Mahaska Health Partnership Recognizes Mental Health Month
Mahaska Health Partnership
MAHASKA COUNTY – Every American will be affected or impacted by mental illness sometime in their life. With May as Mental Health Month, Mahaska Health Partnership encourages everyone to understand what types of mental illnesses are out there and how to help those suffering get help.
According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five Americans will be affected by a mental health condition at some point in their lives. “Mental illnesses are unfortunately very common, but they are treatable,” MHP Director of Behavioral Health Services Jan LeBahn explained. “Your mental health affects every facet of your life; it’s important to take care of it!”
LeBahn stressed the importance of getting treatment early for mental illness. “Many people ignore symptoms or are afraid and embarrassed to seek help. In fact, research shows that by ignoring symptoms, professionals lose ten years in which they could have intervened to help improve a person’s life who is struggling with a mental illness. By encouraging mental health awareness, we can help get people the help they need to live happier and healthier lives.”
One of the most recent additions to services provided in Behavioral Health Services is the certification of two therapists, Karla Christensen, LMSW, and Pat Franje, LISW, as sexual addiction counselors. “As therapists who see a wide range of patients, Karla and I, along with some of our co-workers, recognized an underlying issue of sexual addiction with some mental health patients a couple of years ago,” Franje explained. “As with other conditions, there was an opportunity for additional education and training, which we both took advantage of, in order to help more individuals who utilize our services.”
“There have been increases in sexual addiction due to the accessibility of the internet,” Christensen continued. “There are no boundaries with this addiction; it can affect males and females of any age. This disease affects the same part of the brain as drugs and alcohol. With only a handful of trained sexual addiction counselors in Iowa, we felt the need to become certified to meet our patients’ needs.”
Along with addiction counseling, Behavioral Health Services offers treatment for a wide variety of mental illnesses. “We want our community to know we are a resource for them to go to should they need mental health services,” LeBahn stressed. “You need a healthy mind just as much as you need a healthy body. Don’t let fear or embarrassment keep you from getting the help you need to live a happier and healthier life!”
Behavioral Health Services offers a wide variety of support groups and mental health services. To schedule an appointment with a Behavioral Health professional or for more information, call 641.672.3159. For those looking for geriatric mental health services, MHP’s Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry can also assist. Call 641.672.3277 for more information or to make a referral today.
Mahaska Health Partnership, located in Oskaloosa, is a non-profit health system accredited by the Joint Commission. It is guided by its mission to provide exceptional customer service and health improvement, linking the science of medicine with the humanity of compassionate care. For more information about how Mahaska Health Partnership is making healthcare personal, call 641.672.3240 or visit mahaskahealth.org.
