NAMI official: RGV 'the forgotten land' of mental health

McALLEN – The Rio Grande Valley is “the forgotten land,” according to the executive director of the National Alliance of Mental Illness in Texas.

Not only is there a shortage of mental health professionals in the Valley, but the alliance has no local presence, said Robin Peyson of NAMI Texas.

“We are a grassroots organization,” Peyson said.

The organization works with local volunteers throughout the state to help eradicate the stigma, myths and misconceptions of mental illnesses, and to improve the quality of life for all who are affected by such illnesses, and to support recovery.

“We support our affiliates by providing leadership, training and technical assistance. We are dedicated to serving communities by empowering consumers and families and promoting meaningful systems (of) change,” said Peyson.

Suicidal thoughts are is linked to depression, a mental illness not only treated by psychiatrists who are the only ones with the authority to prescribe medication, but also by psychologists and licensed social workers that become counselors.

“Sixty percent of all mental health services are provided by social workers in the state of Texas, and we have about 20,000 licensed social workers in Texas, usually at the master’s level. Usually to provide counseling, you have to have a master’s degree in social work and then you have to have an advanced clinical license,” said Lucia Leo-Diaz, representative for Region 11 of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). The region includes Laredo, Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley.

There is an overall shortage of mental health providers particularly in the rural and border areas of the state, and that includes the Valley, Leo-Diaz said.

According to the Department of Health State Services, the number of counties without a social worker has gone from 37 to 47 in the past two years in Texas. The state has more than 250 counties.

Many factors keep the graduates with master’s degrees from pursuing their licenses to treat mental illness said Estela Sosa-Garza, Director of Field Education, UTPA.

One of the most common is the $300 it costs to take the exam.

“I know of a lot of students who would like to take it, but they have to work first before they get the money to go ahead and take it,” Sosa-Garza said.

The ones who do get their licenses will be drawn to bigger communities, she said.

But Sosa-Garza said an even bigger challenge in battling mental illness in youth is the lack of long-term treatment facilities.

“To me that is the issue, it’s a shame that we don’t have in the Valley a shelter for emergencies (for the youth),” Sosa-Garza said. “We do have private practitioners, outpatient services but I believe the issue is, we are limited in the number of beds,” Sosa-Garza said.

If a young patient goes through Texas Tropical Behavioral Center –MHMR, he or she is tsent to a local private hospital.

MHMR has three-day contracts with Valley Baptist east campus in Brownsville and with Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance Behavioral Center and South Texas Behavioral Center, which are both in Edinburg, to stabilize the youth in suicide risk events, said Coni Aguirre, chief administrative officer at Texas Tropical.

Dr. Robert Mosqueda, medical director for Child and Adolescent at South Texas Behavioral Center said the patient in suicide crisis can opt to go directly to the private facility, with or without insurance.

“The shortage is not the problem. The problem is the ignorance,” Mosqueda said.

Mosqueda said most people are ignorant of the symptoms of depression that can lead to suicide.

The mental illness needs treatment.

“We have many walking wounded,” Mosqueda said.

Peyson sees an urgency to fight the stigma because there is a general misconception that mental illness is hopeless.

“Mental illness is one of the most treatable illnesses,” Peyson said.

If you are interested in forming a local NAMI affiliate call (800) 633 3760.

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Martha L. Hernández covers health, business and general assignments for The Monitor and El Nuevo Heraldo. You can reach her at (956) 683-4846.