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Mental Health Center

Diagnosis: Benefits and Deeper Understanding

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diagnosis

By Ashley Barnes What is a diagnosis? The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM) is that which is used by mental health professionals in the United States as the authoritative guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders. The DSM includes symptoms, descriptions, and other criteria for diagnosing mental health disorders. In order to reach a diagnosis, individuals must meet distinct criteria as outlined in the DSM.  In order for a disorder to be outlined by the DSM, it has to cause the individual some form of distress, may present the individual with potential danger (such as betting all one’s money during a manic episode), deviance (what is deemed culturally abnormal), and dysfunction (impairment in areas of life such as interpersonal relationships, work, or tasks of daily living).  It is important to note that though we may find ourselves relating to descriptions of a certain diagnosis, only licensed …

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Celebrating Black History Month 2023

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By Ashley Barnes   About Black History Month. Black History Month celebrates and honors Black communities’ contributions to American culture. February is National Black History Month. This year’s theme, “Black Resistance,” focuses on “Black Americans’ efforts to advocate for dignified, self-determined lives within our democratic society, while bringing attention to their achievements” (Postell, 2023). However, we also want to emphasize the importance of celebrating and honoring Black communities daily, not just during the month of February.  Celebrating Black Mental Health Professionals. The following individuals are merely some Black mental health professionals who’ve made profoundly positive impacts on the mental health field: Bebe Moore Campbell – an American author, journalist, teacher, and mental health advocate who “worked tirelessly to shed light on the mental health needs of the Black community and other underrepresented communities. She founded NAMI-Inglewood in a predominantly Black neighborhood to create a space that was safe for Black …

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National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month 2023

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By Ashley Barnes   Why National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month? February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, created to spread awareness about the prevalence of teen dating violence, to educate people about healthy relationships, and to provide support for teens who have survived dating violence.  About teen dating violence. Teen dating violence is considered to be an adverse childhood experience, a potentially traumatic experience that occurs in childhood and adolescence (0-17). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), teen dating violence can occur in person, online, or through technology (2022). Intimate partner violence can include the following types of harmful behavior: physical violence (when a person tries to hurt their partner through use of hitting, punching, use of physical force, etc.), sexual violence (forcing or attempting to force a partner to engage in an unwanted sexual act without consent, also including sharing explicit pictures of …

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Supporting Transgender Youth Mental Health

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By Ashley Barnes, M.S.   Transgender identity. Transgender individuals are those whose sex assigned at birth does not completely align with their current gender identity; it is important to note that the identities of transgender and nonbinary are not always mutually exclusive (Price-Feeney et al., 2020). People who identify outside of the gender binary and who may or may not also identify as transgender are non-binary individuals. Non-binary gender identity can include identifying as neither male nor female, both male and female or as different genders at different times. (Richards et al., 2016). Risk Factors. While the LGBTQ+ community is often lumped together as one large unifying group, it incorporates sub-communities and identities with vastly different experiences; one such sub-community with its own unique experience is the trans-community. Though the larger LGBTQ+ community experiences stigmatization and discrimination on social and political levels, research has identified solemn truths about some of …

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Treatment for Postpartum Depression

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By Ashley Barnes What is postpartum depression? If you are a mother experiencing postpartum depression, you are not alone. In fact, approximately 1 in 7 women experience PDD (GUNHS, 2021). According to the American Psychological Association (APA), postpartum depression (PPD) is a mood disorder that can appear days or months after a woman gives birth, with symptoms lasting longer than two weeks (2022). The severity of symptoms and their prolonged nature (lasting more than two weeks) distinguishes PDD from the “baby blues.”  The mood disorder can affect any woman regardless of the course of pregnancy, those who are first-time mothers or have had children before, and regardless of race or ethnicity, income, culture or education, and age. However, there are known risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing PPD, including the inevitable shift in hormone levels after giving birth, previous experience of depression and anxiety, family history of depression or …

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