The state’s largest mental health support service is planning to set up support groups on Kaua’i. The proposal by the O’ahu-based United Self-Help would aid government and private mental health agencies, helping to stretch their budgets and ability to serve
The state’s largest mental health support service is planning to set up support groups on Kaua’i.
The proposal by the O’ahu-based United Self-Help would aid government and private mental health agencies, helping to stretch their budgets and ability to serve Kauaians with mental disorders ranging from anxiety to depression, officials said.
Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. One in five Americans suffer from mental health disorders, but only one will seek treatment, while the rest will turn to drugs or alcohol, said United Self-Help executive director Bud Bowles.
In severe cases, depression left untreated can lead to suicides, he said.
United Self-Help doesn’t take the place of Hawai’i government and private mental health specialists, instead helping to support their work, Bowles said.
He talked with business and civic leaders about his organization’s goals during a recent meeting of the Kaua’i Rotary Club in Lihu’e.
Later this month, Bowles plans to meet with Friendship House officials in Kapa’a to discuss holding support group sessions in East Kaua’i.
Friendship House is a rehabilitation program for Kaua’i adults with serious mental illnesses seeking to improve their lives.
United Self-Help also will consider setting up support groups in other parts of Kaua’i to help people with mental illness, Bowles said.
Mental health problems in Hawai’i compare with national trends, Bowles said. The number of Americans treated for depression soared from 1.7 million to 6.3 million between 1987 and 1997, and the number of people receiving antidepressants has doubled, national researchers say.
The sharp increases are attributed to aggressive marketing of new drugs like Prozac, more services and easing of the stigma attached to mental illness.
Formed 14 years ago, United Self-Help has contracts with the Adult Mental Health Division of the state Department of Health and the federal government.
Last year, United Self-Help served more than 400 people statewide, with the bulk of the clients coming from O’ahu, Bowles said.
The free sessions each run for 90 minutes and are held twice a month in places in churches or neighborhood centers. Referrals to the sessions also are made by psychologists and therapists, Bowles said.
United Self-Help trains the individuals who lead the sessions, to which psychiatrists, on a volunteer basis, are invited to give their insight, Bowles said.
“During these sessions, you get to talk with peers about your problem, people who have experienced the same thing,” Bowles said. “There is a greater sharing of information that will help lead to recovery.”
United Self-Help also offers meetings with guest speakers, peer mentoring, education classes on care and recovery, tapes on mental illness, job networking, use of computers, free music lessons, free notary service and free lessons in tennis, yoga, volleyball and exercise.
United Self-Help operates a suicide and crisis center 24 hours a day. People can dial 1-808-521-4555 or 1-866-866-HELP from 4:30 to 9 p.m.
More information on United Self-Help is available at www.unitedselfhelp.org.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
