By Katie Zakrzewski
Get help for stress, anxiety, depression and more through UAMS Health AR ConnectNow, a free, virtual mental health treatment program for Arkansans of all ages.
Learn how you can schedule an appointment at FaceYourFeelings.org.
T h e C e n t e r s i s n o w o f f e r i n g p r i m a r y c a r e s e r v i c e s f o r a l l a g e s i n a d d i t i o n t o e x i s t i n g m e n t a l a n d b e h a v i o r a l h e a l t h s e r v i c e s , a l l o w i n g f o r i n t e g r a t e d c a r e a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n f o r p a t i e n t s b e t w e e n p h y s i c a l a n d m e n t a l h e a l t h c a r e p r o v i d e r s . O u r d e d i c a t e d t e a m o f p r i m a r y c a r e p h y s i c i a n s , A P R N s , p s y c h i a t r i s t s , t h e r a p i s t s a n d n u r s e s a r e r e a d y t o s e r v e y o u a n d y o u r f a m i l y , t r e a t i n g m i n d a n d b o d y — c o m b i n e d .
Welcome to AY ’s 2022 Mental Health Guide. It includes valuable information, a resource directory and powerful stories featuring individuals facing mental health challenges and organizations trying to help. We hope you’ll use this guide to gain knowledge and to direct others. Our goal is to be as complete a resource as possible. To that end, we’ll update the electronic version of this guide periodically. You’ll find more information online at armentalhealthguide.com, as well as via our social media outlets. We hope that this is a valuable resource. Please let us know if you have ideas for the next issue.
Tommy Norman on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol. Read more about how he is keeping the faith on page 8.
Photo by Chris Davis
Every river stone is said to have a soul and a story to tell. Like the river stone, each of us is shaped by our journey. Though we may have known turbulent times, ultimately our beautifully unique and stable core remains preserved. As the river stone knows, we can find peace through time spent in the calm waters of healing and support.
RiverStone Wellness Center was created with exactly this kind of healing and support in mind; from our highly skilled and compassionate providers to the careful details of our center’s calming environment.
5905 Forest Place, #230, Little Rock 501-777-3200 riverstonewellnesscenter.com
To schedule an appointment, please contact RiverStone Wellness Center at 501-777-3200.
I’ve had a really hard time this season, as it marks the first year since my fiancé, Ryan, and I faced a near-death experience — an attempted carjacking. For months, finding the right words for this letter has been a struggle. Truth be told, I’m still searching.
I’ve come to realize that we truly only have this moment in time to laugh and love; tomorrow isn’t promised, and we can’t change the past. This moment is a gift and is appropriately called the present.
Ryan and I continue to relive the experience, one of the worst events of our lives. Day by day, night by night, we work through the mental health challenges. Professionals help us to recover after this period of unimaginable terror, vulnerability and grief.
We know we are not the only people struggling with mental health after a traumatic event. With compassion, we tackle each day and each week in silent solidarity with those who have been hurt by violent crimes. Thankfully, our story involved escape; tragically, other stories do not. I’m forever aware — and in awe — that had there been one millimeter difference in bullet trajectory, I wouldn’t be writing this letter. Take time today to evaluate and appreciate the little things because one day, those little things will reveal themselves to you as the big things.
A better tomorrow is always possible. As Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard said, “Life can only be understood backward but must be lived forward.”
Help is always available. With this MHG, we hope to change lives for the better. In our resource guide, you will find treatment plans, including acute care for children and adolescents, acute care for adults, dual diagnosis treatment, a detoxification program, a partial hospitaliza tion program and intensive outpatient programs.
MHG is here to help find your mental health treatment and a happier, hope-filled tomorrow.
Heather Baker, President & Publisher hbaker@aymag.com / heatherbaker_ar
https://www.nami.org/NAMI/media/NAMI-Media/StateFactSheets/ArkansasStateFactSheet.pdf
• 457,000 adults have a mental health condition in Arkansas (more than 5x the population of Fayetteville)
• 4,280 children were in foster care in Arkansas as of Sept. 30, 2020
• 424,000 children live in foster care in the U.S. at any given moment
• Arkansas’ drug overdose death rate is 19.1 per 100,000 in 2020
• In 2021, 618 Arkansans died of drug overdose
Photo by Chris Davis
By Katie Zakrzewski
Everyone knows who Officer Tommy Norman is.
A big-hearted cop with a warm smile, Officer Norman has amassed a following of millions on social media for being the ideal role model of community policing.
But this story isn’t just Officer Norman’s story. This is also his daughter Alyssa’s story.
And the Norman family’s story is one of grief, ad diction, health and loss. But this story also offers hope, and a whole lot of faith.
“She would smoke marijuana, as a lot of young peo ple did and still do, and then I’d hear from her mom or her brother that she’d gotten arrested or gotten in trouble for having drugs. She’d do well and clean up, and then she’d fall off track a little bit.”
Marijuana led to other substances, such as pills, that Alyssa would experiment with.
When her relationship with drugs seemed steadier than her relationship with her father, Alyssa decided it was time to make a change. When she was 25, she ad mitted herself to Harbor Home, a faith-based restora
“Alyssa was a daddy’s girl,” Norman recalls. “Growing up, she was just like any other little girl. She was happy. She made friends very easily. She was involved in sports. She had her brother, Mitch ell, whom she was close to, and she looked up to him. She had her mom, and she looked up to her. She had a lot of mentors and role models. She loved her blood family, she loved her extended family. Any time there was a family function or a family reunion, she was always there smiling and making other people happy.”
Even at work, Alyssa would always make friends easily. She’d inherited her father’s smile.
“I’d run into customers that would see me and tell me that they’d met Alyssa and that she was so nice and so kind,” Norman says. “She formed a lot of relationships with people that will never be for gotten.”
But as Alyssa entered her early adulthood years, her bond with Norman began to grow strained.
“There were times that I wasn’t there for her, and we didn’t speak. We wouldn’t talk for a few months, and then we’d talk again,” Norman recounts. “I’ve been a police officer for 25 years; there were times that I should have been there for her. Maybe I should have spent less time out in the community and more time with her and my family.”
Alyssa fell in with a bad crowd. This crowd led Alyssa to do and try things that she wouldn’t nor mally give a second thought to.
“If God didn't want men to cry, why did he give them tears?”
– Angie Corbett-KuiperPhoto Provided
tion home for women facing the struggles of addiction.
Alyssa reached out to her father by letter and told him that she wanted to reconnect. Norman surprised Alyssa on the next visitation day, and the two began to make up for lost time. Alyssa had a new passion for life. She passed her real estate licensing exam before entering Harbor Home, and she successfully sold her first home. She was spending more time with her father and her family, including her 3-year-old son. Alyssa had been recently baptized and reconnected with her spiritual roots. Alyssa found purpose and meaning and was exuberant about a long, promising life ahead.
She texted her father before bed, as she usually did.
“Daddy, I just got off work. I love you.”
Norman smiled as he crawled in bed, preparing for an early morning shift.
“I love you, too.”
When Norman fell asleep, all was well.
That would soon change.
Usually, with the sunrise came a text from Alyssa. Norman was accustomed to hearing from his daugh ter about her daily plans and well wishes. But when his phone vi brated, it wasn’t Alyssa.
It was Harbor Home.
“They told me she had overdosed. I asked ‘Where is she? I want to see my daughter.’ They told me, ‘Alyssa’s not here.’”
Norman rushed to Harbor Home to see his daughter’s body being carried out. Norman soon discovered that the powerful drug fentanyl had claimed another victim in a moment of weakness, just minutes after Norman and Alyssa had exchanged I love yous.
A grief unlike anything Norman had ever seen or felt carried him out to sea and swallowed him whole. *****
“This was a grief that I never knew existed.”
Norman sits quietly for a moment before expound ing.
“I’d lost an aunt or an uncle or grandparents or a coworker or someone I knew in the community. …But to lose your own daughter? It’s a grief that will cripple you … it cripples your body and your heart. It makes you tired, and it makes you want to lose hope.”
Norman’s world moved in slow motion. Each day, he
struggled to stay above the rising water line.
“On Nov. 17th, from me receiving that phone call, me seeing her body carried out, attending visits with the funeral home, to the visitation, to the funeral ... you go to visitations when people pass away, you hug them and tell them you’re sorry, but you never think that people will be walking up to you and hugging you,” Norman whispers. “You never think you’ll be in those first few pews, or that you’re going to visit a cemetery to visit your daughter and tell her you love her and you miss her. It’s something that you don’t want to ac knowledge is happening to you in real life.”
Norman turned to daily prayer for insight and guid ance — a lifebuoy on the stormy sea.
Sometimes, though, when the body has to bear the weight of the mind, it can collapse. A combination of genetics, physical health and incredible stress had tak en its toll.
Four months after Alyssa passed away, Norman had a massive heart attack.
“My cardiologist said it was, medically, a mas sive heart attack. But he thinks it was a broken heart,” Norman explains. “Had I waited any longer, I wouldn’t be here. God saved me. Alyssa saved me. There was still work to do.”
Norman now had a new lease on life. He had been spared from the snares of death and hauled up onto the deck of the Life boat.
“I’m taking life more seriously. I’ve lost weight, I’m getting in shape, and every breath I take is a breath I’m thankful for.”
Norman began to grapple with his health, both physically and mentally. That meant facing the sea of grief head-on.
“With addiction and with fentanyl … it took Alyssa's life. She stopped breathing, and she passed away. I was able to talk to her the night before she passed away, so there is some comfort in knowing that, in our conver sations, and our text messages some of our last words were ‘I love you.’ Grief is something I initially ran from, but I learned right away that you have to reason with it and run alongside it and become grief’s friend. It’s not going anywhere.”
The loss of his daughter has also impacted the way that Norman sees policing and the community that he keeps an eye on.
“I was off work for about a month after Alyssa
passed away. The first overdose call I was dispatched to was tough. The anxiety really amped up. I kept thinking about Alyssa.
“Every time I hear one of those calls go out, I think about Alyssa. Alyssa’s death is not going to be quiet. We’re not going to sweep it under a rug. We’re going to let people know, and we won’t let Alyssa's death be in vain. If her death saves one life, then it won’t be in vain, and I truly believe that her death has saved multiple people’s lives. I really feel like I could be doing more to fight drug addiction and raise awareness, but right now, I’m still healing.”
Until Norman takes the fight against addiction to a battle on a grander scale, he’s taking the time to tackle addiction one-on-one.
“In almost 25 years of policing, I’ve answered a lot of overdose calls and seen a lot of drug addicts. But you learn that everybody needs friends. On our way to jail, I’ll talk to that person about get ting help and encourage them to do better. That five- to 10-minute conversation on the way to jail can make a difference.”
Alyssa was strong, Norman recounts. She would often tell Norman, “Daddy, I got this.”
“When Alyssa was turning her life around, she got a job, a gym membership, a car, some new clothes, and she would always say, ‘I got this.’ When I had my heart attack, God saved my life, and Alyssa did too. Alyssa knew how much her dad loved community service. And I think that day she said, ‘Daddy, not yet. You got this.’ She played a big role in keeping me here.”
A year after Alyssa’s death, the grief still re mains, but things have begun to get easier.
“I can be out and around people, and I didn’t want to do that before.”
In the midst of mental and physical anguish, though, Norman found solace in one of the last tools in his box: faith.
“I’ve always had faith. My amount of faith has always gotten me to the next day and the next step. It got me through this. God provides that faith. My family got me through this, as well as my friends and my circle of close friends. It was all faith.”
As the conversation draws to a close, Norman offers one final note to end on.
“If there’s anybody out there who reads this who has a strained relationship with their kids or parents or even
their friends, try your best to reconnect, because life is so precious,” he says. “I can only imagine if Alyssa and I had been in a strained relationship and I’d got ten that phone call. I’m thankful that God reunited us. Alyssa reached out to me, and we made up for so much lost time from June until she passed away. Maybe God was preparing Alyssa to bring her back home. We had so much fun those last few months of her life.”
In the last year, Norman lost his daughter, nights of sleep, and plenty of weight. But as he turns his mental and physical health around and prepares to serve the community once more, one thing he never lost is his faith. ◊
“You never think you’ll be in those first few pews, or that you’re going to visit a cemetery to visit your daughter and tell her you love her and you miss her.”Photo Provided
Stefan Specht
On any given day in the United States, there are about 424,000 children living in the foster care system, as reported by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, a nonpar tisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness on children living within these terms. The Arkansas Child Welfare Outcomes State Date Review reported 4,280 chil dren in foster care as of Sept. 30, 2020.
Nationally, there is a looming threat to foster children: turning 18 years old, the national age of legal adulthood. Although 18-year-olds can vote, be tried in a court of law as an adult and serve in the military, there is a difference in legal adulthood and emotional maturity. The National Institute of Mental Health determined while the brain may have grown to its full size around age 11 for girls and age 14 for boys, the prefrontal cortex does not finish developing and maturing until a person’s mid-to-late 20s.
“This [prefrontal cortex] is responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing and controlling impulses. Because these skills are still developing, teens are more likely to engage in risky be havior without considering the potential results of their decisions,” reported “The Teen Brain: 7 Things to Know,” a fact sheet published by NIMH.
Legal definitions of adulthood and psychological definitions of adulthood, or emotional ma turity, differ. There are several implications to consider when defining what makes an individual ready to tackle the tasks that come with being “grown”.
In Arkansas, turning 18 may make you a legal adult, but with an initiative put into place by the Department of Human Services in 2020, it does not have to be the date that foster chil dren cease to receive resources. Transitional services available under the division of Services For Older Youth or Former Foster Youth create a way to guide teenagers in planning for their futures.
According to DHS, this is referred to as a transitional planning process, where children are able to assess and develop the life skills and resources they need to function as an adult. The plan is put together by a team made up of people important to the child, such as foster parents, biological family members, an attorney, Court Appointed Special Advocates for children (CASA), mentors, therapists, teachers and coaches.
According to Services For Older Youth or Former Foster Care, the plan covers a variety of top ics such as education, employment, health care and housing, in addition to securing necessary records such as a birth certificate, medical records and school records.
These plans can also include a secondary option for children, extended foster care, a program where older youth can opt to stay in Arkansas' care from ages 18-21.
The DHS website addresses concerns youth may have regarding staying in foster care, “Look, we get it. Foster care isn’t fun. You want freedom and your own space, but there are great oppor tunities to remain in foster care that give you more freedom than you think.”
Arkansas codes § 9-27-303(32)(B) and § 9-28-114 allow children to choose to stay in foster care until they turn 21 years old if they are attending school, working or have a medical condi tion preventing education or occupation. Under extended foster care, youth are eligible to receive a maximum of $5,000 a year to support continued education via college and trade schools, and
to find housing.
When it comes to finding a place to live, it can be difficult for those exiting foster care to access safe and stable housing. Cred it and work history play a significant role in many leasing opportunities, and both cri teria can be profoundly affected by being in foster care. In 2020, DHS launched its Supervised Independent Living Program, allowing extended foster care participants to obtain support and independence. Ac cording to the Arkansas Department of Children and Family Services, this oppor tunity exists to support children over 18, giving them the best chance to make it on their own.
training, life skills training, recreational activities and a 24/7 crisis helpline in addition to services at The OC. LifeBASE Teen is a similar program, where youth ages 14 to 18 and their families can receive coaching, training, recreational activities and more.
According to Gilmore, Immerse has space for 30 older youth in transitional housing as part of the LifeBASE program, and the DCFS funds 10 of the available spots.
“It’s a challenging time for many young people, and sometimes it seems like a really tough decision to make to stay in foster care,” Gilmore said. “With our teen program, we serve 14-year-olds to 18-year-olds who are still in foster care or have been adopted. We de cided to take what we do with older youth to teach these things at a younger age, to prepare them at a younger age.”
Immerse serves with its mission at mind, providing unconditional, supportive and nur turing relationships. Immerse’s six-step process includes an assessment of needs, creating a plan, building a circle of support, equipping youth with the tools they need, measuring the impact of the created plan and, finally, overcoming.
“Immerse approaches the problem in terms of lifestyle instead of an age limit. There are sources of funding that are time-limited, but not age.” Gilmore said. “We really want to see young people in safe and stable housing and completing educa tion and certifications.”
“We’re not going to give up before you do,” is a phrase Gilmore and his team say often, assuring their commitment to service.
“We know it’s a long journey and that it takes a lot of hard work, but we really work hard to stick with the young people in our program,” Gilmore said. “We are honored to do what we get to do, and we are thrilled to work with young people who are working so hard to accomplish their goals. We are con stantly impressed with the resilience of the people we serve who haven’t given up despite everything that life has thrown at them.”
In 2023, Immerse plans to start construction on a shelter for older youth ages 18 to 24. This shelter will provide stable, short-term housing with individual bathrooms and bedrooms.
“The shelter will help get youth into stable housing quicker and will help them to avoid the challenges of adult homeless shelters,” Gilmore said. “We are excited about meeting that need.”
foster care in Arkansas, such as Immerse. Immerse is an organization committed to helping children transition into adulthood with several programs including LifeBASE, the organization’s transitional program.
Eric Gilmore, executive director at Im merse, explains multiple ways the organi zation is involved in serving youth in Cen tral Arkansas.
“We have the youth center on Asher Av enue in Little Rock, where we serve a lot of young people who we may not be able to get into housing. We allow them to meet with a coach, determine core goals relating to housing and relationships and provide them with a place to eat and take a shower,” Gilmore said.
Known as The OC, the youth center is not part of the supervised independent living solution that Immerse offers, but is another resource for children who need support. Described as a hub for all of Im merse’s operations and programming, The OC is also a place where the youth can find coaching, mentoring, life skills classes, educational and employment support and participate in community activities.
LifeBASE Young Adult provides help with supportive housing, one-on-one skills
According to Gilmore, Immerse plans to open this shelter in spring or summer 2024. Immerse has grown in its mission over the last several years, and according to Stefan Specht – a man who not only has experience in the foster care system but also with Im merse – the organization has set itself apart from the others by fostering an environment of trust.
“Fundamentally, Immerse is a program that is built differently than a lot of others,” Specht said. “Immerse leads on a trust-based relationship intervention, which is lifechanging for a lot of youth.”
Specht, who entered the Arkansas foster care system in his adolescence, was first intro duced to the program in August of 2014 after spending time in a Methodist group home.
“I wanted to try to figure things out on my own, so I left Immerse for about a year and a half,” Specht said, explaining that his experience in independence was not successful.
“I’ve spent a lot of my life institutionalized. I’ve lived in group homes and lived in rough positions at best,” Specht said. “There are lots of different programs and lots of different ways people run these programs, and Immerse really understood how to not only build trust, but how to keep it.”
In returning to Immerse in 2017, Specht found the group to be genuine in its philosophy and eager to reconnect with him, no matter the length of time he spent away. His thentransitional coach helped him get involved with Job Core, which allowed him to obtain a certificate in a trade.
According to Specht, once you enter Immerse you never truly leave the program, and because of the respectful and understanding approach of Immerse employees, there is an overwhelming rate of success.
Gilmore said a major difference in Immerse is that it is not an aged-based program as much as it is a readiness program.
“We support the youth for however long it takes,” Gilmore said.
Specht has been involved with Immerse for the past eight years, and in his involvement has been able to work directly representing youth. He received an associate degree from the University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College and is currently studying graphic design at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. ◊
Empathetic Care is Available. We offer compassionate care to people of all ages. Arkansans at Risk. We call Arkansas The Natural State, but ours is a rural state, which places Arkansans at risk.
Suicide rates are higher in rural America than in urban America, and suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in America. This trend is alarming, but we are here to help. Our physicians help adults with mental health or substance use disorders and adolescents and children with behavioral health issues.
Also, our services are available at any time.
Physicians are on the medical staff of The BridgeWay, but, with limited exceptions, are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of The BridgeWay. The facility shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians.
Put faith at the base of treatment, healing, and recovery.
The Arkansas Department of Human Services is proud to partner with these faith-based treatment providers across the state:
Safe Haven – Clarksville – Women only – safehavenclarksville.com
Daughters of the Other Side – Higginson – Pregnant Women and their children – daughtersoftheotherside.com
Better Community Development – Little Rock – Men and women – bcdinc.org
SOZO Recovery Center – Jessieville – Men only – sozorecoverycenters.com
Arkansas
Ministries – DeWitt – Men only – arm180dewitt.com
Losing a loved one can be a startling and difficult journey for ma ny. Helping to meet the need for as sistance is Camp Healing Hearts, a free day grief camp for all ages and families, coping with the loss of a loved one.
The camp began in May of 2007 at Camp Ferncliff with 15 families in attendance, becoming the first grief camp in the state. Since then, the program has moved to Camp Al dersgate in Little Rock, where they can accommodate 124 people for lodging and 150 for meals. Annually, about 2025 families come to attend Camp Healing Hearts. During 2020-2021, the camp took a hiatus due to the pandemic, but organizers are hoping to move to an overnight camp again soon, so that people further from Central Arkansas can eas ily access their resources.
The camp is coordinated by the Kaleidoscope Grief Cen ter, a free program for children, teens and their families who are grieving that meets twice a month. Both Camp Healing Hearts and the Kaleidoscope Grief Center are pro grams through Methodist Family Health, a continuum of care for Arkansan children and their families that offers a vast array of services, both in-patient and out-patient, for various therapy and treatment needs.
Kelli Reep, director of Communications at Methodist Family Health and a member of the organization since 2017, is proud of the work that they do to help the state and its citizens.
“We work to feature people and organizations who make a joyful difference in the communities we share in Arkan sas,” Reep says, “These are people and organizations you may not recognize or know about, but they are doing what they can to make our communities better – more accessible, safer, innovative.”
Kelli ReepJanet Breen, an outpatient therapist with the Method ist Counseling Clinic and Program Coordinator of Kaleido scope Grief Center for over 12 years, was formerly employed in Hospice Home Care, where the grief center was once a program. When the program could not financially support itself as a nonprofit organization, Methodist Family Health took on the program. Grieving children and families may need specialized help and services, and the partnership with Methodist Family Health has proven to be a success for the continuation of the program.
“Due to their belief, as mine, that grieving children and families need a voice,” Breen adds.
Janet BreenWhile the large outdoors space offers an oasis in and of itself, there is also a critical element to the activities offered within that space. Since 2009, Camp Aldersgate has pro vided an aspect of cheer for Camp Healing Hearts, offering over 100 acres of natural landscape, a 6-acre private lake,
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air-conditioned and handicap-accessible cabins, an open-air pavilion where camp ers can gather, a playground and carousel for children and trained staff who can help campers with activities.
As Breen says, “We need an environ ment such as this to do good grief work. We come to camp broken, battered and worn, and this ‘home away from home’ is an outdoor oasis and ideal setting for grief work to leave renewed and refreshed to continue on our grief journey.”
To put it shortly, “It is a great fit.”
Through bereavement groups with their peers, campers have opportunities to participate in a candlelight memorial service, quiet periods, family activities and play.
The idea of play as a form of therapy, Reep finds, is what makes the camp so unique in the form of grief counseling. While campers can do all the things you would expect at a normal summer camp, such as swimming, hiking and arts and crafts, there is also a space in the evening to hold a candlelight service where indi viduals can share about loved ones that they have lost.
As Reep says, “It’s a beautiful way to center yourself and feel like your loved one is with you.”
The camp is set up to provide a space for campers and families to “Reflect, Recon nect, and Rediscover” themselves, with each space integral to the camp and its view of grieving, and doing it communally.
Reflection is seen in the sharing of each individual’s personal stories, and a comforting, safe physical place to be able to reflect on the memories of their loved ones. Reconnection is the goal of helping families to experience nature in an inde pendent way that sparks adventure, gen erating reconnection within themselves, as well as group discussions and art activ ities to help campers express themselves and their experiences.
Breen remarks, “Families have the op portunity to meet new people who are grieving, share their stories and challenge themselves by trying new things.”
The Rediscovery aspect of the camp is to provide ways to cope with grief and to provide hope for the families, who learn how to play and work together in reflect ing and reconnecting. While they gain new coping skills at the camp that they can use after the program, they also leave with new friends and a new grief commu nity. This strengthening of individuals and family units is the ultimate goal of the program, which hopes to provide tools for ongoing periods of grief and the future without that loved one.
The backbone to reaching these goals
for campers are the staff, who come from an array of backgrounds and specializations, all with the goal to better Arkansan families that are grieving.
And the best part? It is volunteer run.
The staff vary in professions, ranging from teachers to therapists, social workers to chaplains and healthcare workers, such as nurses. They come from Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the Little Rock School District, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sci ences, and the nonprofit Delta Society. The primary source of support for the camp is Methodist Family Health.
Reep is just one example of many of the staff and outside support that make Camp Healing Hearts happen, and who may have experienced the same feelings that families and children in attendance are having. Around 50 trained volunteers participate in Camp Healing Hearts annually, an impressive feat of various medical and educational fields coming together from all backgrounds and experiences that may help them relate to others.
As Reep says, “I understand some of what the kids in our program are experienc ing, and I want to tell their stories in a way others can understand and, hopefully, see themselves.”
The aspect of coming together to support and be with other grieving individuals is critical to the camp itself. Being family-oriented, caregivers are mandated to attend the camp with their grieving child. Individuals over 18 are not required to attend with their caregiver, but no camper attends alone. The camp activities, ranging from the candlelight ceremony to meals, boating, fishing, outdoor games like archery, and any other aspect of participation, are all done together as a family.
While the goal of the camp is indeed to help others, the individuals who come to vol unteer their time may do so because of their own personal grief, or a deep understanding of the families and individuals who need help.
“I am convinced that doing our own grief work is probably the most important work we will ever do in our lives,” Breen says, “Many bereaved children and families often need our support in this capacity when they don't know how to help themselves or their children.”
After Camp Healing Hearts, there can continue to be support for grieving families. People can be referred to work with the Kaleidoscope Grief Group to carry on with their grief work, or also have assistance in finding resources local to them if they are not in the Central Little Rock area.
Both Breen and Reep have experienced loss in their time working with and beside Camp Healing Hearts, and have been able to experience first-hand the way that grieving in a community offers a wonderful form of support. The ability to grieve with others was a life-altering period for both, and their continued support of the program speaks vol umes about how that experience has made them want to continue to help others. Camp Healing Hearts may be a day where families and children can play together, but it is also a day where strangers can learn how to take the tentative next steps of life without a loved one.
“It takes special people to step up and work with people in their grief,” Reep concludes. “It’s a heartbreaking but profoundly beautiful thing to witness.” ◊
ommunity Service, Inc is a nonprofit agency that works with children, youth and their families to help them deal with behavioral issues so they can be successful in their homes, schools, vocations, and communities No child is ever turned away due to their inability to pay for services
The shortage of mental health care providers isn’t new to Ar kansas, and it existed before the pandemic, but the situation has now become even more critical with 97% of counties in Arkansas classified as Behavioral Health Professional shortage areas.
“This includes psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed mental health counselors, social workers and nurse practitioners with special train ing in mental health,” said Laura Dunn, M.D., chair of the University of Arkansas for Medical Services (UAMS) Department of Psychiatry and director of the Psychiatric Research Institute. “While the shortage of behavioral health professionals is most severe in rural areas, there can still be challenges in accessing mental health care in urban areas due to long wait times because the practices are already very busy. I would also note that this is also a problem that is being seen nationally.”
It has been widely reported, by organizations such as the Kaiser Family Foundation, that the pandemic has had a major negative im pact on mental health, particularly for anxiety, depression and sub stance abuse. Dunn said even with many services going virtual during the pandemic, demand for mental health services accelerated. State data from the Kaiser Family Foundation also revealed the significance of the need for mental health care in Arkansas.
UAMS is working with members of the legislature, other providers and leaders of state agencies to leverage all currently available resourc
es to better meet the needs of those seeking care.
It is a problem that not only affects patients, but providers who may feel under pressure to work longer hours with less time off.
UAMS programs to increase the availability of mental health pro fessionals include more residencies for training psychiatrists such as a new psychiatry residency program in collaboration with Baptist Health in North Little Rock. UAMS also has very active psychologist training programs, which includes interns, fellows, and other students training in a variety of specialty areas.
“We would very much like to add residency slots in other areas of the state as well – stay tuned,” Dunn said. “Psychologists and other providers also work toward increasing mental health services through community engagement and by working in programs that train other professionals to recognize and treat mental health disorders, includ ing trauma and addiction. UAMS continues to work with our congres sional delegation, state legislators and other providers to increase the number of residencies available to train physicians, not only in psy chiatry, but in all aspects of medicine. In addition, a cross section of providers, state agency leadership and members of the legislature have been meeting since February to discuss various approaches to increase the number of providers.”
The pandemic highlighted the opportunities that telemedicine can
provide. Some patients may have to travel hours from home to see a provider. Telemedicine is a tool that helps remove some of the barriers for access to care.
The UAMS AR ConnectNow virtual mental health program started with a federal grant in May 2020.
“People couldn’t get out,” said AR ConnectNow Program Manager Tony Boaz. “They couldn’t visit their therapist in person, so we started a virtual clinic. The overall goal of our therapists is to get people estab lished in their community. We usually see them for four to six sessions. If that is not enough, we will set them up with longer-term care in their community.”
It can take two months or longer to get an appointment with a psychiatrist. Accord ing to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 1,426,349 people in Arkansas live in a community that does not have enough mental health professionals.
AR ConnectNow, is a free resource that fills the need for immediate care and is available to anyone. If a patient has insurance, the visit will be billed to the insurance company.
In addition to psychiatrists and therapists, AR ConnectNow has four care coordinators who help get patients approved for insurance, and meet other critical needs such as for housing, food, education and treatment in other aspects of health care.
“It is awesome that we can provide this service,” Boaz said. “If you are feeling stressed, give us a call. We can help you. Since we started this, we have taken 3,500 calls and treated more than 2,000 people who might not have gotten help otherwise. The grant will sunset in the spring of 2023. We’re hoping that continues. I think it is too valuable to let it end. There is too much need in the state, so I’m fairly confident we are going to find a way to continue it.”
There are important implications for the economy.
“Obviously, when people are feeling better about their mental situation, they are able to perform better at work,” Boaz said. “With
clinical depression, you don’t feel like getting up or doing anything, let alone keeping a job and paying the bills. If you can get medication, therapy or both, sooner rather than later, you can get on with the good parts of your life.”
The AR ConnectNow toll-free number, 1-800-482-9921, is an swered 24/7 by a nurse triage group at UAMS. In an emergency, call ers are advised to call 911 or visit the closest emergency department. If it is not an emergency, Boaz said UAMS usually schedules patients within a day or two.
Boaz said UAMS has seen very little differ ence between virtual and in-person appoint ments.
“Obviously, you have to get used to inter acting virtually,” he said. “We have seen a lot of success with adolescents all the way up to 90-year-olds we have had in the clinic. People love the convenience of it. Our therapists love it. They have a lot of success stories. We’ve even done it at high schools. We see a lot of adoles cents and referrals from the Arkansas Chil dren’s Hospital. Those kids are used to being on their phones, so doing a video session is noth ing new for them.”
This has also been helpful in fighting the stigma surrounding mental health treatment, as patients can attend visits virtually, without anyone knowing. The lack of stigma increases the likelihood of people being able to get help.
Boaz is also the director of STRIVE, a school-based mental health program serving the Greater Little Rock area. STRIVE has offices in the schools. Instead of having to check out children and take them to an appointment, they can be seen at the school. The kids don’t miss half a day of school, but just an hour. And if children ares having a crisis, they can get immediate help.
Depression and anxiety in youth during the pandemic have shot up; the suicide rate for the teenage population has gone up significantly.
“The fact we are onsite helps out a lot,” Boaz said. “If the school has an issue, they know exactly who to call to get services.”
Arkansas is currently ranked 39th in the nation based on prevalence of mental illness and access to care for children and adults by Mental Health America. When you break it down by age groups, Arkansas ranks 48th in the nation for children and adolescents, said Crissy Allen-Doyle, DNP, APRN, a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, who treats psychiatric patients in Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s emergen cy room.
According to Mental Health America, there are about 460,000 adults in Arkansas with a diagnosable mental, behavioral or emotional disorder with only about half of those reported as receiving treatment. Mental Health America also reports there are also about 33,000 chil dren and adolescents who have experienced severe depressive symp toms alone.
“Only about 7,000 of those children and adolescents reported re ceiving some form of consistent treatment, and this doesn’t even ac count for the myriad of other mental health disorders that also need treatment,” Allen-Doyle said. “Research published in Mental Health Clinician indicates only about half of the pediatric population is diag nosed with depression before adulthood, which increases the risk of this untreated disorder still being present as an adult.”
Patients in need of mental health services can often be faced with barriers such long appointment wait times or a lack of mental health providers nearby. The County Health Rankings and Roadmaps recently estimated there is only one mental health provider for every 400 resi dents of Arkansas. This also includes mental health providers who do not provide medication management for psychiatric disorders, and ac cording to Allen-Doyle, this data does not reflect the true need for mental health providers who can offer those specialized services.
97% of counties in Arkansas are classified as Behavioral Health Professional shortage areas.
“PMHNPs are trained to provide psychiatric medication manage ment, therefore playing a vital role in closing the gaps for this service throughout Arkansas,” Allen-Doyle said. “There are various types of graduate nursing programs in mental health that may include on line, traditional in-person or hybrid plans of study. We are fortunate to have a rigorous but exceptional program at UAMS. UAMS PMHNP graduates are advanced practice registered nurses educated at the mas ters or doctoral level with expertise in the care of mental illness across the lifespan.”
In addition to the core curriculum at UAMS, PMHNPs are required to complete curriculum specific to the specialty and complete practi cum hours in tandem with a specialist in the psychiatric field. Masters level students complete three practicum courses, totaling 540 hours and doctoral students complete four practicum courses, totaling 1,080 hours. After successful completion of the program, the nurse must pass the national PMHNP certification exam through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
“We are trained to care for pediatric, adult and geriatric patients,” Allen-Doyle said. “Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners can work in any setting such as outpatient clinics, hospitals, emergency departments, psychiatric private practice, school systems, prisons and so many others. We perform comprehensive psychiatric evaluations to diagnose and formulate plans of care for diagnoses in the DSM-5, such as depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma and stress related disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizo phrenia and psychotic disorders, neurocognitive disorders, personal ity disorders, sleep disorders and substance abuse. This also includes
disorders related to pediatric patients such as op positional defiant disorder, disruptive mood dys regulation disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorders and eating disorders.”
PMHNPs provide assessment and evaluation of the patient to rule out any medical or substance induced causes of symptoms using interventions such as ordering labs, identifying risk factors and analyzing medical and mental health history. Al len-Doyle said they can prescribe necessary psychi atric medications, order pertinent lab work prior to beginning treatment and during treatment to monitor therapeutic benefit, explain the test re sults to patients and families and provide patient education regarding medications, risks, benefits and reasonable outcome expectations.
“At each encounter, we evaluate a patient’s physical symptoms and health to determine the potential for underlying medical conditions and possible side effects of medications and collaborate with primary medical providers to address medi cal needs,” she said. “When needed, we perform crisis intervention, de-escalation, risk assessment for suicide and self-harm and formulate treatment plans to address the patient’s needs. The PMHNP is trained to perform psychotherapy, but often works in collabora tion with psychologists, licensed social workers, licensed professional counselors and marriage and family therapists who provide these spe cialized services. Patient and family education is also a very important component of the PMHNP role.”
Primary care providers are also vital.
“Our goal as mental health providers is to collaborate with primary providers to improve the overall well-being and quality of life of the patient,” she said. “For example, patients with chronic medical condi tions have an increased risk of developing a mental health disorder. Likewise, untreated mental health disorders can impede the patient’s ability to effectively manage a chronic medical condition. This correla tion is not just isolated in adults; it is also seen in pediatric and ado lescent patients. For example, adolescents with diabetes have a higher risk of developing a mental health condition, with the most common being depressive disorders. Research has shown adolescents with dia betes who experience depressive symptoms are less likely to adhere to recommended treatment, experience longer episodes of depression and have a higher rate of suicidal ideation.”
PMNHPs can solely focus on the overall mental health of the pa tient during each encounter. “This allows us to monitor the patient closely and assess for improvement or worsening of symptoms of the disorder or disorders, efficacy of psychiatric medications, potential adverse effects of medications and provide education,” Allen-Doyle said. “We are also able to build relationships with patients and families and partner with them to create plans of care specific for their mental health.”
According to Mental Health America, there are about 460,000 adults in Arkansas with a diagnosable mental, behavioral or emotional disorder with only about half of those reported as receiving treatment.
ARKANSAS COUNTY
Southeast Arkansas Behavioral Healthcare System, Inc 870-673-1633 121 Commercial Drive “B” Stuttgart, AR 72160 sabhs.org
ASHLEY COUNTY
Phoenix Youth & Family Services 870-364-1676 310 North Alabama Street Crossett, AR 71635 phoenixyouth.com
BAXTER COUNTY Mountain Home Clinical Office 870-425-1041 700 South Main Street Mountain Home, AR 72653 familiesinc.net
BENTON COUNTY Chenal Family Therapy 479-595-0333 632 Lancashire Boulevard Bella Vista, AR 72715 chenaltherapy.com
FreshRoots Family Counseling 479-986-8655 411 West Poplar Rogers, AR 72756 freshrootsfamilycounseling.com
Oasis of Northwest Arkansas 479-268-4340 Bella Vista, Rogers oasisforwomennwa.org
Woodland Research Northwest 479-927-3000 609 West Dyke Road Rogers, AR 72758 joinaresearchstudy.com
CLARK COUNTY Arkansas Counseling & Psychodiagnostics 870-230-8271
2607 Caddo Street, Suite K Arkadelphia, AR 71923 acapcounseling.com
Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness 870-246-4123
640 S. 6th Street, Suite A Arkadelphia, AR 71923 obhaw.org
CLAY COUNTY Piggott Clinical Office 870-598-0306 111 South 3rd Avenue Piggott, AR 72454 familiesinc.net
CLEBURNE COUNTY
Chenal Family Therapy 501-781-2230 105 South 2nd Street Heber Springs, AR 72543 chenaltherapy.com
Methodist Family Health 501-365-3022
515 West Main Street Heber Springs, AR 72543 methodistfamily.org
COLUMBIA COUNTY
Methodist Family Health 870-234-0739 621 East North Street Magnolia, AR 71753 methodistfamily.org
CONWAY COUNTY
Community Service, Inc. 501-354-4589 100 South Cherokee Street Morrilton, AR 72110 csiyouth.com
Counseling Associates 501-345-1561 8 Hospital Drive Morrilton, AR 72110 caiinc.org
CRAIGHEAD COUNTY
Families, Inc. Counseling Services 870-933-6886 1815 Pleasant Grove Road Jonesboro, AR 72401 familiesinc.net
Methodist Family Health 870-910-3757 2239 South Caraway, Suite M Jonesboro, AR 72401 methodistfamily.org
Renew Mental Health and Wellness 870-243-0424 2815 Longview Drive Jonesboro, AR 72401 renewmentalhealthandwellness.com
CRAWFORD COUNTY
Methodist Family Health 479-632-1022 1209 Highway 71 North, Suite B Alma, AR 72921 methodistfamily.org
The Guidance Center 479-667-2497
2705 Oak Lane Van Buren, AR 72956 wacgc.org
DALLAS COUNTY
Millcreek Behavioral Health 870-890-4745
1828 Industrial Drive Fordyce, AR 71742 millcreekbehavioralhealth.com
DREW COUNTY
Delta Counseling Associates 870-367-2461 790 Roberts Drive Monticello, AR 71657 deltacounseling.org
Southeast Residential Center 870-460-0066 | 888-868-0023
936 Jordan Drive Monticello, AR 71655 centersforyouthandfamilies.net
FAULKNER COUNTY
Arkansas Families First 501-812-4268
1100 Bob Courtway Drive, #9 Conway, AR 72032 arfamiliesfirst.com/Conway
Chenal Family Therapy 501-781-2230
800 Exchange Avenue, Suite 103 Conway, AR 72034 chenaltherapy.com
Community Service, Inc. 501-327-9788
818 North Creek Drive Conway, AR 72032 csiyouth.com
Conway Behavioral Health 501-205-0011
2255 Sturgis Road Conway, AR 72034 conwaybh.com
Renewal Ranch 501-269-4306
75 Lake Drive Houston, AR 72070 therenewalranch.org
FRANKLIN COUNTY
Community Service, Inc. 479-667-5855
203 North 4th Street Ozark, AR 72949 csiyouth.com
FULTON AND SHARP COUNTY
Ash Flat Clinical Office 870-994-7060
75 Highway 62/412 Ash Flat, AR 72513 familiesinc.net
GARLAND COUNTY
Levi Hospital 501-624-1281 300 Prospect Avenue Hot Springs, AR 71901 levihospital.com
Methodist Family Health 501-318-6066
100 Ridgeway, Suite 5 Hot Springs, AR 71901 methodistfamily.org
Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness 501-624-7111 125 Wellness Way Hot Springs, AR 71913 obhaw.org
Ouachita Children’s Center 501-623-5591 339 Charteroak Street Hot Springs, AR 71901 occnet.org
GREENE COUNTY
Paragould Clinical Office 870-335-9483 1101 Morgan Street, Suite 8 Paragould, AR 72450 familiesinc.net
HEMPSTEAD COUNTY
Arkansas Dept. of Veterans Affairs District Veteran Service Offices: District 8 870-826-4899
205 Smith Road, Suite A Hope, AR 71801 veterans.arkansas.gov
HOT SPRING COUNTY
Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness 501-332-5236 1615 MLK Blvd. Malvern, AR 72104 obhaw.org
INDEPENDENCE COUNTY
Methodist Family Health 870-569-4890
500 East Main Street, Suite 310 Batesville, AR 72501 methodistfamily.org
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Southeast Arkansas Behavioral Healthcare System, Inc 870-534-1834 2500 Rike Drive Pine Bluff, AR 71613 sabhs.org
JOHNSON COUNTY
Community Service, Inc. 479-754-7296 106 Cherokee Lane Clarksville, AR 72830 csiyouth.com
LAWRENCE COUNTY Walnut Ridge Clinical Office 870-886-5303 1425 West Main Street Walnut Ridge, AR 72476 familiesinc.net
LEE COUNTY
Regional Prevention Program 870-298-2250 593 Highway 243 Marianna, AR 72360 crdcnea.org
LINCOLN COUNTY
Southeast Arkansas Behavioral Healthcare System, Inc 870-628-4181 612 East Arkansas Street Star City, AR 71667 sabhs.org
LOGAN COUNTY
The Guidance Center 479-675-3909 174 North Welsh Avenue Booneville, AR 72927 wacgc.org The Guidance Center 479-963-2140 415 South 6th Street Paris, AR 72855 wacgc.org
LONOKE COUNTY Chenal Family Therapy 501-781-2230 12406 Highway 5, Suite C Cabot, AR 72023 chenaltherapy.com
MILLER COUNTY
Riverview Behavioral Health 866-302-6731 701 Arkansas Boulevard Texarkana, Ar 71854 riverviewbehavioralhealth.com
Southwest Arkansas Counseling & Mental Health Center 870-773-4655 2904 Arkansas Boulevard Texarkana, AR 71854 swacmhc.com
MISSISSIPPI COUNTY Osceola Clinical Office 870-622-0592
3201 West Keiser Street Osceola, AR 72370 familiesinc.net
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Counseling Associates, INC: Outpatient Office 479-754-8610
1021 Poplar Street Clarksville, AR 72830 caiinc.org
OUACHITA COUNTY
Ouachita County Medical Center 870-836-1000 638 California Avenue Camden, AR 71701
PIKE COUNTY
Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness 870-782-0179
371 Hwy 70E, Suite A Glenwood, AR 71943 obhaw.org
POINSETT COUNTY
Trumann Clinical Office 870-483-4003
1704 Highway 69 West Trumann, AR 72472 familiesinc.net
POLK COUNTY
The Guidance Center 479-394-5277
307 South Cherry Street Mena, AR 71953 wacgc.org
POPE COUNTY Community Service, Inc. 479-967-3370 1505 South Oswego Avenue Russellville, AR 72802 www.csiyouth.com
PULASKI COUNTY Argenta Counseling 501-777-5969
513 Main Street North Little Rock, AR 72114 argentacounseling.com
Arkansas Department of Health 501-661-2000
4815 West Markham Street Little Rock, AR 72205 healthy.arkansas.gov
Arkansas Families First 501-812-4268
4004 McCain Boulevard #203 North Little Rock, AR 72116 arfamiliesfirst.com
Arkansas State Hospital Department of Psychology 501-686-9000
305 South Palm Street Little Rock, AR 72205 uamshealth.com
Behavioral Health Services of Arkansas
501-954-7470
10 Corporate Hill Drive, #330 Little Rock, AR 72205 bhsarkansas.org
BOHEMIA Cares 501-777-8068 P.O. Box 5875 Jacksonville, AR 72078 bohemiacares.org
Children's Protection Center 501-364-5490 1210 Wolfe Street Little Rock, AR 72202 childrensprotectioncenter.org
Jacksonville Clinical Office 501-982-5000 2126 N. 1st St., Ste. F Jacksonville, AR 72076 familiesinc.net
NAMI Arkansas 501-661-1548 1012 Autumn Road, #1 Little Rock, AR 72211 namiarkansas.org
Natural State Recovery Centers 501-319-7074 3600 Cantrell Road, #303 Little Rock, AR 72202 naturalstaterecovery.com
Pinnacle Pointe Behavioral Healthcare System 501-223-3322 11501 Financial Centre Parkway Little Rock, AR 72211 pinnaclepointehospital.com
Recovery Centers of Arkansas 501-372-4611 1201 River Road North Little Rock, AR 72114 rcofa.org
Rise Counseling & Diagnostics
501-891-5492 12921 Cantrell Road, Suite 105 Little Rock, AR 72223 riseforfamilies.com
RiverStone Wellness Center 501-777-3200 5905 Forest Place, #230 Little Rock, AR 72207 riverstonewellnesscenter.com
Serenity Park Recovery Center 501-313-0066 2711 West Roosevelt Road Little Rock, AR 72204 serenityparkrecovery.com
The BridgeWay 501-771-1500 21 Bridgeway Road North Little Rock, AR 72113 thebridgeway.com
The Centers 501-666-8686 6425 West 12th Street Little Rock, AR 72204 thecentersar.com
TMS Arkansas 501-313-2678 700 S. Schiller Street Little Rock, AR 72201 tmsarkansas.com
Youth Home, Inc. 501-821-5500 20400 Colonel Glenn Road Little Rock, AR 72210 youthhome.org
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Pocahontas Clinical Office 870-892-1005 2305 Old County Road Pocahontas, AR 72455 familiesinc.net
SALINE COUNTY
Birch Tree Communities 501-315-3344
1718 Old Hot Springs Highway Benton, AR 72015 birchtree.org
Chenal Family Therapy 501-781-2230
3230 Market Place Avenue, Suite 4 Bryant, AR 72022 chenaltherapy.com
Rise Counseling & Diagnostics 501-891-5492 205 River Street Benton, AR 72015 riseforfamilies.com
Rivendell Behavioral Health Services 501-316-1255
Ages: Under and over 18 100 Rivendell Drive Benton, AR 72019 rivendellofarkansas.com
SCOTT COUNTY
The Guidance Center 479-637-2468
1045 Rice Road Waldron, AR 72958 wacgc.org
SEARCY COUNTY
Marshall Outpatient Clinic 870-448-2176
316 Highway 65 North Marshall, AR 72650 caiinc.org
SEBASTIAN COUNTY
Chenal Family Therapy 479-595-0333
5111 Rogers Avenue, Suite 561 Fort Smith, AR 72903 chenaltherapy.com The Guidance Center 479-452-6650
3111 South 70th Street Fort Smith, AR 72903 wacgc.org
Valley Behavioral Health System 479-755-2321
10301 Mayo Drive Barling, AR 72923 valleybehavioral.com
SEVIER COUNTY
Chenal Family Therapy 870-340-2636
304 W. Collin Raye, Suite 103-A De Queen, AR 71832 chenaltherapy.com
ST. FRANCIS COUNTY
Arkansas Dept. of Veterans Affairs District Veteran Service Offices: District 7 870-736-7360
300 Eldrige, Suite 2 Forrest City, AR 72335
STONE COUNTY
Mountain View Outpatient Clinic 870-269-4193
106 Mountain Place Drive Mountain View, AR 72560 caiinc.org
UNION COUNTY
Chenal Family Therapy 870-340-2636
600 South Timberlane Drive El Dorado, AR 71730 chenaltherapy.com
VAN BUREN COUNTY
Chenal Family Therapy 501-781-2230
261 Court Street Clinton, AR 72031 chenaltherapy.com
Counseling Associates, Inc. 501-745-8007
2526 Highway 65 South, Suite 201 Clinton, AR 72031 caiinc.org
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Chenal Family Therapy 479-595-0333
34 West Colt Square, Suite 1 Fayetteville, AR 72703 chenaltherapy.com
Springwoods Behavioral Health 479-973-6000
1955 Truckers Drive Fayetteville, AR 72703 springwoodsbehavioral.com
Vantage Point Behavioral Health 479-502-9190 4253 North Crossover Road Fayetteville, AR 72703 vantagepointnwa.com
Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks 479-443-4301 1100 North College Avenue Fayetteville, AR 72703 www.fayettevillear.va.gov
WHITE COUNTY
Capstone Treatment Center 866-729-4479 120 Meghan Lane, #9302 Judsonia, AR 72081 capstonetreatmentcenter.com
Searcy Clinical Office 501-305-2359 1507 East Race Avenue Searcy, AR 72143 familiesinc.net
YELL COUNTY
Community Service, Inc. 479-495-5177 1408 East 8th Street Danville, AR 72833 csiyouth.com
STATEWIDE
Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield 501-378-2000 601 South Gaines Street Little Rock, AR 72201 arkansasbluecross.com
Arkansas Therapist Connection 1-888-Therapy
4004 McCain Boulevard #203 North Little Rock, AR 72116 gettherapy.com NAMI Arkansas 800-844-0381 1012 Autumn Rd, Suite 1 Little Rock, AR 72211 gettherapy.com
DIRECT LINE
Bereavement Counseling 202-461-6530
Veteran Call Center 877-WAR-VETS (927-8387)
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-8255
Emergency Services 911 Arkansas Crisis Center 888-274-7472
Arkansas Alcoholics Anonymous 501-664-7303
Arkansas Regional Services Committee of Narcotics Anonymous 800-338-8750
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Arkansas Chapter afsp.org/arkansas
Arkansas Area AL-ANON/Alateen arkansasalaon.org
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration samhsa.gov
National Resource Directory nrd.gov State Departments of Veterans Affairs va.gov/statedva
Our team is ready to help you and your loved ones get back to who you were meant to be. The therapy team at our premier treatment center offers care for a wide range of behavioral and emotional struggles, including but not limited to:
If you or your family needs care, visit BHSArkansas.org or call (501) 954-7470 for an in-person or telehealth appointment.
