WVU Medicine Offers Hope for West Virginia’s Mental Health Crisis | News, Sports, Jobs

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the perfect time to talk about the struggles that many West Virginians face.

When it comes to mental health, the statistics for West Virginia are alarming. According to 2020 data from the Center for Disease Control, almost 30% of West Virginians reported being diagnosed with depression, the highest in the nation. The national rate of depression in adults is 18%, for comparison. According to a report from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 82,000 West Virginians had a serious mental health illness, and 18,000 kids aged 12-17 were depressed.

These statistics are obviously concerning. What is even more concerning is that more than half of those with mental illness did not receive medical care. The reasons vary: living in a region with few options for mental health care, out-of-pocket costs for out-of-network doctors, and the stigma of mental health issues are all reasons that are cited for not seeking care.

WVU Medicine hopes to change these dismal statistics. We spoke to Tiffany Wees, Regional Director of Neurosciences–North at the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry and WVU Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute about dispelling the myths about mental health and how WVU Medicine is giving West Virginians better access to quality mental healthcare.

According to Wees, the more we talk about mental health, the better.

“The more we educate and talk about mental health, the more we can prevent the stigma attached to mental illness. It also helps those that have mental health issues realize that there is support in their community,” she says.

The sprawling modern building in Morgantown that houses the WVU Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute is home to a wide array of departments, including neurosurgery, neuroradiology, behavioral medicine and psychiatry and children’s neuroscience. The Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry “provides hope in the Appalachian region for patients ranging from children to elderly adults dealing with emotional and psychological issues, including substance use and addiction,” according to their website.

Their range of services include inpatient and outpatient mental health services, child and adolescent services, comprehensive opioid addiction services, geriatric psychiatry, intensive outpatient program, neuropsychology, and transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy (TMS).

The institute’s research in neuroscience allows them to provide innovative treatment that targets neurobiology, including focused ultrasound and deep brain stimulation in addition to TMS. Their comprehensive team of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, specialists, and educators are prepared to treat the mental health challenges of the community.

Just in the past year, the Department of Behavioral Health has seen incredible growth with the addition of more personnel and services: new telemedicine providers, a new psychiatrist for the inpatient unit, a new building dedicated to outpatient services, several new therapists and case managers.

Later this month, the department plans to roll out their Spravato clinic, a breakthrough new intra-nasal medication for treatment-resistant depression.

“Thanks to guidance from Healthy Minds Morgantown, we can offer this advance treatment locally, making care more accessible,” says Wees.

If you or a loved one is experiencing mental health difficulties, we encourage you to contact WVU Medicine’s Healthy Minds. Healthy Minds is the name of WVU Medicine’s network of behavioral health services and facilities. Together with WVU Medicine, we can change the statistics and improve the collective mental health of West Virginia.

Sources:

Mental Health and Substance Use State Fact Sheets

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