Mental health has become a public health issue. The prevalence of mental illness trembles the foundations of each pillar of society, from family life to social relationships. Poor mental health adversely impacts an individual’s ability to live a fulfilling life, simultaneously affecting their societal relationships, hence, leading to the escalation of social and physical issues with consequential influence.
“We are not our trauma. We are not our brain chemistry. That’s part of who we are, but we’re so much more than that.” – Sam J. Miller
Further, fragmenting the consequences of poor mental health, the relationships with spouses, children, friends, and relatives worsen, eventually leading to social isolation. Additionally, the impact is intensified by emotional and financial strain.
According to research by the National Institute of Mental Health, mental illness has become common in the US – estimating more than 1 in 5 adults endure the consequences of it – approximately 57.8 million people in 2021 in the US had ill mental health.
With the rising cases of mental health issues in the United States, many organizations and clinical social workers are extending support. One of them includes Eric Hall, an African American clinical social worker committed to helping children, adolescents, and adults to live fulfilling lives.
In the drive to achieve a sustainable community, Hall served as an Associate Professional at T & T Youth Services for eleven months. He learned person-centered planning, the approach to learning problem-solving processes in order to identify the capabilities and empower them to work toward attaining the goals. Later from 2008 – 2011, he counseled the middle school football team at Lewis Chapel Middle School.
Strengthening skills in counseling, in 2011, Hall joined Trinity Service LLC as a supervisor for Multisystemic Therapy (MST). He supported the development and management by fulfilling the responsibilities of a Primary Care Physician (PCP), Service Authorization Request (SAR) for the Sandhills MCO, and Treatment Authorization Request (TAR) for the Alliance MCO.
While serving as a counselor for MST at C-Rep, Hall studied the subsequent subject and presented the information to stakeholders in order to increase awareness. Realizing the growing needs of the community, he conducted weekly child and family meetings to regulate the behavior of adolescents exhibiting adverse clinical issues. To evaluate the progress, he completed prep sheets which were reviewed by the senior consultants and monitored tape sessions to establish feedback.
In 2015, Hall served as a Business Operations Manager at Johari Family Services and increased the capacity of the organization to cater to the growing number of cases by collaborating with other social service workers, Juvenile court counselors, and school officials. After his extensive experience in the mental health care industry and social health care services, in 2015, Hall pursued his Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California.
Followed by attaining the license in 2017, Hall established the operations of Creative Minds Healthcare with the goal of nurturing the community by creating awareness for counseling. The team specializes in various aspects of offering mental health support, including diagnostic assessment, substance abuse assessment, comprehensive clinical assessment, child mental health, adolescent mental health, military counseling, adult developmental disabilities, adult mental health, marriage and family counseling, and child development disabilities.
Social clinical workers are the bedrock of the community in treating individuals with mental illness; however, many neglect seeking assistance due to limited resources. A number of mental health providers do not acknowledge insurance services, discouraging many from availing of counseling. According to the data, 55% of mental health providers do not cater to the facility of private insurance.
Creative Minds, nonetheless, recognizes the gap in the community and acknowledges the insurance of United Healthcare, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Champ VA, and Tricare so more people can access the support – achieving a healthy environment. Hall also serves as a board member of the National Association for Social Workers (NASW) as well as the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AMMFT). In addition, he contributes his expertise to Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, the first known international fraternal organization inaugurated on the campus of the black college. When it comes to the sustainability of the community, in the majority of cases, the policymakers are negligent about mental health issues. Nonetheless, mental healthcare services must be integrated as a core aspect of the community, similar to the way healthcare services are.
