In the News

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8:22, third Wednesday of the month, we get to visit with the folks from the McCall Center for Behavioral Health, and our topic remains the same, but pinch-hitting this morning. We’d like to welcome back Maria Coutant-Skinner, who’s of course Executive Director at McCall.

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Good morning. Good morning, Dale.

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How are you?

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I’m well. Welcome to the broadcast.

0:00:28
Thanks for joining us. Great to be here. Our topic remains the same. We are talking about obsessive compulsive disorder. And you know, this is a little bit of an unexpected topic for me in the pantheon of things that we discussed with McCall. I wouldn’t think this would be really, you know, within the sphere. So that’s kind of important to discuss because OCD You think of somebody’s personality as maybe it’s just some quirk.

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Right.

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But it goes really beyond that. So let’s kind of define it for what it is.

0:00:55
It does. And I appreciate that we’re having this conversation. I think a lot of people associate McCall with addiction recovery and treatment. And what we really want folks to know is that we are a comprehensive health care organization. We take care of folks with all kinds of behavioral health, mental health needs, and we do have expertise in addiction, we really have a lot of expertise

0:01:17
in treating mental health, trauma, really the whole person. And this is an opportunity for us to talk a little more deeply about one aspect, obsessive compulsive disorder, which, you know, I think people oftentimes will say kind of like, oh, that’s my OCD, if they find themselves organizing something or even triple checking that their alarm is set. But really, OCD is a specific disorder that falls under the category of anxiety disorders.

0:01:53
It affects about 1% of the population. It impacts people’s lives to the point where it’s challenging to function. People can and do, but it’s a serious set of issues that really intrude on a person’s life and well-being.

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For folks who may remember, it’s probably made most famous by Tony Shalhoub for the show Monk, of which he was this brilliant investigator, but he was constantly in this battle with his obsessive compulsive disorder. And a lot of that was manifested in a light-hearted way, but for

0:02:29
somebody who deals with this, it can be no fun. Exactly. And it’s really characterized by a lot of intrusive thoughts that get caught in a loop. So it could be about, I think a lot of people associate it with germs and contamination and health and hand washing and things like that. And that is a very common way that it manifests. It can be other things too, but it’s really characterized by doubt and intrusive thoughts that are so hard to turn off. So it could be about religion, it

0:02:58
could be about sexual orientation, it could be about, you know, when I was driving home, did I hit an animal or a person? Did I do somebody harm? You know, am I going to harm myself? Am I going to harm others? And it’s so hard to turn off those intrusive thoughts. It’s really suffering. It’s torturous for folks.

0:03:18
Now, the way you just described it, I look a little bit beyond that to possibly esteem issues or possibly anxiety, as you mentioned before, because there are some close correlations there. So is that something when we get into treatment then, you know, we get back to trauma, we get back to pain,

0:03:35
we get back to sores. Exactly. Can it be sores the same way or is it just something in the way some people are wired?

0:03:41
Well, I think one of the things that’s kind of interesting is it’s most likely all of the above, but we don’t have really conclusive science about the root causes of this. We know how to treat it and to kind of take one step back so those obsessive thoughts then lead to, because it is so torturous, then there’s compulsive behaviors that folks use to be able to cope. So it could be going back and re-driving, re-tracing your steps, driving that route, turning the light switch off as you left the house.

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Did I turn that oven off? And these are compulsive behaviors, the hand washing, all those things that hopefully the person is seeking to find some relief. But really, essentially what it does is it creates a cage in which people live. And in the beginning, those compulsive behaviors are adaptive. And again, it’s seeking relief and a way to cope.

0:04:39
So if somebody’s on a plane, it’s this very, you know, the young, young subconscious part of our brains that say to us, if you don’t fly anymore and you stay home, you’ll be safe. So ultimately, that’s what our brains and that root anxiety is trying to get us to do, is to stay safe.

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How do we break that loop? So how do you get, like you said, that has been the way of seeking belief from this, or it’s a coping mechanism. Do we find another mechanism? Yes.

0:05:15
So there are ways to interrupt those thought loops and there’s really effective therapy models that folks have found relief with and there’s also medications that are incredibly helpful. And I think that’s the overarching message of every single time we come in and talk with you Dale is that a lot of times people are stuck in their suffering and they don’t have to be.

0:05:37
That help is available and it’s effective and that’s really the message. There’s things that we can talk about in the immediate. You catch that thought loop. You can change it. And the other thing is to know that you are not your thoughts. Okay. So you don’t always have to believe your thoughts. We often have, like all of us, have had something that we relate to in this conversation. You can have a thought that’s outrageous or scary, but you don’t have to believe it.

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You don’t have to act on it. And that’s what treatment gets people to do, is find some freedom to know how to do that.

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So people who suffer from OCD, and we’ve talked about a lot of different illnesses like this as well, that they have a hard time getting people to take it seriously for the seriousness that it is.

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And people will try to talk them out of it using logic and reason, which is of course, that seems human and you don’t want to see your loved ones suffer. And so you’re countering that thought loop with…

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Let me solve this for you.

0:06:45
Yes, exactly. But that’s unfortunately, that’s not all that effective. So there’s some really good resources if you look at NOCD, International OCD Foundation, NAMI.org or come and see one of us at McCall and especially for loved ones and the person impacted there are ways that

0:07:09
we can help. Maria Cotan-Skinner is executive director at the McCall Behavioral Health Network. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is our topic for this morning. Have we covered it or is there a last word we can leave for somebody who would really like to get some help with this issue?

0:07:25
Well, just one other kind of related piece and that is that we never turn anybody away because of an inability to pay. So if this resonates with you or you know that you’re worried about somebody, call us, talk to us, we can help you. And our annual appeal, which is out right now, make sure that we’re always able to keep that promise for anybody that comes through our door.

0:07:46
McCallBHN.org on the web, or just type in McCall Behavioral Health Network in your search engine and it will come up. Maria, a pleasure having you on the show.

0:07:56
Always a pleasure to be here.

0:07:57
Thank you. Best of the holidays for you, your family, and everyone at McCallBHN. Best of the holidays for you, your family, and everyone at McCallBHN.

0:08:01
Thank you.

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822-973-WZBG. Beautiful autumn day. I want to welcome back a guest we’ve had in before. Every third Wednesday of the month, we speak with professionals from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. We want to welcome back John Fecteau. He’s director of mental health there. John, welcome back to the show. Thanks for having me.

0:00:19
Appreciate having you on the show. So our theme for October is embracing change. And you know, it’s emblematic of course for the changing of the seasons that we’ve going on and recognizing that whether we like it or not, things don’t necessarily remain the same.

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And we need to embrace that. So again, using the beauty of the fall season and transitions, let’s talk about how we approach that from McCall Behavioral Health Network and the challenges that it presents.

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Sure. I mean, this time of year, people definitely, you can’t help but notice change in the air, and it does make us think of that a little bit more. And, you know, the idea is that change is inevitable. You know, we oftentimes like to get kind of stuck in our old ways of dealing with problems and, you know, have quite a bit of fear over embracing any kind of change because of the uncertainty that’s out there.

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You know, am I going to be able to do this, whatever it is. And you know, the idea is to try to break out of some of those old patterns and to embrace change. And in order to do that, the idea is to have more of a growth mindset where when you focus on growth and learning instead of kind of clinging to those, you know, the old ways of dealing with problems, you know, it opens up a whole new world for you where you start to see challenges as opportunities and mistakes as learning opportunities and not failure.

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And that really just changes your whole idea on how you can embrace change that happens in your life and it’s inevitable.

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Another pattern people get stuck in is sort of comparing themselves to other people. So after you adopt a growth mindset, the idea is to set some goals for yourself around your change, small, measurable goals, not these huge goals that you have to wait months and years to accomplish, but these small, measurable goals. And if you monitor your goals, comparing yourself to other people, you’ll sense that change is happening and that you’re actually accomplishing what you set out to accomplish. 

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And in all that, a huge thing is making sure that you have supports or whether you need more professional help with that. And that’s where we can come in.

0:02:34
Well, you call it, you know, doing small measurable goals. They call them baby steps for a reason, you know. And setting those goals and allowing it to reward yourself, you know, because change is hard and there is comfort in what you know. And going outside of that into the unknown, that’s where that self-doubt just amplifies, doesn’t it?

0:02:54
It does. It does. And that’s where we get stuck, you know, and setting those small measurable goals. And a huge change in mindset for people is looking at that growth mindset, like I said, is mistakes are not failures. Mistakes are opportunities to learn and grow. And that’s a big intentional mindset shift that is important to make.

0:03:22
And in that, where a lot of supports come in handy, actually it’s the goal of a lot of therapy, is to help people to change that internal monologue. That’s what gives you that sense of, oh, I made a mistake, I’m a failure, versus I made a mistake, what can I learn from that? And that change is where a lot of professional supports come into place.

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And you can see what services that we have to offer on our website at mccallbhn.org or if you don’t want to surf on our website, you can just call us at 860-496-2100 and we can guide you through what services might be helpful to support you in that change journey that you’re in right now.

0:03:56
Right, and as people deal with the doubts of trying to make the changes that they know can and will improve for them. One of the things that tends to make us more hesitant to do that is if you’re preparing those goals or comparing those goals to others. Yes. Because your journey really is an independent one, isn’t it? It is. It is.

0:04:15
I mean, you know, you see this a lot in, you know, athletes and a lot of other areas where they really have to, you know, am I shaving seconds off my time? Do I feel better, you know, in my body? Things like that. And that’s really the only person you have to compare yourself to is yourself. So, in order to do that functionally, because it’s easy to say, it’s a little bit harder to do, but in order to do that functionally, that’s why setting those small attainable, measurable goals so you can say, I’m gonna quit smoking.

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Not, am I gonna quit smoking for the rest of my life? Am I gonna quit smoking for this week? Sometimes this day, sometimes this half day or hour. However small, you have to break those goals down. That way you get to see your individual accomplishment and in doing so you build your self-esteem which helps you view mistakes as learning opportunities and not failures again.

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So it kind of all comes together.

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If you’re just joining us this morning, John Fecteau is Director of Mental Health with McCall Behavioral Health Network. The theme this month is letting go and welcoming change. So whether you’ve got a serious challenge to your mental health that you’re dealing with right now or just for all of us who are just looking at uncertain times,

0:05:29
I think this is a helpful exercise in just recognizing that change is going to happen and just roll with it.

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That’s it. John, appreciate having you on the show. Thank you for having me. Enjoy That’s it. John, appreciate having you on the show. Thank you for having me.

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Enjoy the season and we will talk with you folks from McCall BHN once again coming.

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Every third Wednesday of the month we get to visit with the folks from McCall Behavioral Health Network. This is a really, really important month because September is Suicide Prevention Month. Our guest this time is Donna Bielefeld and she’s with the Prevention Department at McCall coordinating the mental health awareness trainings. Good morning Donna.

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Good morning Dale. Welcome to the program.

0:00:29
Glad to have you. Thank you for having me.

0:00:30
So you’ve been with McCall for a couple of years now. Couple of years now doing this, yeah. And you do the trainings, and it’s something called QPR. What is that?

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QPR is Question, Persuade, and Refer. So we’re teaching people how to ask the question, persuading someone to keep themselves alive, and referring them for services.

0:00:51
So you train people how to do this. We’ve had a lot of interviews with the folks from McCall and when folks are in mental strife, I guess that’s the first thing. You’ve got to find the place where they’re coming from.

0:01:04
Yes, exactly. We go out into the community actually and do these trainings for free so that we can get people to recognize when someone is having a mental health issue and it could relate to something like taking their life by suicide. That hopefully people will recognize all the signs and symptoms or some.

0:01:26
It doesn’t get headline news a lot, but when it does, some of the statistics are pretty sobering right now with this problem.

0:01:34
It’s definitely a problem. Each year, we have statistics that come up on our slides, actually. And the recent statistics for 2023 is that there were 50,000 people that took their lives by suicide in the country. Wow. Yeah.

0:01:51
It’s a high number, and it’s a number we’d like to see decrease.

0:01:54
How do you even begin that conversation? You know, I’m reminded, speaking of just headlines, John Bon Jovi, who a lot of people know is a good humanitarian anyway. They were, I’m sure you know the story, they were filming a video on a Tennessee bridge and he and a staffer were walking and they noticed a woman on the other side of the safety fencing looking like she was contemplating suicide.

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And they talked her back. They did. And that headline this month is really well placed.

0:02:23
Yeah, that was quite impactful. The conversation is not one that’s easy to start and we recommend just asking the question. Right. And if you feel like you can’t ask that question by yourself, try to find some support that will help you ask that question. But it’s not an easy thing to go to someone and say, are you considering taking your life by suicide? Or are you very unhappy? That’s another way that people will ask that question.

0:02:51
Why does this matter so deeply to you? It’s obviously something you’re invested in.

0:02:55
So I did not expect to come into this line of work, but my first EMS call was someone close to our family who took their life by suicide. And that was quite a difficult call for, you know, first getting done with an EMR and going out to a call and having that happen. So yeah, I’m passionate about it and that’s got a big part of it.

0:03:22
You know, it seems the most natural question that comes from that revelation that you just shared with us is, why didn’t I see this coming? Yeah. Why didn’t I see the signs?

0:03:32
Yeah. I mean, how do we work from that to a place to where we can be effective in prevention?

0:03:39
Well, and back in that time, we didn’t do these kinds of trainings. You know, we don’t, suicide is not something that a lot of people have wanted to talk about. And Suicide Awareness Month is definitely bringing it

0:03:50
more and more into the limelight. I believe they just had a Suicide Awareness Walks, and you know, those things are really impactful. And if I can get this training out to more and more people, so that they can recognize those signs, that’s a bonus.

0:04:06
So is the training for lay people?

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Training is for everyone.

0:04:10
Okay, because I want to differentiate between your fellow colleagues at McCall BHN and the folks in the general public who have an interest in this.

0:04:17
Yes, everyone in our agency takes this training. And so we can go out to, we go out and do it for our agency, we will go anywhere in the northwest corner and do this training. It is a SAMHSA based training so it’s free. I will come out and discuss what we would do ahead of time with people and we pretty much go anywhere. We’re actually going to Cornwall next Thursday. The Cornwall Library has us coming in to do a training.

0:04:47
So we’re out there, we’re posting them on our website, and we’re just really trying to get more and more people to pull us in, call us. You know, if you need help, call McCall, and they’ll get you to me, and I will set you up for the training.

0:05:02
I’ll train three people.

0:05:04
You’ve been doing this for a lot of years, right?

0:05:06
Couple of years.

0:05:07
Do you find when people do take the training that they have a backstory like yours?

0:05:12
Yes, yes, we have a couple of people. That is your motivation? Yes, that is definitely the motivation. I did a training in Harwinton a couple years ago right at the beginning of this and we had a couple people who were concerned about a family member and they came in and took the training. Is it done, you schedule it with the individuals, it is regular intervals, how do we get this training out there?

0:05:32
we try to offer a group training and we can schedule that pretty much anywhere. We have people register through a pre-survey that we offer, and we have a QR code that goes out there, or people can contact me and I’ll get them signed up for it. But we’ve gone out to many different agencies and done this. We’ve done Washington Ambulance, we’ve done a variety of different places.

0:05:56
I’ve done it for Harwinton Ambulance where I’m a member, and we’ll just offer a community training, you know, in Harwinton or at different agencies in Torrington. The chambers let us use their building on several occasions to offer a community training.

0:06:12
Our guest this time, Donna Bielefield, she’s with the Prevention Department of McCall Behavioral Health Network, and she coordinates the mental health awareness trainings including QPR, which is question, persuade, refer. So that is a process that that wisdom is imparted during the training. How long does the training take? Is it a one-day session or several days?

0:06:32
QPR is an hour-long session. Okay. And it can go a little bit longer, especially if it gets personal for some folks. Yeah. We do recommend that folks not take that training if they have recently lost someone by suicide. We want to get the information to you, but if it’s something new, we want to give you a chance to heal and have some calmness in your life, hopefully, before you come to take that.

0:07:00
Be emotionally in the right place.

0:07:03
Yes, exactly.

0:07:04
Final message, if there’s someone out there who’s worried about a loved one or somebody who’s worried about or someone who is maybe in this difficult place where they’re contemplating suicide, just a message for them in this very important month.

0:07:15
Message would be if you’re really that worried call 988. 988 is the key number for people who are considering taking their lives. Are you worried about someone? It deals with vets. It will help you find support for LGBTQ, for youth. So I always recommend go right to 988.

0:07:40
And finally, a number for McCall Behavioral Health Network. Of course, the website is mccallbhn.org, but all that information is there, too.

0:07:48
It is. Absolutely. We have our own little section on the McCall website, so definitely let us know and we will come out and give you a hand.

0:07:55
Donna, thanks for being our guest, and we hope that if there’s folks out there that need to hear this, that they hear and they act on it.

0:08:02
Thank you.

0:08:03
I appreciate it. With that, coming up on 8:30, we’ll go ahead and head straight to the newsroom, get your bottom hour update. bottom hour update. Good morning, Jeff.

0:00:00
All right, L-E-T-S-G-O. All right, it’s always fun to have a newbie in the studio. And usually this would be a thing that Dale would do, doing this lovely interview, our 8:20 interview. Once a month we get a visit from our friends over at McCall, the behavioral health group, and Kyle joins us this morning. Hi, Kyle!

0:00:40
Howdy.

0:00:40
So Kyle has not done this radio thing before, so he was a little bit nervous, and I did mention that we might sing and dance on the radio. You’re for it. But really, nothing to worry about. All right, I’m kidding.

0:00:51
Kyle Fitzmaurice is here and he is with McCall. He’s the Community Engagement Specialist over at McCall, which is a big long name. It is quite a long name. And what is it exactly does the Community Engagement Specialist do, Kyle?

0:01:10
So we work under CLEAR, which is Community Law Enforcement Addiction Recovery. So basically I work in collaboration with our police partners. My team and I respond to overdoses or other medical events similar to that. And we work with folks who are at risk for similar events to that. So a lot of it is outreach, connecting with folks.

0:01:27
So do you get called by the police to come or are you with them or how does that work?

0:01:33
So 12 to 24 hours after some sort of medical event or after the police meet somebody who’s at risk, they’ll kind of bring me in.

0:01:39
Got it.

0:01:40
Yeah. So fascinating. And such an important part of law enforcement and addiction services, right? To get folks that are struggling with addiction, not only, I mean, obviously, they have their troubles with the law, but really to get with somebody that can help them with their addiction.

0:01:59
Absolutely. I think for so long, we’ve kind of only looked and treated addiction with penalizing it. Right. I think for right now we’re trying to take this new step in another direction about support and connection. And it’s been really, really wonderful.

0:02:11
We’ve seen some awesome results from it.

0:02:13
And Kyle’s a local guy. You grew up in Torrington. I did. And how nice that you’re still here in our community making a difference. You know, it’s hard for us parents to keep our kids here. So thank you for that.

0:02:29
All right, so you have a big event coming up with McCall. So let’s talk about that. It’s Overdose Awareness Day. Is that like a national thing?

0:02:38
It is. It’s a national holiday. The actual holiday is on the 31st, but the Litchfield County Opiate Task Force, so it’s not just McCall, is hosting this big event on the 28th this year at Coe Park, 530 to 8. In its overdose awareness, it’s a vigil and it’s a resource fair. So we’re gonna start around 530 with the resource fair and then around seven when it gets dark out, we do a candlelight vigil.

0:03:04
So I think, you know, starting in this work, I don’t have lived experience. I’m not in recovery myself. And I remember thinking when I first started, like, is this an event that I should be going to? You know?

0:03:14
And this event, like, after going to it, it is all about connection and support, and it’s honoring people that we’ve lost from overdose. And also offering a space where people can connect who are still here.

0:03:29
You know, addiction, substance use, overdose, it’s all stuff that’s so taboo and it’s talked about only behind closed doors. And we need to normalize the conversation if we’re going to have any positive change. And that starts with family members, it starts with friends, and that goes a long way.

0:03:43
I think, too, you know, give me a, raise your hand if you have not been in contact or connected with somebody. We all know somebody. Right? We all know somebody. Absolutely.

0:03:57
And whether or not they have had the unfortunate problem of an overdose or just have an addiction issue. Everybody has had some sort of a connection with that. So important. Absolutely. So the other thing about this, so we have a vigil, so we can honor those that we’ve lost, but also the resource fair, I think is such a great idea as well.

0:04:21
You know, I for one, I don’t know how to use Narcan.

0:04:23
I’d love to teach you before we go.

0:04:25
There you go, right? I mean, again, I know that so many places now, it’s available. Yeah, totally.

0:04:31
And it’s available, it’s legal. If you go through McCall or Litchfield County Opiate Task Force, it’s free, or you can buy it over the counter at most pharmacies. And, you know, I think there’s this common misconception that it’s either not legal or it’s unsafe, and it’s super, super safe to use. Everybody should carry it in their first aid kit, in their cars or wherever else. I think the more access we have to it, the less people we’re going to see, we lose from it.

0:04:55
Right. Can you be hurt by it? Like in other words? No, not at all. If I don’t know that you’ve OD’d, but I maybe think that maybe you have, but I don’t know.

0:05:03
I could Narcan myself right now. Yes. It’s not going to do anything.

0:05:07
Okay. Yep.

0:05:09
But that is the lifesaver.

0:05:10
It is. Right? Absolutely. Narcan is like the company name. It’s actually Naloxone. That’s like the pharmaceutical name so sometimes people get confused you know to hear the different names so those are the two.

0:05:18
And it’s not just a it’s a I think back in the day used to be just a shot but not anymore right?

0:05:22
It’s a nasal spray now yeah yeah we’re super easy it’s just like a Afrin or anything else you put it up their nose and you hit the button. So you do suggest that we keep it hand yeah absolutely never know. Right and I think we you know we all have this image of what a person who might be using substances looks like and it’s never correct. It’s so often that we have this person, you know, because I respond to these overdoses and I’m meeting people who, some of them are businessmen, some of them are in these beautiful homes and some of them are not. And addiction touches everybody. So we have to be prepared for that when it happens.

0:05:54
So it’s such a good point too, right? Because we can be fooled. Actually we’re fooled all the time.

0:06:00
It’s a human thing, a human condition to have biases and I think we have to talk about them if we’re going to handle them appropriately.

0:06:08
Such a great point. Now, why are people overdosing? I mean, if you open the newspaper, listen to the radio, I mean, Matthew Perry was another good example. It’s horrible and it’s so heartbreaking. It really is. So what is happening? Is it the strength of the substances that they’re using? Is it just despair and all of the above?

0:06:32
It’s such a nuanced question. I think a lot of it can be person-dependent.

0:06:35
Look at me with a nuanced question for Kyle.

0:06:38
But I think there are very common threads. And those common threads are, one, our drug supply right now on the street is unregulated and it’s unsafe. And two, people are using alone because of the stigma around substance use. People don’t want to talk about the fact that they use drugs. They don’t feel comfortable to admit to the fact that they use drugs and because of that they use behind closed doors and they’re more likely to pass away because of it.

0:06:58
But there’s so much that we can do to combat that. You know, as people who maybe don’t use drugs but care, one is carrying a naloxone, but two is like be open-minded and non-judgmental. When we lead with empathy, like so much can happen. You know, it’s hard to know what to do or what to say. Not everybody’s a therapist, right? But when we can lead and show that we care, I think that’s a step in the right direction for sure.

0:07:23
Absolutely. Anytime you can be supportive and be there for somebody, life is a lot easier when you’re going through it with somebody next to you.

0:07:31
That’s right.

0:07:32
On whatever level.

0:07:33
Absolutely. Right? And we don’t have to understand to be empathetic. I’ve never been in those shoes, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care.

0:07:41
Exactly. Good point. All right, so the time goes so quickly, friend. So, okay, this event, the vigil, everyone is welcome to join. You don’t have to necessarily have the direct connection, but if you do for sure, I think you’ll find that this is a supportive thing. Yes.

0:07:57
Just give us the quick details on the event again.

0:07:59
It’s going to be August 29th, 5:30 to 8:00. We’re going to have the resource fair and then the candlelight vigil. We should have about 17 or 18 folks who are going to be there as providers. And it’s not just for people who use substances, you know, it’s family members, it’s loved ones, like we’re not, you’re not alone in this. And I think it’s important to get care for yourself too.

0:08:16
We are so lucky to have the McCall Behavioral Health Group in our midst. Folks like Kyle and Maria and everybody that comes in through these doors. You make a huge difference in our community. We thank you and we encourage you to join in the vigil or the resource fair on the 29th.

0:08:38
Oh, one more plug. If people are looking for Naloxone, you can call McCall at 860-496-2100. Ask for clear. I can train you in two minutes and it’s free.

0:08:47
Boom, good job. All right, you guys, Kyle’s first on-air experience. I think he did okay, don’t you? I think so. I hope so. Thanks, Kyle.

0:08:57
Come back again. It’s already 8.30 and time to go back to the newsroom.

2

0:00 Checking the calendar, it’s the third Wednesday of the month. And that’s when we catch up with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. We want to welcome back to the program someone who’s been part of our guest group before, Alicia Peterson, who is a Family Recovery coach at McCall. Welcome back to the show, Alicia.

1

0:31Thank you.

2

0:32 Thanks for joining us. A couple of things we wanted to talk about. Wanted to talk about your work as a Family Recovery Coach, and also an event coming up next week called the second annual Trails to Wellness. Yes.

2

0:46 You’ve been with McCall now for a couple of years, right?

1

0:49 I have. A little over two years in June. Okay, and you were a client before that? Oh yes, I have eight years of continuous sobriety, which July 13th, and before that I was with McCall’s for probably four years.

2

1:08 Well congratulations. Thank you. And great work on that, and so glad McCall could be part of that solution for you. Tell us about your work as a Family Recovery Coach. What do you

1

1:21 do here in working with families? I meet with family members who are struggling with navigating a relationship with someone who is either currently using substances or has stopped using substances or isn’t ready for change. And I teach them a little bit about the psychoeducation behind substance use disorder and mental health conditions, the stages of change and what those look like.

1

1:52 Right. I teach them about effective communication, which could help their loved one gain some motivation towards wanting to make a change. And I also help them create self-care and wellness plans for their own recovery, because as we all know, substance use disorder is a family condition.

1

2:14 It affects everyone in its wake. So, I think it’s important for families to know that it’s just as important for them to get well as it is for their loved one. And it’s not a straight line, is it?

2

2:27 Absolutely not.

1

2:28 No, it’s different for everyone. Recovery in itself is very individual.

2

2:35 So one of the things I imagine that you have to be on your A game all the time when you’ve got a family member who is battling this is making sure that you’ve got the strength to be at your best.

1

2:50 Absolutely. You can’t pour from an empty cup.

2

2:53 So self-care.

1

2:54 Yes, yes. Which is what our event, Trails to Wellness, is all about. We think it’s so important to introduce people in the community to the different wellness techniques and organizations that are within our community. And that’s what the event is all about and people have a chance to try things out hands-on and if they decide that is something they want to incorporate in their usual routine then they can

1

3:23 And they can also work with me to create to help look into different options now

2

3:30 This is going to be going on Thursday afternoon into the evening right in downtown, Torrington

1

3:36 Yes, Franklin Square this year.

2

3:39 Okay, well used space down there.

1

3:42 I love it.

2

3:43 So what are people going to find if they go down there? What kinds of activities, what kinds of options might be open for them?

1

3:50 Okay, so Trails to Wellness is self-care and the many pathways to recovery. So, it’s not just for people who have substance use or mental health conditions. It is for anyone in the community who would like, even children, who would like to, you know, just come down and do some fun

1

4:09 things. We have a community canvas painting. We have mandala paintings. We have aromatherapy. We have gardening. A nutrition person. We have tarot card readings, crystals, a life coach, yoga, you name it, it’s there.

2

4:32So you can talk to these folks, find out if maybe some of these things might help you in your own self-care. Absolutely.

1

4:38 Yeah.

2

4:39 Yeah. And that’s going to be going on Thursday, July 25th, going on from 4 to 7 down at Franklin Square. In your own situation, being at your best, important for your work and in your personal life as you’ve been through a little something in your family just shortly ago and still are

1

4:58 really but have turned something of a corner. Yes, back in March of March 5th my daughter turned 12 years old, and she told me her neck hurt and I looked at it and being a cancer survivor myself, I knew that something just wasn’t okay. So, we began with the going to doctors and I was advocating for her and pushing for them, no, we’re not going to just watch this,

1

5:27 she needs care right now. And we found out that she had stage two Hodgkin’s lymphoma and she’s been going through chemotherapy ever since. We found out last week that she will be in remission at the end of the month.

2

5:47 Wonderful.

1

5:48 Yes. Wonderful. But taking care of myself throughout this whole thing has been so important.

3

5:55 And your advocacy for her health. Oh, yes.

2

5:59 Which transfers to your work. Absolutely. If you’re a family member of someone who is

1

6:04 battling substance, your advocacy. Yes, it’s so important. Without that, we probably would have been in a worse situation. So, it is so important to learn to advocate for yourself and taking care of yourself allows you to do that.

2

6:22 Our guest this morning, if you’re just joining us. Alicia Peterson is a family recovery coach with the McCall Behavioral Health Network. Her event, Trails to Wellness, is going on just over a week from now, Thursday, July 25th in downtown Torrington. We’ve got about a minute to sum up. Let’s talk about your work and if there’s someone who’s got a family member that is dealing with substance and they’re trying to stay in the fight with them.

1

6:51 Some final words of encouragement for them. Take care of yourself. If there is any ever a time that you feel overwhelmed, I’d be more than happy to walk alongside you and help connect you to different resources in the area and just walk with you through the journey. I can be reached at 860-496-2100 anytime if we could help.

2

7:21 Thanks for being our guest and for sharing the story about your daughter. We are glad that she has turned a happier corner health-wise. We hope for full and complete recovery and no more of this cancer stuff for her so she can enjoy her life.

1

7:36 Thank you very much.

2

7:37 Alicia, thanks for being our guest.

1

7:39 Thank you for having me.

2

7:40 With that, we’ll head back to the newsroom.

2

0:00

At 97.3 WZBG, third Wednesday of the month. A regular visit with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. This time, Executive Director Maria Coutant Skinner is our guest. Maria, good morning. Good morning. Welcome to the show.

2

0:21

Great to be here. Thanks for joining us. Looking at the calendar, this is Pride Month. Looking at the calendar, this is also Juneteenth. So at the intersection of those two big events, it’s kind of going to be our topic here this morning.

2

0:36

So our topic really, because McCall helps folks meet challenges, and there are unique challenges to the groups that are in our focus today between Juneteenth and also Pride Month. So let’s talk about, of course, the luck of having you in here on a day when we have both Juneteenth and Pride Month, and really the intersection of those two important events.

1

0:59

Right. Thank you. It is a really special day, and I think we look at the intersectionality between Pride, which celebrates all of the progress that the LGBTQ community has made in terms of asserting human rights and celebrating what it means to be part of that community. And certainly, Juneteenth is a really important day and moment in our history to commemorate where finally the Emancipation Proclamation made it to Texas and the freedom finally for slaves was celebrated and recognized.

1

1:41

And there is a lot of intersectionality there, and there’s also, we have to look at what it means in communities where particular folks are marginalized and oppressed, and that all has to be part of the story. It has to be what we look at in our history, and how that all connects to a sense of community and belonging today.

2

2:05

So when we talk about Pride Month, it sounds as much like an aspiration as a celebration, and that is the challenge for these folks. And that gets into the whole thing of belonging, being part of this fabric of America.

1

2:18

I love the way you said that, because I think it is both inspirational and aspirational. I think as far as we’ve come, there’s certainly a lot of work to do. I also recognize I am a white, straight woman here talking about Juneteenth and pride. I want to make sure that I have a very humble posture in what I’m saying.

2

2:44

That world of privilege we live in.

1

2:45

Absolutely. And also, I think, you know, there is privilege, there is power, and we have to recognize that and know that there is work to be done in an ally role. And recognizing that. And that doesn’t mean, like, nobody’s stepping in front of me in line to get any kind of benefit or, you know, kind of a month or a day.

1

3:13

That’s not taking anything away from me. And so it’s important for me to recognize that and also look for ways that I can move that conversation forward.

2

3:23

And so I’m so glad you and I are talking about it today. When we talk about moving the conversation forward, that lack of knowledge of these communities I think holds us back. Because on the one hand, if you’re trying to bridge the gap and trying to understand, you’re afraid of coming off, at least in my own personal case,

2

3:43

you’re afraid of coming off as being insulting or insensitive because of the lack of knowledge. And we also, we’re living in a time of cultural and social polarization. It started off political, it’s dribbled down to our social fabric as well.

1

3:58

And I think that makes the challenge even more daunting. I think it is, and it also is an opening for us to have conversations and I think especially if we belong to a group where historically there has been privilege and power that we have work to do. That that is incumbent upon us to do that research to understand where that privilege is and what we can do.

1

4:20

Because if we really want to build a community that is inclusive and that is promoting health and wellness and belonging for all, then people who have traditionally been in positions of power and privilege really have to do that work and communicate that sense of belonging and community to one another, and especially to populations that have traditionally been oppressed. For that latter population, what do they need to bring to the table? For our population, those of us who are in those positions of power and privilege,

2

4:52

what’s our leading role in bridging this gap?

1

4:55

Yeah, so I think it is like, it’s really kind of basic. I think not only kind of making sure we’re doing our homework and getting informed, but there’s also ways that we can communicate belonging in a million little ways. So I think it’s invitations to sit down, to have conversations. And I think we also have to recognize that is a basic human right and a human need to feel connected.

1

5:23

And when we don’t, when we feel lonely, when we feel isolated, there are major consequences to that. I think we’ve talked a lot about the consequences to our mental health, where there’s anxiety and depression, and there’s a straight line from feeling lonely to having all of those other mental health consequences.

1

5:43

There’s also physical health consequences. And I would encourage folks to look at the Surgeon General’s report on the impact of loneliness because we’re also talking about heart disease. We’re talking about dementia. We’re talking about premature death. So this is really serious.

1

5:58

And it is incumbent upon all of us to do that work, to communicate belonging to one another.

2

6:05

There have been some studies, and I’ll keep this part of it brief, but there have been some studies that show over 60% of us are suffering from some degree of loneliness, that we don’t have enough human connection. And ultimately, as we talk about the groups that we’re highlighting today for Juneteenth and for Pride Month, it is that connectedness, that feeling of belonging that we have to try to restore.

1

6:26

Absolutely. I think it is part of the human condition. You can be in a crowd or even with one other person and still feel lonely. Or you can be alone and not. So what is it? Where do we find that connectedness?

1

6:42

I think when there is representation, I will give a quick example. I will give two quick examples. One was a work function. It was a bunch of colleagues from a bunch of other organizations. I was at, it was a business lunch, and people were kind of milling about, and I was a really shy kid. I didn’t know where I belonged, and so I’m now 55, and those kinds of feelings can come back up for me really bad. So everybody sat down.

1

7:17

It felt like everybody else knew where they belonged, and they sat next to somebody, and they were talking. I didn’t know anybody, and I looked around, and it was that lunchroom feeling that I had, like, in middle school, like, oh, my God, where do I go? Who do I sit with?

1

7:28

And there was this woman named Sam Quinlan who said, Maria, you can sit right next to me, and I can, to this moment, recall that feeling in my body where do I go, where do I belong to, now I’ve got an invitation and I feel like I can belong and that is relief.

1

7:46

That was a tiny example. There’s much bigger, much more profound examples of both feeling a part of and then feeling part of. And we all can make that kind of an invitation to say, come, I see you, sit next to me.

2

8:04

Our guest this morning, Maria Coutant Skinner, executive director at McCall Behavioral Health Network, great example of something that’s a fleeting moment, but for these groups we’re talking about today, it’s a day-to-day reality in many ways.

1

8:16

That’s right.

2

8:17

So really powerful stuff.

1

8:18

So a rainbow flag is that same kind of invitation, I see you, you belong here. Representation, so at McCall, we have clinicians, we have therapists, we have staff, we have peers that are representative of everybody in our community. So when you walk into a space and you feel like there’s somebody who can, who looks like you or can relate to your life

1

8:41

experiences, or who is being intentional, even if I don’t have the same exact experience, but I’m going to be intentional about communicating that I see you and you belong here, that matters. That same sense of relief, like I feel seen, I can feel comfortable, I can feel safe, that is a great foundation for healing and positive mental health experiences.

2

9:05

Maria, great to have you as our guest this morning as always.

1

9:08

Delightful, thank you.

2

9:09

Once a month we get to chat with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network health network right here on 97.3 WZBG and you can find them of course online health network right here on 97.3 WZBG and you can find them of course online

1

9:18

mccallbhn.org. Have a wonderful rest of the day. Thank you, Maria. Thank you.

If you want to learn more check out an interview with Dr. Kat Moskowitz on being an ally to the LGBTQ+ community.

2
0:00:00
The third Wednesday in May came a little bit early this year because May 1st was a Wednesday. So the third Wednesday we get a visit with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network and today we want to welcome back John Fecteau. He is Director of Mental Health. John, welcome back.

1
0:00:24
Thanks for having me.

2
0:00:25
Thanks for joining us on the program. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the theme this year is “Take the Moment” to try to destigmatize mental health by normalizing the practice. You know I feel like every time we think about mental health we’re looking through the lens of the experience of the recent pandemic because in so many ways that put mental

1
0:00:48
health into stark relief, don’t you think? It did, it did. It definitely brought it to the forefront and I think it got a lot more people talking about it as just a regular conversation during the day, which is very different than it was prior to the pandemic.

2
0:01:02
Well, I think all of us had some kind of mental health challenge during that time. So maybe that helps us realize the folks for whom it’s a chronic or more severe problem gives us a little inkling of what they’re dealing with. It does, it does. It gives you a little bit a little bit more empathy for folks that have been struggling with this for a

2
0:01:23
long time. The statistics show we’re looking at one in five U.S. adults experiencing a mental health issue nationally.

1
0:01:34
It’s a big number. It’s about you know 20 percent, give or take, maybe a little more, that experiences some degree of amental health challenge. And among that group, only about half actually get help. And for that half that gets help, you know, there’s another sort of striking statistic it usually takes 10 or 11 years for someone who first starts to experience symptoms to the point where they actually get treatment, which is a long time. And it explains a lot of addictions,

1
0:02:12
and it explains so much, but it just goes to show you that if you’re standing in a large room and you look at 20% of those people and only half of that is getting the help that they need. It’s pretty scary.

2
0:02:26
You get a lot of it, seems like it’s sporadic, but with government, be it state government, be it federal government, every now and then, mental health issues will crop up and it becomes a priority or there’s proposed new funding or something like that. And then it goes away again,

2
0:02:43
and we just don’t see as much of it. And as we know from mental health and the struggle with it, this is not something that is done in a short burst of time. This is something that requires a long-term investment of resources and patience.

1
0:03:00
It does. Some of the reasons why people don’t actually get help is a stigma, but also the cost of it, the access to it, and just misunderstanding about what’s available for treatment out there. And plenty of people struggle with a loved one that has a mental illness and they don’t

1
0:03:21
know what to do. Because still, even though we’ve come a long way, there’s still quite a bit of stigma around it. And you have to look at getting treatment and getting help for mental health conditions is definitely a marathon, not a sprint.

2
0:03:35
It’s funny how the common culture sometimes can raise awareness, like Elmo saying, how’s everybody doing? And suddenly the whole nation’s listening. You know, I mean, it’s a good thing. You know, you get a simple, fuzzy character, popular character like Elmo asking

2
0:03:49
about how everybody’s mental health is doing. So when we talk about a loved one that we know is battling, how can we help?

3
0:03:57
What can we do?

1
0:03:59
Well, I think the first two things that you always have to take into consideration is that it’s a process. You have to both be patient, which is sometimes really hard to do when you’re watching somebody struggle, but also be mindful of your own mental health needs and support during that period. Change is a process. No matter what you’re trying to change if you’re trying to quit smoking or lose weight, it’s a

1
0:04:27
process to get you there. And, you know, generally speaking, the system, our mental health system, has made such advances over the years in how we approach change. We see it as a process now. There’s these things called stages of change, right, where, you know, they go from a pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. And each one of those is a distinct part of somebody’s change process. And so it goes from not recognizing that I have an issue at all to maybe there’s something

1
0:05:00
going on to there is something going on but I don’t know what to do about it to now I’m getting help and then in maintenance you’re maintaining those gains. But helping somebody through that process can be really sticky. And so you always have to make sure that you A, keep up hope because at the end of that, there is recovery as possible. And also that there’s other resources out there to help support you through that as

1
0:05:23
a family member and as an individual suffering with mental health conditions.

2
0:05:27
And don’t you have to meet them where they are? Like you said, those components along the way, whatever stage they’re in, they might be in that stage of realizing, I have a problem, but I don’t know what to do about it. That could go on for months, depending upon the person.

1
0:05:40
Oh, it could go on for years.

2
0:05:41
And you’ve got to hang in there with them.

1
0:05:42
You do. And as treatment providers, that’s one of the things we do, is if I try to treat somebody as if they’re in an action stage of change, but they’re in a pre-contemplative stage of change, I’m just going to push them away,

1
0:05:53
because they’re not ready to hear that. So I have to meet them where they’re at. And when you look at Motivational Interviewing, which is, again, a staple of our treatment process now, is it’s about not pushing from behind or pulling from the front.

1
0:06:05
It’s about sort of walking side by side with the person at their pace at that time.

2
0:06:09
If you’re just joining us, John Fecteau is our guest this morning. We’re talking about May Mental Health Awareness Month. John, the Director of Mental Health for the McCall Behavioral Health Network. So let’s talk about some of the tools, resources

2
0:06:21
that McCall’s got that can bring to bear because you guys have a lot of tools in the box that can meet people where they are. Yes, we do. And we have embedded, as our whole service system has gone from more of an illness-based model to more of a recovery-based model, our services have embedded APRNs that work with folks around medication management, to our outpatient, intensive outpatient, our outreach programs, and our mental health group homes.

2
0:06:59
We have one in Torrington and two in Waterbury that really focus on independent skill building

1
0:07:05
to move people from, say, a hospital setting back to a more independent setting.

2
0:07:10
So we shine a light on mental health this month of May, but this of course is an annual problem. It goes on year after year every month of the year and we thank you folks at McCall for what you bring to bear to help people deal with it and to get to the best part of their

1
0:07:25
lives. Thank you and if you’re looking for services you can you know reach out to McCall at 860-496-2100 even to ask some questions about what to do and you can also find us on the website at our website at McCall Behavioral Health Network and NAMI-CT is a great resource too for family support and education around this this issue.

2
0:07:50
John Fecteau is director of mental health for McCall Behavioral Health Network. John, thank you for your time and for all the great work you guys do down at McCall.

1
0:07:56
Thank you for having us. We’ll see you next time. Bye. Thank you for having us. We’ll see you next time. Bye.

0:00:00
8:22 FM 97.3 WZBG. Springtime brings a lot of annual events. In this case, it’s a semi-annual event, and we’re taking a different approach with our friends from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. We want to welcome to the microphone this morning from McCall, Chelsea Kapitancek and Joshua Licursi. They’re both prevention facilitators and today’s topic, Drug Take Back Day. Good morning to you both. Good morning. Thanks for having us.

0:00:35
Thank you both for joining us. So as prevention facilitators, you guys are out there spreading the word, so let’s talk about drug take back. We’ve been talking about it here at the radio station, but we really can’t remind people about this enough.

0:00:46
Let’s set it up. What’s it all about? Sure, so National Drug Take-Back Day is for prescription medications and it happens twice a year usually the last Saturday of April and the last Saturday of October and it really serves as a big reminder for people to clean out your medicine cabinets, find any unused, expired, or unwanted medications and visit your local collection site. You could drop them off, it’s completely anonymous and then we’ll dispose of them.

0:01:10
So this Chelsea just to add to it, this kind of goes hand in hand, really, with part of the mission of what McCall’s all about.

0:01:19
Absolutely. So, you know, the saying, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So that’s a big thing with Drug Take Back Day. It’s a great way to start that spring cleaning and really do something great for your community. It’s a really great community-driven initiative with participation from a bunch of different organizations and community members, which is really key for sustainability, which is what we’re all about.

0:01:42
So Josh, you’re part of the Torrington Awareness Prevention Partnership, while Chelsea, I’ve got on your titilization, Northwest Corner Prevention Network. Let’s talk about that collaboration and how we get the word out, Josh.

0:01:54
Yeah, so McCall houses a couple coalitions. So yeah, I work in Torrington and then Chelsea in the Northwest Corner. And so my coalition we’re serving strictly Torrington residents and but both of our missions are the same of reducing substance use primarily focusing on youth and we help coordinate this event with a lot of other local organizations so the Torrington Health District we also have the local police department and this is usually across the board throughout the state this community collaboration for this event. And really, prevention is the focus, and so we’re preventing having medications get in the hands of children or people that shouldn’t be using those medications. Really, the prescriptions that are assigned to you are just for you, and so by able to clear out your cabinet and safely disposing of them, you can keep other people out of harm’s way and ultimately accidental ingestion or accidental overdose.

0:02:47
And Chelsea, for your part, it seems like you’ve got more geography to cover.

0:02:50
A lot more geography to cover, but that’s okay. So the Northwest Corner Prevention Network covers the six towns that make up the Region 1 school district. So we’ve got Canaan, North Canaan Falls Village. We have Sharon, Kent, Cornwall, and Salisbury. So a lot of geographic area. But the coalition work is great because it really offers us the opportunity to offer those targeted prevention services within different geographic areas so we’re able to be more intentional and really bring our best to each area.

0:03:20
Part of the problem with medications is they tend to be relatively small. We tend to put them in a cabinet and close the door and then it’s an out of sight out of mind thing. And it’s a little bit like when you find old food in your refrigerator you’re like oh my gosh this has been outdated for a long time. So let’s talk about why it’s important to safely dispose of these medications. And we already talked about risk with children and everything, but it really goes a little wider than that, doesn’t it?

0:03:44
It really does. So the goal is to reduce access, which is a huge part in prevention, because by reducing that access, we’re reducing all sorts of things, including, like Josh said, those accidental overdoses, accidental ingestion. But also properly disposing of medication is really great for the environment. Just flushing medication down a toilet or throwing it in the trash is really not great for the waterways or soil. So part of this initiative is also looking out for our environment and our community at large.

0:04:14
It’s always amazing to me how drugs show up in a water supply or show up in septic waste and the like because really the amount of volume of it is amazing. So for people who have not taken part in a drug take-back day, let’s talk about what they can expect at collection points.

0:04:31
Sure. So what you’ll do is you’ll clean out your medicine cabinets, you’ll box up your items, you’ll bring them to a location near you. You can actually go on DEA.gov slash take-back day to find your local collection site. And with McCall, our affiliated locations, we’re going to be in Torrington, Waterbury, Danbury. I’ll be at Troop B Barracks in Canaan for the Northwest Corner Prevention Network. We’ll also be in Harwinton, but there’s more than just those locations if you just look online on that website. And we’ll also offer some additional prevention resources and other goodies at select sites, so definitely check it out. And our nation is definitely just a wash in pharmaceuticals.

0:05:07
Let’s talk about kinds of things that are accepted, Josh.

0:05:15
Yeah, great question. So you can bring any kind of prescription pills, patches, and liquids as long as they’re tightly sealed in the original containers. You can also bring any vet prescriptions as well that are not being used. Some things you can’t bring though, no aerosol containers, no syringes, illicit drugs, or equipment with lithium batteries.

0:05:34
One of the things I remember about this too is this is a no questions asked event. Yes. We’re not interested in how you got whatever medication or what you’re using it for. We just want to get it safely disposed of. Yeah. So that’s that is key to all of this. And when we talk about two safe storage options and ways to get rid of things, I’d never heard of Deterra. Yeah. Yeah, that’s a new one to me so explain what that’s about.

0:06:05
Yeah, Deterra is wonderful. We’re big fans of it here at the McCall Prevention Department. So what it is, it’s like a little bag that’s filled with this activated charcoal and what you do is you just open the bag, you fill it with warm water on the back of the bag it has clear instructions of how many pills or how many patches or how much liquid can go in there. You put the medication in the open bag, you fill it with warm water, you seal it, you shake it up and you throw it away.

0:06:29
So that way any medication that’s in there is going to be deactivated first of all, so no one’s able to access it after it goes in the deterra. And it’s sealed, so any medication that’s in there isn’t going to get into the trash and therefore the waterways and soil. So we get rid of that medication, no one can access it that’s not meant to access it, and our environment is a little bit better off.

0:06:48
All right, yeah, that’s a great method. And while Drug Take Back Day only occurs twice per year, we do know that several locations, like Torrington Police Department, they have a drop box for outdated medications 24-7-365.

0:07:04
Yeah, same deal. You can go any time, in Torrington specifically, and you can drop off your medications completely anonymous. You can just walk in, walk out. And we know this is an initiative that a lot of towns across the state and across the country are trying to enact. So you can also just look up to see where your local collection site is for that year-round drop-off.

0:07:20
Our guests this morning, if you’re joining us, Josh Licursi, Chelsea Kapitancek, joining us are prevention facilitators from McCall Behavioral and Health Network.

0:07:32
You had something you wanted to add? Yeah, I just wanted to add that people can look up their specific location for those drop boxes. It’s on ct.gov under the Department of Consumer Protection’s page. It has a little map so it’s really user-friendly and an easy way to just see on any other day other than this the last Saturday of April and October if you wanted to bring your medication to a drop box you can find that out.

0:07:53
Well I know there’s a lot of health and law enforcement organizations and this is a huge collaboration and a national effort so you know thanks McCall BHN for everything that you guys are doing to help get this done.

0:08:04
Absolutely, thank you. Thanks for having us and letting us share the word.

0:08:07
We appreciate your time this morning. You guys have a great day and great success for Drug Take Back Day coming up real soon. Thank you both. and great success for Drug Take Back Day coming up real soon. Thank you both. Thanks, Dale. All right, with that we’ll head back to the newsroom. Hey there, Jeff.

0:00:00
8:22 here at FM 97.3 WZBG. Third Wednesday of every month. We visit with folks from McCall Behavioral Health Network. And this time we’re connecting with Carissa D’Amico on the live line. Carissa, good morning. Thanks for joining us.

0:00:17
Good morning, Dale. Thanks so much for having me on.

0:00:20
So Carissa is a social worker, and she’s got advanced certifications in gambling addictions. And we’re going to talk about that this morning. You know, there’s so many ways to gamble now. And it seems like it just keeps getting broader and broader. And where people used to have to go to casinos, now you can do casino gambling on your phone. I mean, there’s just so much.

0:00:47
So problem gambling prevention, it’s time to share some tips this morning. So I imagine that that has made your job considerably busier with all the different ways in which people can gamble and maybe get addicted to it.

0:00:58
It has.

0:00:59
We have a bunch of different people from a bunch of different backgrounds that we didn’t have before gambling went on the internet. Right. But gambling can be a fun leisure activity. In order to do that, we do have tips for responsible gambling. Things like setting limits on how much time and money you spend gambling, avoid chasing losses, meaning avoid gambling more to regain the money you might have lost, avoiding gambling while under the influence, taking breaks from gambling, and staying educated about the risks associated with gambling like financial, mental health, relationships, legal problems, work, health, and things like that.

0:01:42
There’s a lot of advice out there now. I mean, even to their credit, gambling houses or organizations or apps that provide gambling, they do have websites or apps or information to try to keep you from getting into trouble. And that’s all to the good. And I guess the idea here is, the key word here is prevention. So let’s talk about some of those signs that gambling may be coming a problem.

0:02:15
Yeah, if you’re thinking about gambling or you have a preoccupation with gambling, planning your next gambling event, it might be a problem. If you’re experiencing urges to gamble or lying about gambling, if you have debts from gambling, if you’re borrowing money to gamble or neglecting your responsibilities at work, school, family. And it can also increase mood swings. to get, increase your anxiety or your irritability, then it might be a problem. Right. I would imagine one of the most heartbreaking aspects is, again, when you start neglecting responsibilities, when it starts showing up at work, when it starts showing up, you know, in relationships with your family members and your loved ones, when it gets in the way of that, that is a huge red flag.

0:02:57
And that’s when things can get tragic because it it goes well outside Just the person who is who is dealing with this addiction and brings a lot more people into the problem

0:03:27
Yeah gambling is a really big problem It’s getting more popular and people just aren’t as educated about it as is needed since all the changes to how you could gamble. But if you are experiencing an issue related to gambling, help is available. We at McCaw have clinicians who specialize in treating problem gambling. You can also reach out to the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling and there’s a 24-hour problem gambling helpline and there’s also peer support groups like Gamblers Anonymous.

0:04:04
If you’re joining us this morning, Carissa D’Amico is our guest. She’s with the McCall Behavioral Health Network, works out of their Waterbury Clinic. We’re talking about gambling addictions this morning. So when we when we talk about being able to help folks who are dealing with gambling, what’s in the toolbox for McCall? What are some of the things you can bring to bear that can help turn that situation around?

0:04:26
Yeah, so I can share a little story about someone who came in for treatment. So an individual came to treatment because their partner was pushing them in, and when they came to treatment, they had a vague idea of how gambling was impacting their marriage but not their life. So they decided they might want to cut down on the frequency that they were gambling. So when we worked together, we were able to kind of look at all the areas that it might be impacting, which increases person’s desire to cut back.

0:05:07
And when we used some of these tools, like creating a budget to decrease gambling debts or debts related to gambling, when we talked about maybe physically being present for your family, but mentally thinking about either the consequences from gambling or the next time you were going to gamble. They kind of, this kind of really helped them to see that they might be more committed to cutting back. So we were able to create a reasonable budget to pay off the debts associated with gambling. to work together so that the marriage could start to be repaired. And this person saw noticeable differences in their life, especially surrounding anxiety, fear, and the distress that gambling caused throughout their daily living.

0:05:50
So we’re still working on potentially not gambling at all, but a cut down on gambling is a win, so.

0:05:58
So it sounds like in this particular case the individual wasn’t really consciously aware, fully aware of just how deep in they were. And maybe it takes that objective viewpoint and that treatment between a loved one who intervenes and treatment at McCall to say, let’s look at the seriousness of your situation. Let’s look seriously about where you are right now in your life And and how things are going and I guess that’s got to be quite an eye-opener

0:06:31
Absolutely, I mean I feel like we all have behaviors that might affect our lives But we can’t always see them clearly when it’s us so just having somebody else to Go back and forth with talk with and really start to see oh, maybe this is impacting my mental health Maybe this is impacting my health. You know different areas that we wouldn’t generally think about.

0:06:53
Let’s expand on that as we wrap up the show, Carissa. Believe it or not, our time goes very quickly and is wrapping up. Carissa D’Amico is our guest this morning. She’s a social worker with the folks at the McCall Behavioral Health Network with advanced certifications in gambling addictions. In terms of a takeaway, for somebody who may think they may have a gambling problem. Can we leave them with a with a closing thought about how to get towards some help?

0:07:18
Absolutely, you can always call McCall We’re always happy to help and we’re always happy to work with you on what your goals are We’re not going to push you into never gambling again or do something you don’t want to do We’re going to work with you on what your personal goals are So you come to McCall. Like I said, there’s peer support groups. You can call the problem gambling helpline. And yeah.

0:07:44
Great place to start.

0:07:45
All right, Carissa, we certainly appreciate your time.

0:07:47
And as we said, there is so much pressure to gamble now because there’s so many opportunities to do so that we want to keep folks out of trouble. And if they feel like they’re getting into trouble, get them the help that they need. Thanks for your time this morning and have a great day.

0:08:03
Thanks, Dale. You too. All right, take care.

0:08:05
Carissa D’Amico, McCall Behavioral Health Network on this morning’s Carissa D’Amico, McCall Behavioral Health Network on this morning’s edition here on FM 97.3.

0:00:00
Third Wednesday of every month, we get a visit with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. We’d like to welcome back to the show Laura Cummings, and she is the Director of Clinical Supervisor, Director of Adolescent Services at McCall, and she joins us this morning.

0:00:24
Good morning, Laura.

0:00:25
Hi. I’m happy to be here. Thank you. Thanks for joining us.

0:00:32

We’re going to talk about adolescent services, which of course is right in your wheelhouse. And you know, I guess there’s been a program that you’ve been using at McCall now for about a little bit over a year.

0:00:40

Yes, that’s correct. Our adolescent services program, we developed an intensive outpatient program and we’ve now been in existence since September 2022. Why did we feel that we needed this? What was the goal here? Or identifying a need? Yeah, there’s a lot going on with young people and families. Winter can be a really difficult time. You know, the holiday stress is over, it’s cold, school problems are becoming more and more obvious as we go into that second half of the school year. So our IOP program, it’s like I said, it’s been running for over a year, it’s proving successful in helping a lot of our youth and our families navigate their problems.

0:01:18
We do serve ages 13 through 18, as long as the 18-year-old is still in high school. You asked about why we kind of created this intensive outpatient program level of care. A lot of our clients have mental health struggles. There’s depression, there’s anxiety, suicidal thoughts, self-harming behaviors. One statistic, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, their website, 49.5% of adolescents have had a mental health disorder at some point in their lives. That’s a high percentage. Yeah, nearly half. Yeah. There’s also substance use. That’s kind of the other side of what we do.

0:01:56
So a lot of youth struggle with that. Young people come in using marijuana, alcohol, pills, it’s negatively affecting their mental health, their school performance, and their relationships. SAMHSA.gov says, according to SAMHSA’s 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 8.2% of adolescents ages 12 to 17 drank alcohol in the past month. 13.8% of adolescents used illicit drugs in the past year. So again, kind of high percentages and substance use is really out there among this younger population.

0:02:30
At this program being out for just over a year now, did we notice really a surge or a rise post-pandemic? It seems like we’re still toting up the damage from this thing.

0:02:39
Yeah, yeah. So we kind of came into existence, I think that was part of it. Just kind of the after effects from that and young people trying to get over that. It really did affect the young children negatively.

0:02:53
How do young people  get into the program? How are they steered toward McCall?

0:02:58
Yeah, so I’ll give you a little bit of information about our program. We meet for three hours, three afternoons a week. Clients are given skills to improve their current coping with these different types of stressors that we talked about. We teach new ways to change their behaviors, their thinking patterns. That’s kind of the CBT, cognitive behavioral piece, right? The thinking and the behaviors. We teach them how to build up their social support networks. We help them identify alternative healthy coping activities and challenging their thinking patterns. So these are all different skills that we teach.

0:03:33
Because young people learn differently, we also include art in our program. So some people respond better to, you know, artistic creative ways to kind of bring these concepts into their lives. So we do painting, we do clay, sometimes we do games, or we’ve even included yoga to help the youth kind of learn different ways to heal and cope. And again, different people will respond better to different things.

0:04:10
Sometimes we have other agencies and other speakers come in and talk about different topics, like internet We offer snacks and fidget toys. And we also do individual sessions every other week with the young person. We can have family sessions once a month. And that’s a really key component as well because a lot of times the young person and their parent or guardian really needs that kind of to talk and open up and move together as a family. And we do provide medication management as well

0:04:24
I would imagine including the family too so that everybody is really on the same page. Because if you’ve got a child who is struggling, you get them into the program, and in part if they’re struggling because of the situation at home, that whole herd has got to move together if we’re not going to latch back into the same kind of behaviors or practices that got us there in the first place.

0:04:43
Yes, yes. So that’s why the family piece is really, really key. So if I can, I’d like to just say a little bit, kind of to demystify this whole process, how the initial intake process goes for the new families. Sure. So we begin with a triage phone call. So the parent or guardian can call our office and they’ll do a triage over the phone. They just call our main number, which I’ll just say it’s 860-496-2100. Sure. They get some basic information, answer some kind of safety triage questions, and then they schedule an intake with one of our clinicians.

0:05:16
At that intake appointment, we sign consents and releases. We do a drug screen. We collect information about what brings the young person to treatment. And then after we’re kind of done gathering information, we can make up a whole comprehensive biopsychosocial history. Together with the parent, we sit down and we make a recommendation for treatment. We decide how we’re going to move forward with the family.

0:05:42
In addition to our intensive outpatient program, we also offer outpatient level of care, and that level of care is only once a week for an hour. So it’s nice to have that. We can offer both, depending how kind of intense the young person’s problems are at the time. For both levels of care, we create personalized treatment plans with the youth and the family, and that’s how we make sure the goals are appropriate and attainable and they’re important to the youth and the family.

0:06:07
So if there’s a family out there, if there’s a parent that thinks their child may be struggling and they want to contact McCall, I think they’re being able to express in as much detail as possible their concerns or their fears about what their child may be going through is critical to setting up that personalized care.

0:06:24
Yeah, their input is really, really key. We’ll also ask them to complete a caregiver survey, which is just written and kind of reinforces what they tell us. So we definitely need their input as well.

0:06:32
If you’re just joining us, Laura Cummings is clinical supervisor of the Adolescent Services at McCall Behavioral Health Network this morning. We’re talking about their intensive outpatient program for youth ages 13 through 18. Believe it or not, we’re just about out of time on the program. It flies by, right? What’s a practical takeaway that could be most helpful for families in the here and now?

0:06:56
So one thing we’ve been seeing a lot of lately is parents and youth having difficulty talking with each other. We know that family conversations can get tense. And one important thing is for everyone in the family to be able to take space from each other when they need this. So it’s really important that they tune into their own needs enough so they can recognize when they’re starting to feel upset and need to take that space. They also need ways to calm themselves. And that doesn’t mean that these family conversations will never happen. It just means you need space to realize your emotions are spinning out of control.

0:07:29
Take that time to get regulated and then come back together and talk when you’re calm enough to access the thinking part of your brain.

0:07:36
It reminds me of an old adage on the lighter side when families were stuck together during COVID that there was this one particular household they had what they called the hat rule. If there’s a member of the family that’s wearing the hat, they want to be left alone. I like that. Don’t communicate with them just now. Yeah. So I thought it might be a great way for families to communicate or not when that is the key. Yes. Laura, we appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

0:08:04
One more time, if you could give the the mainline phone number for McCall Behavioral Health for any family out there that might want to get in touch.

0:08:06
Yes, sure. It’s 860-496-2100.

0:08:08
We appreciate your time today. Thank you. Laura Cummings is the clinical supervisor, director of adolescent services at the McCall Behavioral Health Network. We visit with them once a month here on FM 97.3. Back to the newsroom. Back to the newsroom.

0:00:00 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
It’s 8:22 on FM 97.3 WZBG. Guest this morning, Executive Director of McCall Behavioral Health Network, Maria Coutant-Skinner. Good morning, Maria.

0:00:17 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
Good morning, Dale.

0:00:18 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
Welcome to the show.

0:00:19 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
Thank you.

0:00:20 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
And, of course, we have an interview once a month with McCall. They have a different theme each month, and it’s interesting. On the heels of what they call Blue Monday. This is going to be a show about encouraging joy and happiness.

0:00:34 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
That’s how we’re going to roll this morning. I love it. So, I know I asked you right before we came on, is it too corny to start with a knock-knock joke?

0:00:42 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
Not at all. Not on this show.

0:00:43 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
So, are you ready?

I’m ready.

Knock-knock.

0:00:47 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
Who’s there?

0:00:48 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
Interrupting Cow.

0:00:49 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
Interrupting Cow …MOOO!!   I was going to tell that joke.

No way.

0:00:52 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
No Way. I have known that joke since my kids were little.

0:00:56 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
I love it. My dad told it to me a long time ago. I love it. It’s so silly and ridiculous. And I thought, just like you said, contrasting what’s going on right now in our world, in this climate, in this chapter in our lives, there’s so much intensity, there’s honestly a lot of pain and suffering.

There is.

And so, are we being intentional about finding joy? And do we have permission to find these moments of just being silly, being light, and finding some laughter?

0:01:32 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
I think we have to give ourselves permission to do that. And it really is hard. I mean, because there are so many challenges facing humanity right now, and there have been so many tough hits. COVID was a big one. You know, we still are counting up the damage to people of all ages, but particularly our young people because of the isolation caused by all of that. And that’s just one glaring, you know, low light of what’s become a very anxious and difficulty culture-wise in finding happiness.

0:02:03 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
So we really gotta work for that, don’t we?

We do. I think that’s exactly the the right phrasing too. And I think I have this visual of what it’s like right now and it feels like there’s sort of this pressure and intensity and that there’s not a lot of space. And that we have to create some space for that. And how do we do that? We do it by slowing down. We do it by noticing. We do it by naming. So even on the drive over here, I was like, okay, let me take a quick check in of what I’m feeling like, okay, are the roads icy? I’m a little bit nervous. I want to do a good job with Dale. And then I’m like, okay, let me notice that. Let me name that. That’s like, I can feel it right here in my stomach a little bit. Then I noticed the light. It was gorgeous. The winter light. I drove along the Farmington River and the beautiful snow and the trees and everything else. And I’m like, okay, I can make space for that and feel good and at peace right now.

0:03:06 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
My mantra for this month has been find the sunshine and have an attitude of gratitude. Is that right? I see your… I wrote that down. I said, I got to share that every now and then, because we all are challenged by that, you know? And I find myself looking for the most positive things in my life. I just shared three of them with you.

Yes.

My grandkids. And the other is those people that light up our lives, because it’s easy to find kind of a dim view of humanity right now when you look around the globe, but there’s also those bright lights that make us appreciate humanity. So I feel like we need to think more about those people in our lives and their compassion, their empathy, their spirit that help lift us all.

0:03:57 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
I’m choked up by that.

0:03:58 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
It’s so beautiful.

0:03:59 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
It’s daily effort though.

0:04:00 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
It is.

0:04:01 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
Oh my goodness, that just resonated with my heart. I think that’s such good advice and definitely, well, that felt like a gift. I’m going to hold that. I see you that way and I don’t have to look far to find those people that bring light and joy. And I think it brings up another thought, which is we have to make a plan. We have to be active participants in our lives to make sure that this is happening. And I, you know, so one thing I thought about was there’s a lot of people that eat three meals a day alone. And loneliness is, that is crushing. And so if we’re actively making sure that we have plans, text that person, you’re not bothering them, call that person, make a plan. You can find the time. Have a meal together. It’s maybe lunch, it’s dinner, but don’t eat three meals a day alone. That’s important to do. Make sure that you’re being that light for somebody else. Do something kind for someone because acts of service give us joy. And you’re probably providing joy for somebody else and being that light for somebody else.

0:05:09 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
Exactly, and it tends to exponentially build on itself and people pay it forward. Breaking bread is of course one of the great cultural touchstones in which we connect. We connect over food and drink. It’s one of the best ways because you’re nourishing the soul and you’re nourishing the body at the same time and you’re connecting. All those things are important. It’s funny you opened with a knock-knock joke because Betty White was born 100 years ago today.

0:05:38 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
Oh, today is Betty White’s birthday.

I’m sorry, no, it was 102 years ago today. But yeah, today is her birthday. And I was, and she lived to be almost 100.

Yeah.

And you think about her bringing laughs, and you think about the people that make us laugh. You notice their longevity. Oh my gosh, that’s so true. Betty White’s occasion point, Norman Lear, Mel Brooks.

And who got a bigger round of applause at the Emmys than Carol Burnett. I know. You know? Yeah. These people that bring us joy, you know, and boy do we need it, right? But those examples are right there. And look at, because they laugh, look at how long they’ve lived, right?

That’s a great point.

So another reason to just kind of find the happy, you know, find the sunshine, get that attitude of gratitude. And we know it’s hard.

0:06:24 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
Yeah. Yeah, I think we want to avoid the traps too because some things I think look like peace, contentment, relaxation, joy, but they might be what distracts or numbs or provides escape. It feels like kind of junk food for our soul, which everybody, you know, a little bit junk food every once in a while is okay, but I think things like drugs, alcohol, disappearing into our screens, binge eating, those are things that we can kind of justify and rationalize and say we deserve it because it’s been a hard time. Maybe there’s been grief or loneliness or divorce or something, but you have this moment of maybe feeling escape and then you end up feeling worse afterwards. So I think the other strategies that we’re talking about this morning are sustaining their nourishing and they’re not those traps that we can sometimes fall into.

0:07:16 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
Make that first place. That’s the first place you go to. And you really open the show with talking about that, getting in touch with yourself. If you’re bothered by something, figure out what it is and own it. And then process it and get back to a happier place. And it’s not always easy to do because it seems like it’s all coming at us at once right now. It’s like, all right, let me see if I can just try to get to the worst of it and sort it out. So, it is a challenge, but it’s one worth taking on.

0:07:44 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
And I think if you’re doing these things and you still feel like you can’t access it, like laughter feels like you can’t even remember the last time you laughed hard, or if you did then it felt false and you didn’t really feel present and it was so hard to do all of these things.

Forced. Yeah.

Then that’s stuff that we can work with at McCall. We can do a screening for depression, anxiety. We can help because you don’t have to stay in that place. That’s a dark, difficult place and you don’t have to stay there. There is help and healing available.

0:08:20 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
Actually a very good way to wrap up our interview, which is just about there. Maria Coutant Skinner is our guest this time. We’re talking about finding that joy as we start the new year. Always great spending time with you.

0:08:30 [Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, CEO]
Delightful to be with you, Dale. Thank you so much. Delightful to be with you, Dale. Thank you so much.

0:08:32 [Dale Jones, WZBG]
Thank you, Maria.

0:00:00
8:22 and FM 97.3 WZBG. Once a month we visit with folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. This time we’re crowding up close to Christmas. So our topic today is really very timely. We’re joined at the microphones by Marissa Middlestats. She’s Director of Development and Marketing. Good morning Marissa. Good morning. Welcome back.

0:00:28
Welcome back.

0:00:29
Thanks for having us.

0:00:29
And also a welcome to Alicia Peterson. She is a family recovery coach with the McCall Behavioral Health Network. Good morning, Alicia.

0:00:36
Good morning.

0:00:37
Thanks for joining us on the program. So, we are right here in, really in the absolute thick of it, in the holiday rush. And there’s a lot going on for folks who have loved ones among them who are battling substance or just troubled with what’s going on with the stress of the holiday. We want to try to get a little bit of help here, some tips on how to navigate this and make it as good a holiday as possible. So how do we open this? How do we begin? For families that are in the midst of this, let’s try to set the mental state.

0:01:14
Absolutely. The holidays can be a really stressful time for anyone, but especially if you have someone in your family or a loved one who is struggling with substance use. I am actually the family recovery coach at McCall Behavioral Health Network, and I can work individually with people to help them create boundaries, communicate effectively, listen with empathy to their family members. And I’m available Monday through Friday, so anytime anyone needs help, they are more than welcome to get in touch with me. In addition to that, I am a person who is in long-term recovery, and I also have been in a family full of people who struggle with substance use disorder my entire life. I lost my father, my husband, my son’s father, and my sister all within a two-year period. I know how stressful holidays can be.

0:02:17
Wow, I would say so. First off, sorry for your loss. It’s immense. That is a whole lot.

0:02:23
Thank you. And I think your first point, managing expectations, is probably key here.

0:02:30
It’s a good way to start.

0:02:31
Absolutely. I think our society as a whole, we pay a lot of attention to social media and try to come up with the perfect holiday, the ideal holiday, and we have to be aware that there is no such thing. And to just be mindful of the things that you enjoy doing, not to overwhelm yourself with saying yes to every invitation and everything that other people expect from you, and to just take it slow. Sometimes it’s important to ask your family member or loved one if they’re trying to cut down their usage, what you can do to help support them. Coming up with new traditions, possibly alcohol and drug-free to help support that person, that is all key in this situation.

0:03:26
I’m listening to your statement right there and I was about to say how important is flexibility during the holiday season and you pretty much articulated it very, very well. Manage your expectations, but also you’ve got to go with the flow. As we know from people who are in substance in the battle, one day can differ very largely from the next in terms of what they think they can tolerate and resist. You’ve got to go and meet that where they are, right? Exactly.

0:03:57
On a day-to-day basis. Yes, meeting people exactly where they are. That’s what we do here at McCall’s, and that’s what I do in my personal life too. Our expectations are the biggest thing. We can’t have expectations of other people. We can just manage how we feel and how we act.

0:04:15
So take it day by day and this is a good time if you’re planning a holiday and you’ve got the family in and you’re going to celebrate with family and you do have some issues, steel yourself and take some of these cues that we just talked about. Set some boundaries that work for you. Be flexible. Try some new traditions. And just be realistic about what the holiday is. The fact that you’re all together and you’re celebrating together, start with that. Everything else is gravy or frosting on the cake or what have you. Absolutely. Our guest this morning, Alicia Peterson, she’s a family recovery coach with McCall Behavioral Health Network. This is the Giving Season 2, and Marissa’s here to join us a little bit. We talked a little bit about this last year. You know, I think there’s a greater awareness, and there should be, of the mental health stress that our population is under. That is what the McCall Behavioral Health Network is all about.

0:05:10
And there’s a way in which people can help support that through McCall VHN. Yeah, this year through our annual appeal we’re raising money for children, so of all ages, and seniors. You know, when we look at who is really experiencing, you know, really, they’re really struggling right now and oftentimes they can’t necessarily speak for themselves. Right. So we are raising money to support our programs, you know, for those two populations.

0:05:39
I didn’t realize, I’m just looking at one of the statistics, half of all lifetime mental health conditions begin before the age of 14.

0:05:46
Right.

0:05:47
So, early intervention or early awareness really is key, isn’t it?

0:05:52
Exactly. It’s really important. And it’s, when you look at statistics too, 23% of Connecticut residents, you know, aren’t getting the mental health support that they need. So yeah, that early intervention is key and having the programs to support, you know, these early interventions are really important. You know, we’re really looking and need our community to help us support, you know, these populations and all the people that we serve.

0:06:18
If they want to do that, the easy way to do that, if you wanted to, somebody wanted to support, make a donation, what’s the best way to do it?

0:06:22
Yeah, it’s really easy. Just go to our website, mccallbhn.org slash donate. You can pay by credit card. And yeah, we just really are so grateful for all of the support from our community.

0:06:35
And nearly one in four Connecticut residents have had some symptoms of mental health disorder. One in four. Yeah. That’s a lot. And during the holiday, it’s even more tough because it just exponentially piles on.

0:06:48
Exactly. Yeah, the stress of the holidays and all of it. So, you know, whether you are able to donate or you’re looking for help for yourself, you know, please reach out to us. We’re here, you know, anytime that you need support.

0:07:01
I’m going to circle back to you, Alicia, just to hit those primary points again for folks who have a family that is managing crisis or trying to manage substance about how best to have the best holiday possible.

0:07:15
Okay. Setting boundaries, communicating how you feel, taking time for yourself. If you need to step away for 10 minutes or ask somebody to help you, that is okay. Giving yourself grace and managing your own expectations are key to get through the holidays. Be realistic.

0:07:35
Yeah, absolutely. I want to thank our guests this morning joining us ahead of the holiday. We hope this has been helpful. Marissa Middlestadt is Director of Development and Marketing. Alicia Peterson is a Family Recovery Coach with McCall Behavioral Health Network. Best of the holiday to you both and to everyone at McCall for all the great work you guys do. And we look forward to seeing you in 2024. Thank you. Thank you. great work you guys do. And we look forward to seeing you in 2024. Thank you. Thank you.

0:07:59
Happy holidays.