Mental Illness is a Disease
A mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe disturbances in thought and/or behavior, resulting in an inability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines.
There are more than 200 classified forms of mental illness. Some of the more common disorders are depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders. Symptoms may include changes in mood, personality, personal habits and/or social withdrawal.
Mental health problems may be related to excessive stress due to a particular situation or series of events. As with cancer, diabetes and heart disease, mental illnesses are often physical as well as emotional and psychological. Mental illnesses may be caused by a reaction to environmental stresses, genetic factors, biochemical imbalances, or a combination of these. With proper care and treatment many individuals learn to cope or recover from a mental illness or emotional disorder.
Substance Abuse Can Be Treated
People abuse substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs for varied and complicated reasons, but it is clear that our communities - and users both pay a significant cost.
Abused substances produce some form of intoxication that alters judgment, perception, attention, or physical control.
Many substances can bring on withdrawal effects caused by cessation or reduction in the amount of the substance used. Withdrawal symptoms can range from mild anxiety to seizures and hallucinations. Drug overdose may also cause death.
Nearly all drugs of abuse can also produce a phenomenon known as tolerance, in which one must use a larger amount of the drug to produce the same level of intoxication.
Internships Initiate Change
The purpose of the student internship is to provide an opportunity to seek, identify and further develop an appropriate level of professionalism while learning to help children, adults and families cope with substance abuse and mental illness. Our internship programs teaches participants to help us implement strategies to bring our vision to life.
Our vision is to focus on the person as a whole and plan to implement soluble methods to strengthen the lives of those being served through innovative mental health and substance abuse treatments.
Our internship program will teach how to strengthen adults and children who lack employment, education, housing and stability in order to decrease the likelihood of mental instability and substance abuse addiction. We aim to establish innovative standards of care to ensure effective and culturally competent recovery.
