The Transition House Blog

Tom Griffin, CEO of The Transition House, Inc., hosted Mr. Tom Self, Regional Director to Senator Marco Rubio, at the St. Cloud Men’s and Veterans Residential facility Friday morning.

Mr. Griffin and Mr. Self spoke at length about the many issues that Osceola County faces and what The Transition House, Inc. is doing to address treatment for residents experiencing addiction as a part of the opioid epidemic and related issues that can stem from substance dependence, including homelessness, the impacts on families and children, and the legal and judiciary system.

Going off to college is an exciting time for both students and parents. This milestone comes with big changes, too. Living away from home, gaining independence, meeting new people, and adjusting to a more rigorous and challenging curriculum are some of the things college students will encounter. Here are a few ways you can help support your college student’s mental health as they enter this stage of their life.

Therapy can be a helpful and healing experience for people who are looking to cope with stressors, or just wanting to improve their quality of life. When you consider that 88% of people who have received some form of therapy felt improvements to their condition - even after just one session - it’s clear that therapy can be effective for many people with a variety of concerns.

Sleep is extremely important to your mental health. Mental health and sleep share a very complex and close relationship. Lack of sleep can cause a number of mental health issues, and, in turn, mental health issues can cause difficulty sleeping and insomnia, in some cases. These mental health issues include: mood disorders (depression, bipolar disorder), anxiety disorders (obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety), and psychotic disorders (schizophrenia). Mental health issues can affect sleep in a number of different ways...

Due to advancements in mental health and campus resources, more students with diagnosed mental health conditions are attending college than ever before. WIth support, and of course lots of planning, these students can experience college and thrive right alongside their peers. As the parent of a child with a diagnosed condition, it's important that you and your student plan carefully to transfer care and ensure the proper support system is in place on campus. Here are some tools and information to help with that process.

We all experience anxiety from time to time. It’s a normal part of life, a function of the body’s involuntary fight-or-flight response system. Fear of failure before a big test or nervousness ahead of a public speaking engagement, for example, are natural reactions to stress. Short-term anxiety can even be beneficial in certain situations, perhaps motivating us to perform better or prepare more for specific events. 

When it comes to your overall well-being, mental health is just as important as physical health. Whether or not your health insurance will cover mental health benefits depends largely on what company holds your plan, but these days, most health plans do.

The federal parity law requires insurance companies to treat behavioral health and substance use disorder coverage at least equal to regular medical and surgical coverage. For example, an insurance company can't charge you a $20 copay for most medical/surgical office visits, and then charge you a $40 copay when you see a mental health professional. 

To be clear, the mental health parity law does not require insurance companies to cover mental health and substance abuse treatment, but fortunately most large group plans already provided such coverage before the law took effect in 2008. Additionally, individual plans purchased from a health insurance exchange are required to cover behavioral health/substance use disorder services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

All families experience rough patches, but moms, dads, sisters, brothers, and even aunts and uncles usually are able to depend on each other to move forward.

But what if those rough patches last for months and no one seems to think there are brighter days ahead? Then it may be time for family members to seek professional help so that they can work through their problems.

Family therapy is different than individual therapy. Typically, a counselor will meet with everyone at once and try to discover what may be at the root of a family’s problems. But how do you know when it’s time for your family to get counseling?

The names for the condition are many – dual diagnosis, co-occurring disorders, dual disorder, and mentally ill chemical abusers – but the condition is typically a combination of behavioral issues and substance abuse.

In the past, treatment of each condition – behavioral health issues and substance abuse – was done separately. Often times, the behavioral health issue was treated in one center and substance abuse was treated in a totally different center. Not anymore.

Diagnosis of a substance abuse disorder – the inability to cope with daily life with abusing some type of substance – is about the same for veterans and civilians.

However, when it comes to the factors leading to substance abuse -- and possible dependence on a substance -- that is where the parallels separate.

The culture of the military, the experiences of veterans and struggle to fit in is at the root of substance abuse among veterans.