Ellie Family Services - A New Millennial Approach to End Today's Mental Health Stigma
SAINT PAUL, Minn., June 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Mental health is becoming an increasingly prevalent topic of discussion, both in national news headlines and in casual conversation over a latte at Starbucks. From the alarming increase in teenage depression and anxiety rates concurrent with the rise of social media, to the concerning suicide rates among veterans, mental health is trending in ways that it hasn't at any other time in history.
As mental health appears on the radar of more and more Americans, advocates and organizations in the field are pushing for more public education and understanding around the subject matter. The movement to "de-stigmatize" mental health has largely focused on reducing the blame, judgment and discrimination against people suffering with very serious and potentially lethal mental health conditions.
One important means of doing so is to help legitimize mental health disturbances as medical diagnoses, and to encourage the public to approach mental health as one would physical health. Today, most tend not to judge someone for having diabetes, Parkinson's or for being in a wheelchair. Yet, it's all too common for someone with Schizophrenia, Bi-Polar or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to be seen as morally deficient, lazy or "overreacting," and to be told that it's all just "in [their] head." People with mental health conditions still get labeled as "crazy," and the need for awareness around these issues has never been more significant, considering the rise in their prevalence.
Ellie Family Services, a Twin Cities based mental health agency founded by Erin Pash and Kyle Keller, is on such a mission to "de-stigmatize" mental health conditions and the ways in which they're treated. And while legitimizing mental health diagnoses is vital, Ellie is emphasizing another crucial aspect of de-stigmatizing mental health distress: to "normalize it." While the phrase "mental illness" is rightly meant to refer to something that is very real, serious, legitimate and medical, it's still too often used as a means of describing "somebody else." The label tends to get readily assimilated into a worldview that distinguishes between "us and them," between "normal" and "abnormal."
"Humor is a core value at Ellie Family Services and a great tool for normalizing mental health and how we relate to it," says Pash. "We believe that humor has tremendous healing potential, which is why we wrote our book, How to Stop Freaking the &$*% Out: When Deep Breathing Doesn't Work!" This book, written by Erin Pash and Kyle Keller, founders of Ellie Family Services, is a snarky comeback to someone telling you to take a deep breath or to calm down and has a variety of cheeky skills aimed at disrupting anxiety through humor.
Mental health distress is something that all people struggle with, in one way or another, at some point in their lives. Being diagnosable may be more common than previously thought. In terms of lifetime prevalence of mental health conditions, about 50% of the population will experience one in their lifetime (Kessler et al. 1994), and 100% of them are sure to be affected by those conditions, through relations with family, friends and co-workers. Ellie Family Services believes that it is something that desperately needs to be talked about in a more open, and public forum.
For more info about Ellie Family Services, and their efforts to help in the struggles with Mental Health, visit EllieFamilyServices.com, or call 651.313.8080.
About Ellie Family Services: At Ellie Family Services, the mission is to better the lives of everyday families through the creation and delivery of innovative and customized wellness programs, goods and services. This done by striving to FILL THE GAPS in services and programs that promote wellness, and by getting more people access to wellness services by breaking down barriers, and overcoming obstacles, that get in the way of healing and recovery. Those barriers might involve lack of funding, stigma, limited resource availability, scheduling conflicts, limited accessibility, and lack of information and outreach!
Media Contact:
Kyle Keller, MSW LICSW
Ellie Family Services
Phone - 651.307.5148
Email - kyle@elliefamilyservices.com
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SOURCE Ellie Family Services
