FAQs about mental illnesses

Good mental health is about being able to work and study to your full potential, cope with day-to-day life stresses, be involved in your community, and live your life in a free and satisfying way. A person who has good mental health has good emotional and social wellbeing and the capacity to cope with change and challenges.

 

Feeling down, tense, angry or anxious are all normal emotions, but when these feelings persist for long periods of time they may be part of a mental health problem. Mental health problems can influence how you think and your ability to function in your everyday activities, whether at school, at work or in relationships.

 

It can be helpful to talk to someone about what’s going on in your life if you have noticed a change in how you are feeling and thinking. This might include:

 

• Feeling things have changed or aren’t quite right
• Changes in the way that you carry out your day-to-day life
• Not enjoying, or not wanting to be involved in things that you would normally enjoy
• Changes in appetite or sleeping patterns
• Being easily irritated or having problems with friends and family for no reason
• Finding your performance at school or work is not as good as it used to be
• Being involved in risky behavior that you would usually avoid, like taking drugs or drinking too much alcohol, or depending on these substances to feel “normal”
• Feeling sad or ‘down’ or crying for no apparent reason
• Having trouble concentrating or remembering things
• Having negative, distressing, bizarre or unusual thoughts
• Feeling unusually stressed or worried

What could cause a mental health problem?

 

“What is Mental Health? Download the Guide

 

A number of overlapping factors may increase your risk of developing a mental health problem. These can include:

 

Early life experiences: abuse, neglect, or the loss of someone close to you

 

Individual factors: level of self-esteem, coping skills and thinking styles

 

Major life stressors that impact the ability to cope or manage a mental illness: stress at school or work, money problems, difficult personal relationships, or problems within your family

 

Biological factors: family history of mental health problems

 

What should I do if someone I know is planning to hurt himself or herself?

 

If someone discloses that they are planning to hurt themselves, do not to leave them alone. Contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988. A clinician is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

I have (or my loved one has) a mental health diagnosis. How do I learn more about the mental health condition?

 

Work closely with your treatment provider and ask questions, and for educational resources. 

 

To learn from other people who have mental illnesses, and their family members, contact the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) at nami-lc.org to ask about classes, support groups, and learning sessions that they offer.

 

Also review NAMI’s advice: Ways To Advance Your Mental Illness Education 

 

For online resources, take advantage of national NAMI’s list of top online resources. 

What if I DO NOT have private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Care Source, Well Care, etc.?

 

To help troubleshoot your insurance concerns, contact the Navigator at 440-240-7025.

 

The cost of care should not deter anyone from seeking mental health services. Though it is impossible to predict the cost of any particular consumer’s services. The cost of the service depends upon multiple factors:

1. The type of service needed
2. Whether a consumer has insurance or qualifies for a sliding fee scale
3. The frequency with which a service is required.
4. Whether or not a client has a spend-down, a co-pay or a deductible.

 

Talk with your provider regarding the specific fees associated with the needed services.

 

What if I do have private insurance?

 

If you have private insurance follow the following steps:

1. Check with your insurance company to determine where you can receive covered mental health services.
2. If you require a service that is covered by your insurance provider, please call the eligible provider to arrange services.
3. If you require services that are more intensive than those covered by your insurance agency, contact a mental health agency that offers intensive services and describe your concerns. Agency staff can help you determine where your needs can be met.

 

How much is service going to cost?

 

The cost of care should not deter anyone from seeking services. Though it is impossible to predict the cost of any particular consumer’s services. The cost of the service depends upon multiple factors:

1. The type of service needed
2. Whether a consumer has insurance or qualifies for a sliding fee scale
3. The frequency with which a service is required.
4. Whether or not a client has a spend-down, a co-pay or a deductible.

 

Talk with your provider regarding the specific fees associated with the needed services.

 

Do any of the agencies have a sliding fee scale for clients?

 

What is commonly referred to as a sliding scale fee is called a copayment schedule by the Board. This schedule changes every year in accordance with federal guidelines. This is available for many services; please talk with your provider regarding the specific fees associated with the needed services. 

 

Do any of the agencies providing mental health services accept uninsured employed consumers?

 

Yes, the network of clinical agencies funded by the MHARS Board allow for an uninsured consumer to receive discounted or free services, at a rate that is determined by a consumer’s ability to pay. Each agency uses a copayment schedule to determine the fee that will be expected from a potential consumer.

 

Will my clinician share my personal information?

 

Legal and ethical codes mandate that clinicians keep private health information confidential with a few exceptions. The instances wherein a clinician will not keep information confidential are as follows: 

 

1. If a client or guardian signs a written release of information that allows for personal health information to be shared with a particular person or entity, the clinician will share the agreed upon information with that person or entity. For example, if you would like for the school to know that your child is in counseling, you would have to sign a release allowing your child’s therapist to communicate this information to the school. Without this release, if your child’s school teacher called the therapist, the therapist would not even acknowledge knowing your child.
2. If you are judged to be at significant risk or harming someone else or yourself. If you share a plan to kill someone else or yourself, you therapist must share this information with the smallest number of people required (may be your family, friend, the threatened person, crisis staff, the police, etc.) to protect the safety of you or the person that you threatened.
3. If child or elder abuse or neglect is disclosed. Clinicians are mandated reported and must make the Children’s Services Organization or Adult Protective Services aware of child abuse and neglect.
4. In unusual circumstances, if a client’s chart is subpoenaed by the court, and the agency cannot effectively prohibit the information from disclosure, the court may be given information that has been court-ordered. 
5. Information needed for billing purposes will be shared with funders. This will be explained in further detail in the privacy notice distributed at the agencies.

 

It is noteworthy that in the case of children and adolescents receiving services, legal guardians have the right to access treatment information. However, as it is often essential for a child to have trust that his or her counselor will not disclose all information to a parent, at the onset of services clinicians will typically determine with the parent and the youth, which information a parent will expect to have shared and what information can remain between the therapist and the youth.

 

If you have other concerns or questions about confidentiality, please discuss them with staff at the agency where you seek services.

 

Can I see a psychiatrist only?

 

Following a mental health assessment, a clinician will make recommendations regarding which services would be most effective for you. An agency cannot have a policy of denying all clients access to psychiatry simply because clients did not also accept counseling (or other) services at the same agency. However, depending upon the specifics of an individual case, a psychiatrist may not feel comfortable prescribing to a client who is refusing other services that the psychiatrist believes are essential for symptom management.

 

How long will it take to get into care?

 

To be matched with the service that best fits your needs that also has the shortest wait time, call the Navigator at 440-240-7025.

 

Entry into any agency will include a mental health assessment, wherein a clinician meets with you and determines with you what services are most appropriate. The wait time for a Mental Health Assessment and for other clinical services varies per agency and from week to week.

 

How do I find out who my clients rights officer is?

 

Clients Right Policies are posted in a prominent location within each agency, often near the entry.  The officer should be listed on this sheet or you can ask the staff. If you are not provided with the name of your client rights officer you may call the MHARS Board at 440-233-2020, which can help you find this information.

 

What if I am unhappy about my worker?

 

Although policies may differ from one agency to another, some generally respected practices in the local public mental health and addiction network are as follows:

• If at all possible, talk to your worker about your concerns.
• If you cannot find resolution, speak with his or her supervisor.
• If you feel that your rights have been violated, talk to the agency’s Clients Rights Officer. Each agency has contact information regarding the Client Rights Officer clearly posted or you can ask staff.
• If you cannot find resolution contact the Board Client Rights Officer about the rights that you feel have been violated.