Blog
Why would a straight person go to Pride? The importance of allyship
Recently, when I was making plans with a friend, I said that I would not be available on the afternoon of June 10 because I will be at the Stark Pride festival. My friend looked confused and replied, “But you’re straight! Why are you going to a Pride festival?” In a way, she’s right. I am a heterosexual, cisgender female, and because of that I’ve never needed to advocate to openly express my gender identity, felt unsafe expressing affection for my romantic partners, or had to fight for … Continued
Make a date in May to set goals to improve your mental health
Every day you should make your mental health a priority. During the month of May, National Mental Health Awareness Month, this is a great time to take inventory of your mental health and look to establish positive habit-forming strategies. When the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, many of us vow to make a New Year’s resolution for our physical health. Think of this month as Dec. 31 and make some healthy changes for your mind. Soon, you may recognize taking care of your mental health also helps … Continued
Stark Schools celebrate Mental Health Awareness Week
Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A’s) and its community partners are celebrating a milestone fifth anniversary of Stark County Schools Mental Health Awareness Week, May 1-5. This year, C&A and its community partners are using this opportunity to bring positive mental health awareness to more than 53,000 students and more than 6,000 teachers, administrators, cooks and bus drivers all across Stark County. Each year, the program continues to grow, bringing more Stark County school districts and students together to celebrate and remind the students important tips for positive … Continued
What is mental health stigma?
Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A) held multiple training sessions during President’s Day for clinical staff. One of the presentations covered the topic of Mental Health Stigma. Dan Sager, a C&A doctoral intern who gave the presentation, used a definition provided by the Western Australia Department of Health. “Stigma is a mark of disgrace that sets a person apart from others. When a person is labelled by their illness they are no longer seen as an individual but as part of a stereotyped group. Negative attitudes and beliefs … Continued
Reverse Raffle to benefit Mike Flood Endowment
Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A) is fortunate to be the recipient of the Mike Flood Endowment established in 1999. Mike Flood, a former board member for C&A and Stark County Mental Health and Addiction Recovery, retired from The Timken Co., he asked in lieu of gifts, donations be made to the newly established endowment fund. The original endowment fund started with $25,000. Over the years, with the generosity of Mike and Kay Flood, their friends and community supporters, the endowment fund had grown to more than $350,000, … Continued
An honest conversation on suicide prevention
The word SUICIDE conjures up many feelings for individuals – anger, fear, sadness, taboo (saying the word) and often survivor’s guilt for those left behind. The stigma around mental health is softening, yet as a society, suicide still holds a different stigma. On Feb. 8, Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A) moderated a Suicide Prevention Panel discussion with area Stark County college students, which included participation from students, faculty and community members. C&A’s Trauma Specialist Mary Kreitz moderated the discussion. Mary started the discussion with some startling figures: … Continued
Tips for parents living with a child with depression
A first-time parent looks at their child, starry-eyed and full of love with many preconceived thoughts of what their life will be in the future. At the many crossroads of life, with each milestone passing, concerns over whether the child has friends or if the friends share their family’s values; will the child experiment with substance use; or how does social media affect my child? This past year, I have witnessed myself and spoken to other parents whose children have experienced depression. In talking with parents, warning signs … Continued
Discipline vs Disciplined
At the start of each new year people traditionally make resolutions with the intention of improving their lives. By a few weeks into the year, many of those resolutions have already been forgotten, broken, or abandoned. This raises the question of how we can approach self-improvement goals in a more disciplined manner. What does that mean? It might help to explore the meaning of the word “discipline.” What comes to mind when you think about discipline? For many people the answer is punishment. Parents discipline their children for … Continued
What’s Inside the Wrapping Paper?
This week I wrapped my gift for our office white elephant gift exchange. I’m the one that always gives the weird stuff at these gift exchanges. Many years ago, for a family white elephant gift exchange with the theme “snowman”, much to the horror of my aunt Ruth, I showed up with a 3-foot plastic snowman, the kind you used to see on porches and in yards. The rest of the family brought cute little ornaments, candles, and nick knacks. Not me! My cousin ended up with the … Continued
Does Santa Claus Drink Alcohol?
Have you ever noticed that Santa Claus is never seen drinking alcohol in public places? Never mind the 681,000,000 results for images of Santa and alcohol online. He’s an adult after all. It certainly could be argued that he deserves a nice glass of wine after his night of deliveries. Why is it that we never see Santa nestling a drink or slamming a shot? It’s actually against the law in Ohio to depict him in this way! Ohio Administrative Code 4301:1-44 (D)(4) says that “No advertising shall represent, … Continued