First Session Free! Oct. 5-10, 2015

Mental Illness Awareness Week

Pfeiffer Institute Reach will offer FREE first sessions during Mental Health Awareness Week (October 5-11).

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in four adults and one in five children and teens experience a mental health problem every year. Unfortunately, there are long delays--sometimes decades--between the time symptoms first appear and when people get help. Early identification and treatment can make a difference, but only if a person can get it. 

Barriers to seeking services include lack of awareness, financial burden, lack of transportation, and stigma about acknowledging the need for help. YOU can bring down those barriers by increasing your awareness about mental illness symptoms and treatment at www.nami.org. Pfeiffer Institute Reach helps bring down barriers by providing accessible and affordable individual, couple, and family therapy to members of the community. All of us can work to break down the stigma by encouraging those we care about to get help when needed, and being willing to reach out ourselves. Reach for a better tomorrow at Pfeiffer Institute Reach!

Mental Illness Awareness Week at Pfeiffer Institute Reach

Mental Illness Awareness Week is October 6-12, 2013 (see http://www.nami.org/miaw for more information). What does it mean to be aware of mental illness? What does this have to do with you? Hopefully you will find useful suggestions here.

According to the National Organization on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in four adults will experience a mental illness in a given year. That means approximately 65.1 million Americans will be affected. It is likely you or someone you love will face a mental illness at some point. Awareness -- and the courage to act on it -- is the first step toward help and coping. 

What does awareness entail? Pay attention: are you feeling down more than usual and for longer periods of time? Is your loved one so concerned that he is unable to do the things he enjoys? Are your mood swings from super-excited to super-down getting you in trouble at work? Do nightmares and flashbacks keep your partner awake throughout the night?

After awareness comes action. What can you do? You can get answers, or at least suggestions about where to find answers, by doing a screening at Pfeiffer Institute Reach. If you have concerns for yourself or someone else, the week of October 6-12 is the perfect time to check it out, no commitment or purchase necessary! Pfeiffer Institute Reach will offer free screenings and a free session with a clinician to review the results of the screening. Call to schedule an appointment or send an email to contact@pfeifferreach.org and we will help find a time for you to come in. 

The screening (four short questionnaires) will assess for symptoms of four common problems: depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and bipolar disorder. Don't let the word "disorder" frighten you away. It's just psychological shorthand for a collection of symptoms that are interfering with daily life. This might include being so depressed you are having thoughts of hurting yourself, or so anxious you feel like you are having a heart attack.

If you have questions, please call or email today to make your free appointment. The screening is free, as is the optional session to review the results with a clinician. Awareness, action, answers. Pfeiffer Institute Reach. 

Reach  for a better tomorrow.