SUN Behavioral Delaware

Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is an excellent opportunity to provide your patients with places to go for Thanksgiving, groceries, etc., especially since the holiday is next Thursday. The Food Bank of Delaware is a local food pantry that provides emergency food assistance throughout the state, including Georgetown. They even partner with Amazon and DoorDash to offer monthly free food home delivery for those who cannot go to them. To learn more about this program or find out how you can help, click the link below. https://lnkd.in/gEA7kSH7

This week is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. This national event occurs every year the week before Thanksgiving to bring attention to the concerns of those experiencing hunger and homelessness in the community. No one should be concerned about basic human necessities like where they will sleep tonight or if there will be food on their plate. To learn more about this week, click the link below. https://lnkd.in/g7hRAwFK

“Our family system impacts the cornerstones of our lives: career, finances, love, and health. The patterns we display in each area link back to the unique dynamics of our family systems.” - Marine Selenee

Some patients need additional support beyond their family dynamics or what a traditional outpatient program can provide. SUN Behavioral Health Delaware offers intensive outpatient programming (IOP). Through group therapy sessions during IOP, patients will develop skills and tools to make recovery easier while creating a support system through peers that they can continue to lean on throughout their journey. To send a referral or learn more about our intensive outpatient services, visit our link below or call us at 302-604-5600. https://lnkd.in/gAb_jD4b

Today, we honor the courage, sacrifice and resilience of our nation’s Veterans. At SUN Behavioral Health, we stand in gratitude for those who have served and continue to support their journey to healing and wellbeing. We recognize that many Veterans face unique challenges, including mental health struggles, and we are here to provide compassionate care and unwavering support. To all who have served, thank you for your service, bravery, and dedication. #VeteransDay #HonoringOurHeros #MentalHealthMatters

In a recent study, researchers found that there are 5 specific family support categories for mental health and substance use recovery: - Person-centered support is when each individual is accepted and valued, including their symptoms, mental health needs, interests, and experiences. Each person is legitimized, validated, and encouraged to explore and understand their emotions. - Autonomy support involves communicating and calmly discussing a loved one’s situation. It might involve asking questions or providing suggestions. It does not include making decisions, threats, or direct advice. - Community participation support is when family members plan and accompany their loved ones to activities their loved ones are interested in. It also involves offering multiple options of activities, engaging with them in family plans, and providing transportation or financial support for those activities. - Health management support is specifically related to supporting their mental health or substance use disorder recovery. This includes 3 sub-categories: crisis support, medication adherence support, and wellness support. With crisis support, family support looks like being there for them amid a crisis, finding places they can go, and advocating for their loved ones. Medication adherence support ensures their loved one remains compliant with their medication regimen, attends necessary appointments, and provides compassionate education about the consequences of not remaining compliant with their treatment. Wellness support encourages their loved ones to participate in physical and stress-reducing activities and encourages them to spend time outside in nature. - Day-to-day living support includes helping their loved one with what they need to be able to live. It could consist of assisting them in finding housing and financial support, filling out paperwork, attending appointments and interviews, or regularly checking in with them. These check-ins can happen on the phone, through video calls, or face-to-face and can reduce social isolation, which may lead to worsening mental health and substance use disorder symptoms. Click the link below to learn more about this study and read into the researchers' examples for each of these family support categories. https://lnkd.in/gNw6baFB?

Doing activities together is a great way to improve family connection and promote healing. The Georgetown Public Library hosts a movie day event every Tuesday at 2:30 PM. They offer different movies each week, all of which are G- or PG-rated. The event is open to all ages and provides a dedicated time for your patients to bond as a family and create positive memories. Encourage them to attend the next event on November 12th or one of the other events the library hosts this month. To learn more about this event, click the link below. https://lnkd.in/gHbVksJw

Not everyone has a family dynamic that promotes healing and recovery. Sometimes, their family enables or encourages them to continue taking substances or drinking alcohol. Their family may have internalized stigma surrounding mental health. For patients with this experience, suggest they build supportive relationships outside of their family. Here are some suggestions for places to look. - Attend a support group - Join a hiking, knitting, art, or other interest group - Volunteer in the community - Reach out to neighbors - Attend group therapy - Have brief, friendly conversations with strangers

Support from loved ones is essential to our patients’ recovery. However, their loved ones might not be aware of the extent of their mental health, especially if they have “high-functioning depression.” In our blog post below, we explain what high-functioning depression is and how people can help their loved ones. Feel free to share the blog post with your patients, so they know how to support those they care about most. https://lnkd.in/ggfRYpTQ