PROFILES IN MENTAL HEALTH - SEPTEMBER 2023

PROFILES IN MENTAL HEALTH

SPECIAL ADVERTISING FEATURE

Caring for our mental health is vital to our overall health and wellness, including our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Our mental health affects how we feel, think, and act. It determines how we handle stressors, how we relate to those around us and assists in making healthy life choices. Positive mental health is essential at every stage of our life, from childhood into adolescence and throughout adulthood. Do South® is proud to profile local mental health experts here to help you through whatever challenges life throws your way.

PROFILES IN MENTAL HEALTH

SPECIAL ADVERTISING FEATURE

Caring for our mental health is vital to our overall health and wellness, including our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Our mental health affects how we feel, think, and act. It determines how we handle stressors, how we relate to those around us and assists in making healthy life choices. Positive mental health is essential at every stage of our life, from childhood into adolescence and throughout adulthood. Do South® is proud to profile local mental health experts here to help you through whatever challenges life throws your way.

Baptist Health Senior Care Behavioral Health-Fort Smith is proud to be a presenting sponsor of the 2023 Walk to End Alzheimer's in the River Valley on Saturday, September 16, at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. You can join our team, create your own or simply donate by visiting https://act.alz.org/. We know your senior years can be some of the best and most active years of your life. That’s why for the last two decades, we’ve provided excellent behavioral and mental health services to the area’s aging population.

Our specially trained physicians, nurses, mental health professionals, rehabilitation specialists and case workers inside our 23-bed inpatient geriatric psychiatry unit at Baptist Health-Fort Smith provide diagnoses and customized treatment plans for adults, ages 55 and older, experiencing acute mental health problems. Those conditions can include neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease or more common issues such as anxiety disorders, dementia, depression, or sleep disorders. Our program, offered in a safe, comfortable environment, supported by group activities, recreational therapy, spiritual enrichment and more, is led by a professional and experienced staff. From family therapy sessions and education to help loved ones better understand mental health issues as we age, to providing guidance on how to access services that may be needed upon discharge, our compassionate team supports both patients and caregivers. For more information, call (479) 441-5601 or visit Baptist-Health.com today.

Did you know hearing loss is linked to decline in cognitive health, which is the ability to think clearly, learn, and remember? Hearing is a brain activity, your ears hear the sounds, but your brain makes sense of them. If your hearing loss is untreated and you’re not hearing the number of sounds you once did, your brain is not processing those sounds. This can lead to under-stimulation and loss of the brain staying sharp. It may also lead to social isolation and depression because activities that were enjoyed are now avoided because hearing is no longer optimal in social settings. The good news is that taking control of hearing loss may delay or slow cognitive decline!

We are proud to offer cognitive screenings to patients using a new technology called Cognivue. Our technology can measure your current cognitive health, and it’s not an IQ test or a list of questions, but rather a simple, automated assessment that takes only 8-10 minutes to complete in our office. The results help our audiologists have a greater understanding of your current cognitive health while ensuring a hearing-correction solution that is right for you.

Balance issues, dizziness, or vertigo are also conditions that should be addressed. In addition to cognitive and diagnostic testing, we also offer neurodiagnostic testing! The inner ear is home to the hearing and balance centers. The receptors within the inner ear allow signals to be received and processed by a variety of locations within the central nervous system and the brain. Unlike imaging studies, which only show the anatomy or structures, our testing allows physicians to better understand how the system is working and where a problem is located. Your physician may recommend evaluation of the hearing center, balance centers, or both. Hearing health is linked to brain health, and we must care for our hearing just as we do other health concerns. Call 479-7853277 to schedule an appointment today!

Clinical Psychology of Fort Smith has been providing professional psychological services since 1991. It began with Dr. Phil Barling and Dr. Richard Murphy, grew into a group practice, and now consists of two practitioners: Dr. Phil Barling and his daughter, Candace York, MS, LPC, CCPT.

Dr. Barling now limits his practice to working with adults. Candace York has 25 years of experience in a variety of local settings and joined the practice full time in 2022. She works with adults, families, and children and also holds a certification in play therapy. Play therapy is a multi–dimensional approach not only to understanding children and their emotions, but also to providing alternative outlets for expression and processing of these emotions. Parents are also involved so they can understand their child’s journey and how to better support them at home.

At Clinical Psychology of Fort Smith, we treat a variety of mental health issues and care for you throughout all stages of life. Our staff is committed to meeting you where you are and helping you set goals to become a healthier, happier you. We will work to help you develop psychological skills that can help you attain a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Whether you are an adult struggling to navigate life’s greatest challenges, a teenager struggling to handle the pressures of school or life, or a parent who needs help understanding and supporting your child, we have the expertise and tools for you.

We have recently relocated our office to a new location and are ready to address your mental health needs.

5004 South U Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas 479.883.2223

healingtreetherapy.com

Women live healthier, happier lives when they feel confident about who they are. Healing Tree provides women the tools they need to uncover their true potential and embrace the life each was meant to live. Our therapists help women address difficulties including struggles with anxiety, perfectionism, childhood trauma, PTSD, mood disorders, and post-partum depression. All Healing Tree clinicians are trained in multiple trauma therapies including EMDR, hypnotherapy, brain spotting, and trauma-conscious yoga. With two board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners on staff, our focus is to provide women with hope and understanding in a nonjudgmental environment.

Our targeted counseling for teen girls brings together creativity, life skills, and emotional healing to create a space where teens feel safe and connected. Girls today have it much harder than we did growing up. When we were kids, there weren’t completely unrealistic reality shows on every channel and unattainable expectations for appearances on social media. Our bullies stayed at school— they couldn’t follow us home on social media. Healing Tree therapists help teen girls develop the wisdom, strength, and confidence to handle the non-stop barrage of social media and peer pressure.

We all need a place to throw out the thoughts and feelings in our heads, sort through them, and uncover the reasons our lives are not where we want them to be so that we discover the path we were meant to follow. Our services include counseling and where appropriate, we also provide medication management to help reduce the symptoms of emotional overwhelm many women feel.

While medication is not suitable for everyone, it can play a key role in treating certain mental health issues. Discovering the right medication can reduce or even eliminate symptoms and greatly improve daily life. It’s vital to understand that the effectiveness of medication varies from person to person and it’s critically important to work with a professional with a keen understanding of the patient’s medical history so they can customize a medication plan. After medication is determined, our focus shifts to monitoring the medication’s safety, reconciling other medications, and ensuring the medication is producing the desired effect. It’s important not only to understand when medications should be taken and in what dosage, but also to understand the medication’s purpose, safety, side effects, effectiveness, as well as any potential risks from mixing medications with certain foods or other supplements. We can even provide medication management to our patients in Arkansas and Minnesota via telehealth for convenience.

At Healing Tree, we believe in a holistic approach to mental health and work hard to ensure our patients receive the highest quality care. We specialize in helping women find calm amongst the chaos so that they learn to feel more in control of their thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Our mission is to provide healing, expertise, and knowledge so that women gain the inner resources they need to live healthier and happier lives.