More treatment options appear as county’s suicide rate doubles national average
October 17, 2014
In response to a local suicide rate that is higher than the national average, county agencies are working to bolster mental health care options. An area hospital has established a new behavioral health program, and plans to use videoconferencing technology to make sessions with its staff psychologist available to patients in other parts of the county as well. The Pathways Treatment Center in the city of Kalispell now offers a weekly depression support group led by Debi Strong, a mental health advocate who is open about her own past struggles with depression and suicide attempt. “There are a million support groups in the valley, but there was nothing to talk about depression and that had to change,” Strong said. Courtney Rudbach, clinical supervisor at Pathways, said that in spite of the high suicide rates in Flathead County and Montana, she is confident that change is possible. “People pull out of depression. They pull out of suicidal thoughts. Recovery happens,” she said.
Spark Extra! Read about a recent study concluding that telepsychiatry can effectively increase mental health care access in areas with few providers.