NCBHS in the News

Although not as easily treated as a cold or readily diagnosed as a broken bone, mental health illnesses can be as disruptive and painful as many other diseases.

“You can’t just fix it with a pill. So much of it is behavioral,” said John Reinert, director of service planning and development at North Central Behavioral Health Systems

With next week as Mental Health Awareness Week, local mental health professionals are hoping more people take mental health seriously and understand that it is a disease.

LaSalle, IL (January 2012)-North Central Behavioral Health Systems, a nonprofit provider of mental health and substance use services in Central and North Central Illinois, announces the launch of its Health Directions Emotional Health and Wellness website.

A telehealth initiative that began as an effort to improve access to care for some rural residents served by North Central Behavioral Health Systems, Inc. in Illinois, has evolved into meeting numerous other goals for the community mental health organization and its clients.

If you need mental health counseling but you can’t visit a therapist in person, there’s an online option now. North Central Behavioral Health Systems is offering it through its Health Directions Division. Director Roger Miskell says you can see the same therapists via web cam and get the same treatment as you would face to face.

An estimated one in four adults could be diagnosed with a mental health issue. Sometimes they’re related to anxiety, stress, marital issues, depression or substance use. Most go untreated, in part due to the stigma of admitting problems.

A new counseling tool now in use at Health Directions in La Salle may change that.