Local agencies offer psychiatric help
Staff writer
Not all ailments are physical. Sometimes people need specialized treatment for substance abuse, emotional ailments, and pervasive mental illness.
Getting treatment doesn’t have to mean waiting until a problem becomes a crisis.
An assortment of agencies in the county provide different types of treatment.
Restoration Center
Joy Waldbauer, clinical director of the Restoration Center in downtown Marion, said the agency provided services for both substance abuse and mental health.
Most of the agency’s alcohol treatment clients come because a court orders them to seek treatment, Waldbauer said.
Treatment is paid through a state grant.
Waldbauer and one other counselor provide psychological treatment in addition to substance abuse therapy.
When she is asked to screen someone for psychological issues, she also assesses the person for substance-abuse issues.
It’s better to address the substance abuse before addressing psychological issues, she said.
To pay for talk therapy for psychological issues, a client needs to have some kind of insurance because the group’s state grant doesn’t cover that, she said.
Most sessions are by teleconference because of COVID-19.
“If one of our counselors gets COVID, it shuts our whole office down,” Waldbauer said.
Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Restoration Center’s phone number is (785) 762-4470.
Hillsboro Community Hospital
A psychiatrist is available via telemedicine every other week at Hillsboro Community Hospital.
Chief executive Mark Rooker said a referral from a primary physician or Prairie View Mental Health Center is needed to see the psychiatrist.
“We’re working on in-person treatment,” Rooker said. “It’s a discussion that’s been going on a couple of months.”
The hospital is investigating bringing in additional psychological and substance-abuse services.
“We had a meeting with Mirror a few months ago, looking for resources for the county,” he said. “They do a lot of dealing with addiction.”
DJ Craighead, chief nursing officer for HCH, said Prairie View always was the first step for a patient who comes to the emergency department needing substance-abuse or psychiatric treatment.
Senior Life Solutions
St. Luke Hospital in Marion has Senior Life Solutions, an outpatient therapy program for patients 65 and older with aging-related emotional disorders.
Referrals can be made by anyone, including a family member, the patient, or a health care provider.
The program is designed for seniors who had a traumatic event, lost a close family member, lost interest in activities they used to enjoy, or have changes in appetite, difficulty sleeping, loss of energy, feelings of sadness lasting more than two weeks, or feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness.
The program works with clients in group settings as many as three times a week.
Prairie View
Newton-based Prairie View is the county’s designated community mental health agency.
That makes it the first responder when a referral to inpatient treatment is needed. It also makes it a place to turn to for individual therapy.
Prairie View offers services for all age groups and psychological as well as substance-abuse treatment.
Prairie View’s services include family therapy, support groups, talk therapy, inpatient psychiatric care, day hospital care, and intensive outpatient treatment through a psychiatric hospital in Newton.