaper and easier on everyone to just give us Medicaid or state health insurance? We’re getting the same medications and still seeing doctors, just in a more stressful and hair-brained manner. Stroger makes things at lot more difficult for people in our situation, but medical care is no less necessary when you have mental illness and other problems.