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Behavioral health fair to help destigmatize mental health

Evansville Courier & Press - 6/12/2017

June 12--St. Vincent is hosting their first every outdoor behavioral health fair Saturday with the goal of helping demystify mental health -- connect people with area resources, answer questions and make the whole process less intimidating.

Heather Gogel, community education manager St. Vincent Behavioral Health, said the fair will be a great opportunity for people to ask specific questions about behavioral health concerns they have with themselves or members of their family.

"We aren't doing therapy that day but we are going to empower people so they know where to go if they have concerns for their family and themselves, we hope to reduce the stigma and get conversations going around behavioral health and mental illness," she said. "There's lots of needs right there in our community. The suicide rate in this area is high. St. Vincent wanted to do something to get out the good news that we are here, we can help, we have the experience and the compassion to be there for you."

The event is from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the St. Vincent lot off Washington Avenue. There will be a number of tents set up with resources from behavioral health, Center for Children, Emergency Department social workers, case managers and health access advocates. Also on hand will be a number of independent therapists from across the Tri-State, Brainpower Neurodevelopmental Center and Project AWARE-Mental Health First Aid. Dr. Bonnie Schnautz from BRenewed Wellness Center will be there with healthy snacks and talk about how nutrition plays a part in feeling good and mental health.

"Getting access to mental health care can be a difficult thing," Gogel said. "We will have all of our specialized teams here who can help guide them to access this care. Many have said they aren't sure where to go in a mental health crisis or if they have a loved one they are concerned about. We are here to help with that."

The inpatient psychiatrist Dr. Juan Cabrera will be on hand to answer questions about what inpatient treatment looks like as well as his outpatient practice. Gogel said they will also have photos of what the behavioral health unit looks like so people can see. They will also talk about what an assessment is like and how the transition of care will work.

"We want people to see all of this isn't a scary thing," Gogel said.

For more information contact 812-485-1439.

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