October 6 – 12, 2013 is Mental Illness Awareness Week, a week during the year that CPH Insurance celebrates for our clients who serve the community in various mental health professions. This week was created by Congress in 1990, to raise awareness of mental illnesses and the professionals who serve to treat them.
In lieu of this week, October 10th is National Depression Screening Day. This day raises awareness and screens people for depression and related mood and anxiety disorders. Since 1991, more than a million people each year have been screened for depression.
To promote the awareness during this week, talk with your patients, their loved ones, friends and family to encourage them to take a depression test. Other ways to celebrate this week is to get involved with an organization to promote your services or give a presentation at a local school or community group to bring awareness to the community about mood and anxiety disorders.
This year’s theme for Mental Illness Awareness week is, Connect. Whether you connect person to person, socially, or online this week showcases the importance of connecting with others. Connecting is about acceptance and inclusion. Promoting a nonjudgmental outlook on life is important in the society in which we live, where mental illnesses are prevalent in schools, groups, on the job and in the family. The great news is due to the wonderful professionals working in this field, mental illnesses now more than ever before are being treated and cured, helping those with a mental illness to recover and reclaim their lives.
3 Ways to Promote Mental Illness Awareness Week:
- Offer a promotion for an hour of session through local schools, parents clubs, and other local organizations.
- Throw an event at your office or during the meeting of a local organization
- Get the word out through social media platforms and other Marketing material.
Most of all we promote acceptance and inclusion through our own actions and attitude. Our mental health clients take time out of their lives daily to help those who suffer from a mental illness and this week we say thank you!
When dealing with a patient who has a mental illness, it is important to document every step of the way – every session, every test and every conversation. Unfortunately sometimes conversations can be taken out of context by patients – leading to a lawsuit or bringing you before the board to question your license. Thorough documentation is key to protecting yourself during a lawsuit, along with staying protected by keeping your insurance policy up to date.
Again we thank our mental healthcare clients who serve the mental illness community daily.
Source: Mental Illness Awareness Week
