Posted in Mental Health

Mental health advocates pushing for more resources in the Tampa Bay Area

 Author: Health Watch Minute  Published Date: October 11, 2023

TAMPA, Fla. – Nearly three million people in Florida have a mental health condition, according to the National Alliance on Mental Health.

Tuesday was World Mental Health Day.

Advocates continue to push for more awareness about mental health, better access to care and more resources around the Tampa Bay Area.

“There is not a person out there, a family out there, community out there that doesn’t experience mental health issues,” Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, a counseling psychologist said.

Advocates what more resources in the Tampa Bay Area.

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Mental health counselors in the Tampa Bay Area said the COVID-19 pandemic started a movement to break down longstanding barriers around mental health.

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“We are seeing investment in mental health,” Dr. LaDonna Butler, the Executive Director of The Well shared. “Number two, community members are coming out, and they’re talking about mental health, and they’re talking explicitly about the needs.”

READ: Citrus County Sheriff’s Office launches campaign focused on mental health, substance abuse issues

Dr. Butler explained that one of the biggest needs in the area is better access to the right care.

“Whether it’s through insurance, whether is location, transportation or hours of operation or the type of therapeutic interventions needed,” Butler said.

She said they also need to rebuild the workforce and invest in credentialed providers and providers who reflect different communities.

Providers who reflect different communities are essential to mental health care.

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“Nurses were super stressed, and we saw a decline in the workforce,” Butler said. “The same thing happened in mental health care. And so we are now needing to train new people and reclaim providers who, for a while, walked away.”

October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Law enforcement leaders say mental health, substance abuse and domestic violence are oftentimes interconnected.

On Monday, Pasco County deputies responded to a domestic double-murder suicide in Wesley Chapel.

RELATED: Three found dead in Wesley Chapel home after apparent double-murder suicide: Pasco sheriff

Sheriff Chris Nocco said there was a history of mental health issues.

“It’s unfortunately a bad formula, and this is what happens when those things come together, and we have a horrible situation,” Nocco explained.

Counselors and psychologists hope that the more positive discussions there are surrounding mental health can lead to more lives being saved.

“The stress that is often in our communities, that’s often in society, that no one is immune to it,” Butler said.

In St. Petersburg, Butler said her practice, The Well, is leading the charge on a new project to establish social support hubs. She said this project will help expand outreach throughout the city and give people better guidance to finding the help they need.