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Dr. Teresa Smith

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Benefits of Mental Health Professionals Stepping in Instead of Police

There is an epidemic in this country of mental health crises. At the same time, we also have a lack of crisis services, which has led to police officers acting as first responders to many mental health crises across the nation.

The response to this epidemic from many communities has been to develop a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program to improve results in these situations. CIT programs have already been created in over 27,000 communities nationwide. The goal of CIT is to create better channels of communication between law enforcement and other stakeholders in the mental health profession along with those suffering from mental health issues. In addition to improving collaboration, CIT programs also provide intensive training, refer those in crisis to the right treatment options, and also make sure everyone in the community is safe.

Additional Benefits of These Crisis Intervention Programs

CIT programs can also:

  • Keep those with mental health issues out of prison and get them into treatment.
  • Provide law enforcement officers the resources to do their job safely.
  • Allow police officers to focus on reducing crime.
  • Save the community money. Research has found incarceration is far more costly than a treatment program. 

How You Can Help

If you are a mental health professional, police officer, or a family member of someone living with a mental health issue, you can help change how your local community responds to these crises. You can search the National Alliance on Mental Illness website to find your local affiliate. Every person and every voice helps spread this important message far and wide. So please consider advocating today.

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Overcoming Generational Trauma

You know you got your hairline from your Dad’s side of the family and your eye color from your mom. You know diabetes runs in your family, as does heart disease and Parkinson’s.

But do you know that many families also pass down trauma to their loved ones? It’s not just our physical makeup and risk of disease that we inherit from our family, it is also the emotional wounds as well.

What is Transgenerational Trauma?

Before you were born you were in your mother’s womb and very susceptible to her emotions. As your mother felt joy, her body released hormones that made you feel joy.

When she felt sad, scared, or angry, her body released hormones that made her experience these same emotions.

Eventually, you were born and raised in a house that may not always be happy or harmonious. Your parents may have been emotionally distant or even abusive because they may have been brought up by parents who had their own reasons for being emotionally absent or abusive.

Many families have unresolved trauma that works its way through one generation to the next. Those families who have dealt with addiction, depression, anxiety, terror, racism, and the like, often continue to pass on negative emotions, poor behaviors, low self-esteem, and maladaptive coping strategies. These not only lead to a painful and hard life, but they can also lead to chronic health conditions.

It Can Stop With You!

If you have a history of family conflict or trauma, you can be the individual who puts an end to the cycle. You can be the one who begins a new cycle, one of passing down loving communication and positive self-images. 

Of course, it will take work on your part to overcome the pain of your family history. That’s why it’s a good idea to work with a mental health professional who can offer you the right tools and coping strategies that you can then pass down to your own children.

If you’re interested in exploring therapy, please get in touch with me! I’d love to help you end the cycle of trauma in your family.

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Faith and Mental Health – Why Therapy is Still Important

The relationship between faith and mental health is a complex one. Without question, an individual’s personal belief system is a profound way to cope with life’s challenges and adversities.

Belief in a higher power is essential to a person’s mental health and overall well-being. But if someone has a strong religious faith or spiritual life, does that mean they can’t also be helped by traditional talk therapy?

Why Therapy is So Important in Mental Health Recovery

In my practice, I often work with people who have a religious faith. I have found there are two issues they tend to share that traditional therapy can benefit.

They are Waiting on God

It is one thing to use our faith to cope with the pain and challenges of life. It is another to use our faith in God as an excuse not to help ourselves and do the work. I have found many clients believe that if they pray hard enough, God will deliver them from their problems.

This reminds me of an old joke.

A hurricane has dropped feet of rainfall on a small town and most of the residents fled the day before when the news reports encouraged them to do so. One man now sits alone on his roof, the water rising.

He prays diligently to the Lord to save him.

Soon, a man in a boat comes along and tells the man to hop in. The devout man of faith says, “No thanks, God is going to save me.” The man in the boat speeds away.

A few minutes later, another man in a boat comes by and tells him to get in. “No thanks, I prayed to God and he is going to save me.”

About an hour later a third and final boat comes by, but the man refuses to get in, believing with all his heart that God will save him.

The waters rise and the man eventually drowns. When he gets to Heaven he asks God, “God, why did you not save me?”

God says, “I sent you THREE boats!!”

The moral of the story is, God works in mysterious ways. We cannot know His exact plans for us, but we can and we should be active participants in our own rescue. As a therapist, I can offer coping strategies and different perspectives that help my clients get off their roofs.

A Sense of Unworthiness

When people are struggling with depression and/or addiction issues, they feel completely broken, unworthy of God’s love. They find it difficult to reconnect with God because deep down they don’t believe they deserve his presence in their life.

I help my patients build their self-esteem and find their value so they can reconnect with God.

If you are hurting and would like to explore treatment options, please reach out to me. I work with people of all faiths and respect your beliefs. I simply want to offer you support and resources to help you on your path back to wholeness and light.

SOURCES:

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2022/6/10/23160348/defining-the-gap-between-two-taboo-topics-faith-and-mental-health-religion-counseling

https://www.deseret.com/2012/8/30/20506040/balancing-faith-and-mental-health-both-complex-important-to-well-being

https://fherehab.com/learning/connection-spirituality-mental-health

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Lifestyle Changes That Can Reduce Joint Pain

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 50 million adults are diagnosed annually with some form of chronic joint pain due to arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia. Many of us have been conditioned to believe that with age comes aches and pains.

But joint pain does NOT have to be inevitable. In fact, some joint pain is a result of lifestyle choices, such as poor diet and lack of exercise.

This, of course, means you can effectively make certain lifestyle changes that can reduce joint pain and improve function. Here are some ideas to get you started down a path of less pain and stiffness:

Maintain a Healthy Weight

According to The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), obesity is one of the most common diseases that affect bone and joint health. Losing weight not only relieves pressure on your joints, but it can also reduce joint degeneration.

Get Regular Exercise

Obviously, exercise can help you lose weight, but there are other benefits to moving your body. Regular exercise increases strength and flexibility, which is important for joint health. Now, depending on the severity of your joint pain, certain exercises may be off the table. For severe pain, consider walking, biking, and swimming as these exercises are gentle on your joints.

Eat a Healthy Diet

There are two phases to eating a healthy diet:

  • Phase 1 – Eliminate processed foods that are high in refined sugars and trans fats. These cause inflammation throughout the body that causes joints to be stiff and painful.
  • Phase 2 – Eat more foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help to reduce inflammation in the body. These foods include fatty fish, chia seeds, and walnuts.

Quit Smoking

Smoking prohibits your body from healing itself and also reduces blood flow. This makes it hard for your joints to recover from injuries and inflammation. Not only will quitting smoking help joint pain, but it will also improve your overall health as well.

Seek Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic is often used as a complement to conventional treatments for joint pain. Chiropractic adjustments can reduce the restrictions or misalignments in your spine and other joints. One study found that adjustments helped normalize inflammation for individuals suffering from low back pain.

Joint pain can also sometimes come from poor posture and spinal alignment, and chiropractors can help you solve that issue as well.

If you suffer from joint pain and would like to explore chiropractic care, please call our office. We’ll be more than happy to discuss how adjustment might finally bring you some relief.

 

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