Wichita Journalism Collaborative

Partners have reported numerous stories about mental health over the past year. View all the coverage online at wichitajournalism.org.

“Through friends and social media, I finally found that there is help that I can get and I am finally getting back to my normal self.” — Heidi Lane, Derby High School sophomore, from a story in the Derby High School Panther’s Tale https://bit.ly/heidilane

“My whole life I’ve always struggled with like being forgotten or being lost. I have a hard time connecting and thinking that when people are coming to me to want to talk they’re not at the end of the day going to leave as well.” — John Kirk, from a story in The Sunflower https://bit.ly/johnkirk

“As adults, we too often discount the mental health struggles of our youth. We call it teen angst. We call it a mood. A phase. And yet, the CDC maintains statistics on suicide in those as young as five years old.” — Eric Litwiller, director of development and communications at the Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas, in a commentary for KMUW https://bit.ly/ericlitwiller

“I encourage parents to talk about mental health with their children like they would have the ‘birds and the bees’ talk,” said Nicole Fenoglio, the founder of Stop Suicide ICT. “‘You’re gonna change and at some point, you are going to have these feelings, blah blah blah.’ Talk about mental health that way.”

Fenoglio also recommends regular mental health check-ins with a professional, as you would with a primary care doctor, and being open about how you are feeling. “Suicide prevention is way more than just helping someone in a crisis,” she said.

From a story in the Wichita Beacon about the importance of community in the healing process https://bit.ly/nicolefenoglio

“Help is out there. It’s just making the phone call to have the conversations to learn

How to find a therapist

(when you don’t know what you’re doing)

You’ve decided you want to try therapy … but how do you go about that exactly?

Here are a few options to get you started:

1.

2. 3.

If you’re not insured, look into low- and no-cost resources in our community. If you need guidance, call the 211 community help line or make an appointment with a behavioral health consultant at GraceMed.

Look through an online directory for therapists. The largest one is operated by Psychology Today, and it allows you to search by location and lots of other factors, including cost, gender, and type of therapy. There’s even a way to contact each therapist through the website, a bonus for those who don’t want to pick up the phone.

Or ask your primary care physician. 5. 4.