Mental Health

What is Mental Health?

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

Over the course of your life, if you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected. Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including:

Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry
Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse
Family history of mental health problems

Mental health problems are common but help is available. People with mental health problems can get better and many recover completely.

Partnership Against Domestic Violence is has launched First Fridays discussion titled "The Intersection Between Domestic Violence and Mental Health." The first Friday of every month will be reserved for this much needed discussion. Attendees will enjoy the following:

Discuss the intersection between domestic violence and mental health, gaps that exist in service delivery, and how to fill these gaps to provide more comprehensive and effective services across all focus areas.
Learn more about the fields of domestic violence and mental health and how to incorporate this knowledge into their work.
Meet professionals working in different areas and build connections and relationships to facilitate your work.
Receive 5 hours of social work and professional counselor CEUs.

Click to RSVP

Prevention

Prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders focuses on addressing known risk factors such as exposure to trauma that can affect the chances that children, youth, and young adults will develop mental health problems.

Positive mental health allows people to:

Realize their full potential
Cope with the stresses of life
Work productively
Make meaningful contributions to their communities

Ways to maintain positive mental health include:

Getting professional help if you need it
Connecting with others
Staying positive
Getting physically active
Helping others
Getting enough sleep
Developing coping skills

Friends & Family Support

Friends and loved ones can make a big difference. Only 44% of adults with diagnosable mental health problems and less than 20% of children and adolescents receive needed treatment. Friends and family can be important influences to help someone get the treatment and services they need by:

Reaching out and letting them know you are available to help
Helping them access mental health services
Learning and sharing the facts about mental health, especially if you hear something that isn't true
Treating them with respect, just as you would anyone else
Refusing to define them by their diagnosis or using labels such as "crazy"

Mental Health Facts

Mental health problems are actually very common. In 2014, about:

One in five American adults experienced a mental health issue
One in 10 young people experienced a period of major depression
One in 25 Americans lived with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. It accounts for the loss of more than 41,000 American lives each year, more than double the number of lives lost to homicide.

Domestic Violence and Mental Health

People with mental health problems are more likely to be a victim of domestic violence than the general population. Mental health professionals can identify and respond to domestic violence experienced by their patients. Listed below are our trusted Providers to help you navigate through the turbulent times.