service
on
“One of the great things about CAP is that we have a network of programs doing a beautiful job of addressing immediate, basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing. We have programs that will patch your leaky roof, nourish your hunger, or drive you to town for a doctor’s appointment. It’s safety and shelter and critical needs being met,” explains Chris Griffith, manager of CAP’s Family Life Counseling Program. “CAP approaches this work from a very holistic, relational point of view, so when other needs come to the surface we want to address those as well. One of those layers of need is mental health.” Currently celebrating 30 years of service in Eastern Kentucky, CAP’s Family Life Counseling Program seeks
“ONCE CAP HAS SATISFIED IMMEDIATE NEEDS THROUGH OTHER PROGRAMS, THE COUNSELING PROGRAM ADDRESSES NEEDS AT THE NEXT LEVEL.”
to address the mental health needs of children, families, and individuals. Griffith and his team of four full-time counselors conduct counseling sessions with clientele who have been referred by other CAP programs, partner agencies, churches, and other clients. Issues associated with mental health are not unique to Appalachia, but the prevalence of generational poverty in the region creates its own unique set of presenting problems and requires some very intentional methods of treatment. Griffith explains, “There’s a rigor to dealing with generational poverty, more than anything else. Multigenerational poverty, where you’ve never really known anything but hand-to-mouth – there are implicit stresses that create mental health issues like depression. It’s a burden. If you’re hungry or water is dripping on you from a hole in the roof, you can’t concentrate on anything else. When you look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, you can’t get to any higher levels of being if you’re worried about safety, food or other basic needs (refer to chart on pg. 20). Once CAP has satisfied immediate needs through other programs, the Counseling Program addresses needs at the next level.” When people have secured basic necessities, they are able to begin focusing on mental health needs that may have existed beneath the surface for years or even decades. According to Griffith, “A family may get their SPRING / SUMMER 2017 | christianapp.org/MtSpiritGive
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