Each year, thousands of doe-eyed college freshmen will settle into their dorms anxiously awaiting their first moments of college life. College years are a transformative, exploratory time in a young adult's life. Parental influence is lessened and teens are given the opportunity to spread their wings.

Alcohol addiction affects more than 15 million adults in the United States. While alcohol use disorder is a disease, like most medical conditions, it is treatable. Every person’s journey to sobriety and recovery is different. In this blog, we’ll help you understand how alcohol addiction treatment works so you better understand your options for recovery.

Speaking with a therapist and making your mental health a priority is an important first step towards living a healthier and happier lifestyle. The good news is that therapy is covered by insurance if you are insured by a major insurance provider. In this blog, we’ll show you how to find out exactly how much your therapy will cost with your health insurance. There’s no doubt that your mental health is worth the investment.

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...

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?