Sunday, October 3^rd to Saturday, October 9^th is Mental-Illness-Awareness-Week.

• Did you know that 1 in 5 U.S. adults and 1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental illness each year?

For the 1 in 20 adults that experience a serious mental illness each year, less than two-thirds get treatment. Access to quality care is often a barrier.

CARE Counseling is taking an active role to improve access to quality care in several important ways:

1. CARE offers same-week availability for scheduling appointments. Call 612-223-8998 or click here from the scheduling: https://www.therapyportal.com/p/carecounseling2000/
2. CARE is in network with all major insurance companies, including state insurance/ medical assistance (MA) and commercial insurance plans.
3. Therapists at CARE come from a variety of backgrounds and therapeutic approaches to offer you customized care. Therapists are engaged in continued training to state up-to-date on the latest interventions.
4. CARE is committed to the community and is sharing their library of free video interventions to help with a variety of mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, and relationships. https://care-clinics.com/care-vault/
5. CARE is involved in community outreach and marketing events, working hard to reduce stigma and increase access to mental health supports

Mental health is a huge part of overall health and should be a priority for everyone.

Here are ways in which you can help:

• Share your mental health story. Talking to someone can help you not feel so alone.
• Connect with others who are experiencing similar concerns. There are lots of great support groups as well as social-connection supports.
• Consider early intervention and preventative care, as well as on-going maintenance work for mental health concerns. This includes not only adults, but children and teens.
• Treat mental illness with therapy, medication, or a combination of both. These approaches can help stabilize mental health and be utilized as ongoing supports in management.
• If you are currently experiencing a mental health crisis, crisis response supports are available. If you or a loved one are experiencing a life-threatening situation where there is an imminent threat of harm to one’s self or others, please call 911. If you are in need of crisis supports, these are all great options:

Mental Health Crisis Services: Call **CRISIS Text: MN to 741741

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

Metro Area Mental Health Crisis Response

Ramsey: adults – 651-266-7900, children – 651-774-7000

Hennepin: adults – 612-596-1223, children – 612-348-2233

To schedule an appointment with one of our professional counselors, click here.

Written By: Charlotte Johnson, MA, LPCC