Opened in January 2009 through an innovative partnership with Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, the SBP’s Center for Wellness and Mental Health (CWMH) provides evaluation, treatment and support for residents of St. Bernard and New Orleans suffering from storm- or oil-spill-related mental health problems.

Much research shows that while mental health problems tend to decrease two years after a disaster, in New Orleans the rates of mental health issues continue to increase, even before the disastrous oil spill brought another blow to the community. According to a Journal of Public Health survey published in fall 2007, there has been a significant and continued rise in the prevalence of post-Katrina mental health disorders, specifically post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and suicidal ideations.  Further, quarter of residents suffer from PTSD and one third of residents could benefit from mental health services, according to studies by Dr. Ronald Kessler (Harvard) and the National Institutes of Health.

The need in the New Orleans area is urgent because of the extent of the destruction, prolonged recovery and struggles the community must face to return to a semblance of normalcy. Further, most residents did not access mental health services before Hurricane Katrina and instead relied on their churches, community groups and close-knit families for counseling in times of need. Anecdotally, the SBP team realized the need for such services when they realized that clients who moved home were often alive, but not living the rich lives that they did before the storm. Once homeowners finally moved in to their rebuilt homes and were no longer surrounded by positive volunteers, what they had truly lost – their churches may not have reopened, their schools were further away, many of their neighbors were still gone – began to set in.

The CWMH fills the current void in the community for mental health services for uninsured families, adults, adolescents and children and offers counseling and treatment plans so that residents can become mentally healthy, improve their quality of life and contribute to the recovery of their communities. We do this by operating in a community-based setting, which helps avoid the stigma often associated with accessing mental health services, and by offering our services from an experienced team -- including psychiatrists, psychiatry residents, licensed clinical social workers, and clinical psychology postdoctoral fellows.

Services include individual and group and child-parent psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), trauma-focused CBT and dialectical behavioral therapy. This collaborative effort with LSUHSC has provided urgently needed evidence-based mental health and psycho-pharmacological services to more than 325 patients, free of charge, since inception. Nearly three quarters of our patients have never accessed mental health services before. Finally, patients' therapy programs are not put on a rigid timeline and are allowed to continue receiving therapy until they well and ready to end therapy. These services are especially vital because of the severe lack of affordable, high-quality mental health services in the New Orleans area.

To date, the CWMH has served more than 325 patients and provides 85-90 appointments each week. However, with the oil spill in the Gulf, SBP recognizes that we need to continue to expand our services to meet the pressing needs of the community.

To help SBP continue to provide this valuable service.