Navigating The Mental Health System With Dual Diagnosis

By Cindy and Don Gibbons |  Oct. 04, 2017 

 

It is with a heavy heart that we share our family experience and struggles while attempting to navigate a broken mental health system. Our son Alex suffered from a  dual diagnosisof  schizoaffective disorder and substance abuse. He was diagnosed seven years ago, although he had suffered much longer undiagnosed.

Read full blog here <-- family was 50th on waiting list of county system

NY Times: Opinion SEPT. 26, 2017

by Amelia Schonbek

Courts That Save Opioid Victims' Family Life:

"An innovative program helps parents complete drug and alcohol treatment while keeping their kids out of foster care.   A new kind of family court tailors substance abuse treatment programs to the individual needs of a recovering parent's household.  "

One spring afternoon, Samantha Coleman's two daughters ran across the family's yard, chasing dozens of newly hatched chicks. Coleman, 28, ran after them. "Whoa! Child down," she called, reaching to pick up her 2-year-old, who had managed to fall into a bush.

"This is my life," Coleman said, laughing. "Gummy bears in my pockets, half-naked kids, spills everywhere." She paused. "But I'm good." Sometimes this still surprises her. Four years ago, things looked very different: Coleman was using heroin, was in a violent relationship and risked losing her older daughter to foster care.

Continue reading the main story

NY Times: By BENOIT DENIZET-LEWIS  -  OCT. 11, 2017 

Why are More American Teenagers than ever Suffering from Anxiety?

Parents, therapists and schools are struggling to figure out whether helping anxious teenagers means protecting them or pushing them to face their fears.

The disintegration of Jake's life took him by surprise. It happened early in his junior year of high school, while he was taking three Advanced Placement classes, running on his school's cross-country team and traveling to Model United Nations conferences. It was a lot to handle, but Jake - the likable, hard-working oldest sibling in a suburban North Carolina family - was the kind of teenager who handled things. Though he was not prone to boastfulness, the fact was he had never really failed at anything.

Not coincidentally, failure was one of Jake's biggest fears. He worried about it privately; maybe he couldn't keep up with his peers, maybe he wouldn't succeed in life. The relentless drive to avoid such a fate seemed to come from deep inside him. He considered it a strength.

Read full story here 

8-Oct-2017 - Biological Psychiatry 

In the largest study of twins in schizophrenia research to date, researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, estimate that as much as 79% of schizophrenia risk may be explained by genetic factors. The estimate indicates that genetics have a substantial influence on risk for the disorder.

Published in Biological Psychiatry, the study used a new statistical approach to address one of the factors that contributes to inconsistencies across previous studies - usually studies of heritability require that people be classified as either having schizophrenia or not, but some people at risk could still develop the disease after the study ends. Drs. Hilker, Helenius and colleagues applied a new method to take this problem into account, making the current estimates likely the most accurate to date.

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Domestic Violence: 

It is important to educate yourself and our community on Domestic Violence (DV) so we can empower victims and society to create a culture of zero tolerance. 

Domestic Violence is present when there is an ongoing relationship between two people where one person is attempting to, or is, dominating the other partner. The biggest mistake people make about DV is thinking that it is just physical or sexual abuse.  Those are the obvious forms of DV, but usually occur much less frequently (if at all) in a DV relationship than the emotional, psychological, and financial abuse.   A DV relationship is about power and control rather than equality and negotiation.  Different forms of abuse are used to maintain power and control over the other partner.  In a DV relationship the emotion of fear is often felt and the feeling of "walking on eggshells". 

Violence is on a continuum, meaning there is mild, moderate, and severe levels of violence.  In a DV relationship typically the abusive behavior starts after there is emotional attachment.  Then what we might see is more mild forms of abuse (such as rolling your eyes at someone, put downs, name-calling) and over time the severity of the violence increases because the "bar needs to be raised" to get the same emotional reaction that say, calling someone stupid, once did.  So in order to get your point across maybe punching the wall is what is done, then maybe next time shoving, then the next incident hair pulling, then eventually the highest risk is death. 

Couples might be together for 1 month or 10 years before the first incident of violence occurs.  Once it does occur, if action is not taken to truly fix the problem then the cycle of violence will happen again, and next time faster and more severe.  To stop the cycle, this requires the dominant aggressor/perpetrator to genuinely and truly admit and understand what behavior they are guilty of, show remorse and empathy, and a plan of action created and followed through with to make sure this does not happen again. 

It is important to know if you are in a relationship where violence is present.   It doesn't matter if the violence is in the form of humiliation in public, or in punching the face, it is still all Domestic Violence and both will lead to more severe types of violence if nothing is done (in other words, if you forgive the person and let them back into your life just because they are sorry with no genuine accountability or plan of action in place, it is very likely to happen again and more severely). 

If you think you are in a DV relationship, here is a good website to look at as a starting place to evaluate your situation:

It takes a lot of strength to seek help which is often necessary to reach a balanced life without fear and shame. You are worth it. 

It is important to recognize that those living with a mental health diagnosis are more vulnerable to being victims of Domestic Violence.  Also, being the victim of violence is traumatizing and can trigger mental health problems, including, but not limited to, PTSD, depression, and anxiety.  It is often found that the perpetrators of Domestic Violence themselves live with a mental health diagnosis.  This is not to say mental health causes any of these problems, but among those who are in a DV relationship, much higher rates of mental health problems are found.  It is important to seek counseling from a professional mental health counselor if you are trying to heal and recover from a DV relationship or are trying to stop committing acts of DV yourself.  Make sure to ask your counselor if they have experience and training in working with DV.  In South Lake Tahoe Live Violence Free is a free resource for anyone who has ever been the victim of (including witnessing) any family violence in childhood or adulthood (in the past or currently).  A Balanced Life in South Lake Tahoe helps to rehabilitate perpetrators of DV through our Batterers' Intervention Program as well as heal victims who become survivors through individual counseling.

 1-Nov-2017   

By Katie Eckart, Assistant Director,  

El Dorado County Health & Human Services Agency

We all have friends and neighbors, and in many cases, family members who struggle with mental health, and all too frequently, with co-occurring substance use addiction.  Recognizing the need for whole person care, El Dorado County HHSA is looking to find ways to develop a substance use disorder treatment continuum of care.  A key opportunity is the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System, which is a voluntary pilot program that allows California counties an opportunity to expand substance use treatment services for Medi-Cal enrollees.  Collaboratively with partner agencies, HHSA is actively pursuing this opportunity to establish a base foundation of services in El Dorado County.  Together, we are focused on bringing hope to individuals, friends, neighbors and loved ones who have had their lives affected by addiction.

Cannabis Health Risks - presented during public comment to City Council

4 MD's provide public comment in South Lake Tahoe | Aug 29, 2017 

Thank you to NAMI El Dorado County Member for high-lighting the start and end times of each of the Medical Doctor's public comments and sharing their key-points.  Thank you Barton Health for El Dorado County for providing leadership in educating our community on health risks.

  Read Here <-- Key Takeaways by these 4 doctors:

• Dr. Lance Orr, Barton Health Emergency Services Director  
• Dr. Rhonda Sneeringer, Barton Health Chief Medical 

• Dr. Tracy Protell, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist: Board Certifications: American Board of Pediatrics, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Child and Adolescent, and American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Adult
• Dr. Nancy Williams EDC Public Health Officer (read by Hector Reyes - supervising health education coordinator for EDC.
   

Special City Council Meeting full video replay available here