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June
10, 2011
Local MHDD Center selected to
Participate in Trauma-Informed Practices Learning Community
Hill Country MHDD Centers was selected by The National Council for
Community Behavioral Healthcare (National Council) as one of 21
organizations chosen to participate in the first National Council
Learning Community for Adoption of Trauma-Informed Practices. The
learning community is a group of healthcare organizations committed to
creating environments and services that address the needs of
individuals who have experienced significant trauma. The learning
community is supported by an award from the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration.
“We can’t begin to address the totality of an individual’s healthcare,
or focus on promoting health and preventing disease unless we address
trauma,” said National Council President and CEO Linda Rosenberg. “The
greater the trauma, the greater the risk for alcoholism and alcohol
abuse, depression, illicit drug use, suicide attempts, and other
negative outcomes. Trauma-informed care will soon be seen as the
expectation, not the exception, in behavioral health treatment
systems,” she added.
“It is an honor to participate with the National Council and the other
organizations selected to learn how to fully integrate Trauma Informed
Care into the treatment for individuals living with mental illness.”
noted Linda Werlein, CEO of Hill Country. “Addressing trauma that
has occurred in an individual’s life enables the person to face the
issue instead of suppressing it which may lead to issues such as
depression and substance abuse. Trauma informed care will truly
help individuals move toward recovery from their illness and we are
truly excited about the opportunity to implement Trauma Informed Care
in both an inpatient and outpatient setting.”
Trauma is pervasive — and now considered to be a near universal
experience of individuals with behavioral health problems. According to
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s
Health, 55 to 99 percent of women in substance use treatment and from
85 to 95 percent of women in the public mental health system report a
history of trauma, with the abuse most commonly having occurred in
childhood.
“Understanding what happened to us, not what is wrong with us,
sometimes takes a lifetime" says learning community participant Gayle
Bluebird of the Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health.
“Hopefully focus on trauma will allow us to talk about our histories
and be understood so that we can move on and have meaningful lives.”
Of the 21 organizations chosen to participate in the National Council
Learning Community for Adoption of Trauma-Informed Practices, Hill
Country MHDD Centers is one of only two organizations selected from
Texas.
Hill Country MHDD Centers, headquartered in Kerrville, provides mental
health services to over 7,300 individuals annually throughout a 19
county area of the greater Texas Hill Country. For more
information on Hill Country MHDD Centers, please visit
www.hillcountry.org.
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