Refocusing on Mental Health
Director’s Message
Refocusing on Mental Health
On April 15 I had the opportunity to attend my first meeting of the National Advisory Counsel for SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency). Together with seven other members of this Advisory I had the opportunity to hear about wonderful efforts by SAMHSA to facilitate recovery and improve mental health for millions of people.
I was first impressed by their 4-prong motto: Behavioral Health is Essential to Health, Prevention Works, Treatment is Effective, People Recover! Check, check, check, check!! They are very much in alignment with Adventist Recovery Ministries (ARMin) beliefs and values.
Then I learned of the overarching goals to advance the behavioral health of the nation from 2015-2018:
1. Increase awareness and understanding about mental and substance use disorders
2. Promote emotional health and wellness
3. Prevent addiction and mental illness
4. Increase access to effective treatment
5. Support recovery
It was refreshing to see many efforts being made to improve coordination and integration of behavioral health in health care, and to improve the health of patients with priority on prevention and wellness. Also, after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) we now see that mental health and substance abuse is included in the list of essential health benefits. That is all good. All the while, the role of faith communities in facilitating awareness, prevention and recovery remains critically important.
Recognizing that God’s plan for us is to be whole (mind, body and spirit) and that as one of our founders put it, “9 of 10 diseases have its origin in the mind,” the Adventist church is still committed to not only be part of the conversation on a national level, but also to use resources to an active voice and catalyst for improved mental health.
One of our efforts is the work of the Mental Health taskforce created in 2013 here in North America. As a result, an upcoming Emotional Health Summit is to be held in Orlando, FL on January 13-17, 2016. We will be equipping health professions, faith leaders and others as we discuss several aspects of Behavioral Health – including addiction prevention and recovery, trauma and emotional healing, the role of churches as centers for mental health and wellbeing, models of collaboration with other organizations and the integration of health care to improve mental health, and understanding the healing principles for whole person health. ARMin training will be also provided then.
Plan to be with us and become part of this united front, extending a Christ-centered approach to prevention, healing and recovery!.
Katia Reinert, PhD, RN, CRNP, FNP-BC, PHCNS-BC, FCN