Mental Health Services with Delilah Martinez

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hello, everyone. My name is Iris Douglas, and with me here today again is my co. [00:00:06] Speaker B: Host, I. Hello, everybody. [00:00:09] Speaker A: Good morning. And we have Ms. Delilah Martinez here. [00:00:14] Speaker B: Thank you so much for being here. [00:00:15] Speaker A: Welcome to our podcast. [00:00:17] Speaker B: Thank you for vitamin. [00:00:18] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, you're very welcome. You're very welcome. [00:00:23] Speaker C: You're listening to the vital women of Washington Heights. [00:00:33] Speaker A: So welcome to the violent women of Washington Heights living on Dutchess County. And today, today's episode, we're going to talk about mental health concerns. [00:00:43] Speaker C: Yes, we are. And you know, I always like to bring in what I call el cochinche, a little Dominican cochinche, just to tie. [00:00:51] Speaker B: In our Dominican roots. [00:00:54] Speaker C: A teaser. And in Dominica Verp, public mental health is seen as a very negative connotation. And a lot of people don't seek the resources that they need to treat their mental health issues, and instead they go to families or friends to seek for advice. And there's very little services provided in Dominican Republic for mental health. [00:01:24] Speaker A: Absolutely. And my experience with mental health, you know, as an elder, is that something that they really didn't want to talk about? You know, someone was not, you know, feeling good mentally or maybe talking or whatever. You know, they say, oh, you know, whatever. They don't want to talk about it. But we need to talk about mental health because our children, you know, we need to take care of our children. So mental health definitely needs to be top topic. So do you want to introduce Ms. Delilah and say who she is and what you brought here? [00:02:02] Speaker C: Well, Delilah Martinez and I, we've known each other for a long time. I can't even put my finger on how many years we met through an organization that we used to work for. But today, Delilah is the. And correct me if I'm mistaken, she is the associate center director at the Poughkeepsie Behavioral Health center that is part of Family Services. [00:02:30] Speaker B: Yes. Yep, yep. So we, we are partnered with family. Partnership with Family Services. And we have different locations that provide behavioral health treatment for individual therapy, group therapy, medication management. And I work at the Poughkeepsie site. [00:02:50] Speaker C: And this goes in conjunction with our. [00:02:53] Speaker A: Sponsor, IRIS Mental Health America, Dutchess County. Andrew o', Brady, you know, he's our sponsor. And we're very grateful because it all kind of. We all need each other right now, you know. So thank you, Andrew, for sponsoring our podcast because this is how we're able to bring in people like Mr. Lila Martinez to help us understand how it works and how that system, because I'm very curious on how the workshops or the programs or the media or whatever it is that happens within your organization. Because I think that is key, especially now with everything that's going on. [00:03:31] Speaker B: We treat the whole body. So, you know, at the Family Court Partnership, they have the food pantries, they have the Crime Victim Program. They also have financial advisors for people in the community. They have programs for individuals who are impoverished, such as wic, and just helping guide, you know, through those difficulties in life. And when you are, you know, looking to find a mental health provider, then we have the Behavioral Health centers. [00:04:04] Speaker A: We. [00:04:05] Speaker B: We have Ulster county, we have the Beacon center, we have the Eastern Dutch, Clements and Poughkeepsie. And actually, we work closely with Mental Health of America as well. So if there's something that we cannot provide through our agency, we look for outside resources to find other additional group therapies, peer advocates. We use a lot of. If there's someone that's struggling in their home and they need to find outside place to stay for respite, we provide those referrals. So we work very closely with the community and home. [00:04:44] Speaker A: How do people refer? Like, how is it people refer? Do they come into your space? Do they just walk in? I would love to know that, because here at the Hudson Valley, in the Sikilian center, we're also experiencing people that walk in and need help, you know, and we want to be able to send them to places that we know they're gonna. They're gonna help. You know what I'm saying? Because when people need help and then they come here and then I have to refer them to somewhere else, it's uncomfortable. Oh, but they didn't call me back home, but, you know, that gets a little money, so I would love to. We'll share more after the podcast, but I just wanted to. Getting to know more about what you do. And thank you for sharing. I really appreciate it. Because when I was growing up, we didn't have these. We didn't have this. So now that our community has this, we really need to share that, you know, whoever needs this needs to find it. So thank you. [00:05:42] Speaker B: And I would say we want to make it as easy as possible, because when we come in to get help, it's not easy. It's not the easiest thing to do. So when you're finally, you know, mentally ready to say, okay, I need to find, you know, someone to help me for it to be accessible, you know, so that we can follow through with it. So we're just a phone call away. We actually implemented a new open access system where we're trying to make it more accessible where you call in for a phone screening and then you just walk in during our open access hours and you get provided with an appointment and intake that day. So it is first come, first serve and it is something that we actually just started a couple weeks ago and so far it's going really well. But we just want to definitely address those barriers to access for treatment. [00:06:38] Speaker C: What are your open access hours? [00:06:41] Speaker B: So right now, some, since we're just starting it out, we only have two days so far. So Monday it is 9am to 2 and Wednesday it is 12 to 4. [00:06:53] Speaker C: Well, Delilah, you know, as being Latina, you represent the Latina community. What have you found throughout your career that is the most difficult for a Latin person, no matter where they're from, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Ecuador, to seek support when it comes to their mental health? [00:07:18] Speaker B: So seeing this as myself as an individual, you know, as a Latina, but also I started out as a clinician. So in working as a clinician, I mean, I still work as a clinician, but now I've taken on this leadership role. I still have some clients. But seeing this on the individual level and just within the agency that, you know, there's different things that might keep someone from getting help. So that first, you know, especially how things are going right now, just even being afraid to walk down the street and coming in for help, or if they're going to check your leaves, legal status or ask for papers, or even just being able to afford the care. So those things you know, initially, just what are the consequences if I, if I ask for help? You know, another thing is the stance of do I talk about my family to a stranger? You know, in our, our culture, we don't always share. There might be some shame that we feel that we're bringing on our family, that we keep it within our family, we don't tell anybody else. So just, you know, bringing shame to the family name or opening up about family secrets that we feel that we have just also, you know, my cheese more feeling like I can ask for help. And you know, unfortunately this, this field is primarily women. So how comfortable would, you know, a man feel already beginning to say, okay, yes, I need help, I need to address this. But then also being able to open up about that with the female. And, you know, other barriers that come about are just work schedule. You know, if, if someone is working all day, all night to provide for their family, are they going to be able to access the help during the, you know, nine to five hours? So there's different things that Already are a barrier before you even walk through the door. [00:09:39] Speaker C: If someone cannot afford to get help for their mental health issues, do you guys provide like a sliding scale? Look at someone financially that doesn't have health insurance afford to get care? [00:09:54] Speaker B: Yeah. So we, we do not turn anyone away for inability to pay. We will still see them. So of course we still have to figure out a way where we could get some kind of, you know, compensation. But we do do provide a sliding scale and you just have to show proof of income or if you don't have proof of income, if you could write a letter. Our billing liaison also helps with applying for insurance. I know everyone is not eligible for insurance, but they, they make it work in one way or another to provide the services and like. [00:10:35] Speaker A: Yeah, I like that opportunity. So what does it look like when someone goes, do they see, when they see a clinician? Is it a conversation? Is it mostly a conversation? And then you would refer them to someone else if it may be. Is that. Yeah. [00:10:50] Speaker B: So we have a mixed bag of people that we see. So someone might be going there for years and they're already established client for therapy. But if you're a brand new person and you come in, you do your intake, the intake is about an hour long where you're assessing for, you know, what's going on in your life, how is it impacting your functioning, what are the stressors? So it is a conversation of what kind of what brought you here today and why are you hopeful, hoping to, to get out of it, you know, what, what are your goals for your treatment? And then you have a follow up appointment where it's your, your second intake appointment where you talk about your treatment plan more specifically and you can be seen by a medication provider and they also do their own assessments. It's pretty similar to the, the assessment that the clinician does and seeing if there's, you know, medication that you feel that you would need that would help you repair a situation to minimize the symptoms and then you would continue with the individual therapy and the medication management. [00:12:15] Speaker C: So there's a team? [00:12:16] Speaker A: Yeah, for that one person, there's a team. [00:12:19] Speaker B: Yes. [00:12:19] Speaker A: That's beautiful. I like that. [00:12:23] Speaker C: What holistic or evidence based. [00:12:28] Speaker B: Approaches would. [00:12:29] Speaker C: You recommend to the Latino community to follow when they think or believe that they have some mental health issues? [00:12:38] Speaker B: I think the most important thing first of all is finding a provider that is culturally competent. You want to be able to feel comfortable talking to that person and that they can. If they can't, say, oh, I've walked in your Shoes I know exactly what you're going through. That they can at least empathize and be open to hearing about your culture. Because I think everyone's experience can be different and that's okay. And you just have to be, you know, open minded about it. And specifically with the Latino community, it's very important to incorporate what we have established as our support system. So if it's family in a family, huge in our culture, you can't help John, you know, if he is not including his mom and dad and sisters and, and whatever, you know, spiritual beliefs that they have. And so incorporating any church support their spiritual beliefs. And you know, it's not to say that the other person has to have the same beliefs, but you just recognize it's just that this is their protective factor. And just to be open to exploring it more and growing that and just being aware of the barriers. You know, if we're meeting with someone and they're saying, oh, you have to do A, B and C, as a therapist, as a professional, it's that advice or intervention, so to speak, then having to be aware that this might not be possible for this person. So just asking them what they can use as a resource and building upon that as opposed to saying this is what I think. [00:14:47] Speaker C: What are the most common mental health issues faced by Latino communities? [00:14:54] Speaker B: I would say that there has been, it's hard to say if it's a spike in numbers or just more people are coming to get help for it. So now we have more, more data. But there, there's a lot of, you know, depression. A lot of females in particular that are reporting like low stuff esteem and just feeling isolated, not having a good support system, you know, a lot of anxiety, especially with COVID and all that it's brought upon us, the different changes and just worry about everyone's health. And so I would say a lot of depression and anxiety. And I would say that more people are talking more openly about their trauma, which is great because I think anyone can experience a form of trauma. And it doesn't have to be that they served in the war or have experienced brutal abuse. It can be different, it can be milder forms, but it's significant to that person. Do you believe or do you have. [00:16:15] Speaker C: A theory why more women are suffering from low self esteem? What are the factors that are contributing to them feeling that they don't have a good image about themselves? [00:16:30] Speaker B: I would say the social media. The social media media, yes. Because when I was growing up, I would just open up a magazine and so I would choose to open up a magazine. But here, you know, in this day and age, it's just everywhere. You know, you go on social media and it's, and it's all over your newsfeed. Just seeing other women or families who are, are seeming like they're happy or have it all together or presenting, you know, they're putting their best foot forward. You know, people are not putting illusion. Yeah, yeah. Even, even when people are posting their rough days, you know, it's, it's still for the likes and the so. [00:17:21] Speaker A: Because that makes them feel better. Right? [00:17:23] Speaker B: Right, exactly. [00:17:26] Speaker A: So that's a big problem. And that's pretty much my business. That's pretty much what I see. A lot of women who are having selfish problems, self esteem problems because they're not confident. Women in business, women who are entrepreneurs because they're juggling too many things and they're comparing themselves to someone else. You can't compare yourself, yourself to someone that's been in business. You can't compare. You know, there's no comparison, you know, and I fall into that, I fall into that trap too, you know, and that's where I kind of reset my mindset. But it's important because that's exactly you and I having the same conversation. Women are more depressed these days because of everything they see visual of social, Instagram, Facebook, memories. [00:18:17] Speaker B: To say. [00:18:19] Speaker A: Do not compare yourself. You're special the way you are. We are all special the way we are. But you know, we get it in our heads, right? We get it in our heads and that's when we need people like you. Clinicians need to break it down, you know, people like me, healers, so spiritual healers who say, hey, let's go back and let's just calm yourself down. [00:18:39] Speaker B: Right. [00:18:40] Speaker A: So I love that we, you know, we're doing the same thing in different ways, but we're there for the community. [00:18:46] Speaker C: I believe we all have self doubt, but being stuck in that space all the time and not getting the support that you need to pull yourself out, really, if you allowed yourself, it can pull you deeper into that hole of that self doubt. And then the lack of self esteem starts to grow and the lack of. [00:19:05] Speaker A: Confidence, that's just a community because, because you and I have learners conversation when I'm feeling some kind of way and you say to me, no la la, you know, Orianna, so it's also support, it's also community. Perhaps maybe that's something that you should look into. Building these groups of circles of women that want to have these conversations you know, because I love that there's a religious part of it, but the social part of it, what women need in order to. To feel cozy and cozy and huggy and, my God, I feel so good. You know, that's how we feel, you know, So I. I would love for that to also happen in your organization. They can also have that. And I think you'll have more women showing up to things like that, like. [00:19:48] Speaker C: The coffee club, Conversation, Living room. [00:19:53] Speaker A: Yeah. And it doesn't have to be about crystals or sounding. [00:19:56] Speaker B: Right. [00:19:57] Speaker A: It could be just about hair today. What's going on? [00:20:00] Speaker B: Right. [00:20:00] Speaker A: What are you. What's up? [00:20:01] Speaker B: You know, what's. [00:20:02] Speaker A: What's on your to do list that you can't get to do? Maybe we can help you with that. [00:20:06] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:20:07] Speaker A: Because support is definitely key. [00:20:09] Speaker B: Yeah. Because like you, like you both mentioned, we are, you know, going to have those. Those thoughts. We're only human. We're going to compare ourselves to others. But it's about that recognition of those thoughts and that check in either, you know, with yourself or your. Your peers here that can say, you know, prevent it. Right, Exactly. [00:20:28] Speaker A: This is how I prevent my. My craziness. Because we all have a little craziness. Meditate. I meditate and I pray. I do yoga. I do breath work. I, you know, I move. You know, I want to stay in my head, because the more you watch TV and you stay in your head, the more. The more that negative energy is going to flow in here. So that's what you need to let go. [00:20:50] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:20:50] Speaker A: You see? So moving dance is moving for something. [00:20:54] Speaker B: Yeah. And talking about it produces the stigma. Oh, okay. She's thinking the same thing I'm thinking. She's going through what I'm going through. [00:21:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Because then the collective will know, oh, my God. I'm not the only one. Right. You know, and people want to feel like they're not the only one because it's hard to say, hey, I think I suffered from a mental illness. I mean, it's all to say, say that. [00:21:16] Speaker B: Yeah. And sometimes even just saying it to somebody that you trust is. Is enough. It might not change your situation. You're going to go back home and to your same situation. But, you know, but sometimes just even saying it to someone, you know, makes you feel like you're not the only one. And if you're going to. [00:21:36] Speaker A: You're releasing. Right. You're releasing them. You're saying, oh, my God, I finally said it. I admitted. And that's important for people to admit. So it's important for you to be aware of your mental health. Because what does Andrew o' Brady say? He says there's no help without mental health. So basically there's no help without mental health. Because how can you stay strong and beautiful and feeling happy if your head is off? Right. Not well. Right. [00:22:07] Speaker B: We all have mental health. About how you maintain it. [00:22:12] Speaker A: Maintain it and navigate it. [00:22:15] Speaker C: Well, I'm a big data person and statistics, as you know, you know, in social work, they feed us data and statistics down our throat. [00:22:25] Speaker B: In school. [00:22:26] Speaker C: Like you're drinking a glass of water. Yes. So 10% of children between the ages of 3 and 17 are currently diagnosed with having anxiety today, with 9% of boys and 11% of girls being affected. You know, as a mother of three girls, what kind of advice or recommendation would you provide our listeners to kind of help our girls and our boys? But it seems like the girls are the ones that are suffering more from anxiety. What can you share with us? How mothers and family members, because it takes a community as well to help. [00:23:13] Speaker B: Our girls grow healthier. I think it's really hard to have open communication with your children, you know, to have that safe space, space in your home where you can talk about your feelings, you know, ask your, your children how their day was when they come home from school, you know, teaching them coping skills, practicing those coping skills with them, you know, because you don't want the first time that they're talking about this is to get to that point of needing, you know, therapy. You want to be able to provide that foundation within your family. So just being able to, to talk to them openly about, you know, what they're struggling with, you know, through the day. And, you know, as we talked about the social media just, you know, it's, it's hard to say to just completely cut out of your life because that's not realistic in the world that we're living today. But, you know, definitely limiting it and then teaching about it, you know, about how this is not exactly what, what we are perceiving their life to be or just, just teaching about, you know, Internet safety and how to navigate that. And if there is something that you see that your child needs help with, you know, recognize that, okay, this is not about me. This doesn't mean that I'm a bad mom or a bad dad. It just means that maybe I need some extra support right now and get your child the help that they need. It's important to intervene early with a child so that they can get the support before it starts impacting different parts of Their. [00:25:10] Speaker A: Thank you. [00:25:10] Speaker C: Thank you. What other mental health issues do students face today besides anxiety? [00:25:17] Speaker B: Another big one is adhd. And again, the same as do we have more people that have ADHD or just more people that are coming to, you know, report the symptoms that they're experiencing? I think also with the world that we live in today, that everything is very fast paced, the expectations are very high that, you know, it's hard sometimes to concentrate and not get distracted. And also the things that are in foods, you know, nowadays as well. So just being mindful of that, of course, too. But I think the different things that are in our environment now have increased, you know, ADHD symptoms, sensory, you know, disorders as well. [00:26:13] Speaker C: Well, you know, I was raised by a Dominican mother, and whenever she cooked, well, she cooked every day, but it was always like a one type of ingredient. It was never like all these prepackaged foods. Now that we don't know what is in those type of foods. So when we were growing up, we grew up with, you know, rice and beans and the meats and some vegetables. Not that we ate vegetables all the time. That's how the Dominican diet. But I believe that years ago we didn't have such a. A tie record of children suffering from adhd. And part of it is also their diet. You know, the diets that women are adjusting when they're pregnant and then the type of foods that they're giving their children also, I believe, contributes to those. [00:27:10] Speaker B: High numbers and they, you know, the additives that they put so that food lasts longer because, you know, with just how the economy is today, too, you know, they're, they're making things bigger and lasting longer. So, you know, that's not the natural, the natural way. So, yeah, there's definitely, you know, that's a whole other. That's a whole other podcast. [00:27:39] Speaker A: When you see the marks, do you want to see the children? Sometimes. [00:27:44] Speaker B: Is that something that, as far as. [00:27:48] Speaker A: Like, if you still don't know. If I. If you see, like, if the mom is coming and you see her a little, you know, depressed and stuff, and you ask how many children do you have? Do you guys ask to see the children as well, maybe as a family? Because I think that's important. [00:28:04] Speaker B: Okay, you mean in, in therapy? If the mom is coming to therapy, to friends, if we ask to see the children? You know, we do not. But I think that's a good point that you bring up. You know, we're all mandated reporters. So of course, if there's something that's going on that we see as a concern, but also not like, get to that point. So if they're, you know, presenting in this way and they're having children, like you said, asking those are those stressors that we want to talk about and, you know, forget about the. [00:28:48] Speaker A: Interventions that. [00:28:49] Speaker B: We need to do for therapy at this point, that's the more formal thing, like, are you getting enough sleep? Do you have enough food to eat? Do you have money for, you know, to pay for your rent? So are your basic needs met? Because if they're not, you know, how can we get to the deeper, you know, mental health issue that we need to. And are you getting a break? You know, what do you do for self care? So, you know, I would say that we do try our best to dig in deeper into that and, you know, see assessment for what else is going on. [00:29:26] Speaker A: But that's something that maybe perhaps you should take into consideration. Because, I mean, I'm just talking from experience, you know, like, I asked my clients, how are the kids? Right? How are the kids? Because if I have a mom that's really depressed and she's going through some emotions, I am asking, how are your children doing? Because I know those kids are feeding over heart. [00:29:48] Speaker B: Right? People want to change the family. [00:29:49] Speaker A: I want to cut, because when I see the mom or see the dad or I see the family, I want. [00:29:54] Speaker B: To say, okay, so what's going on. [00:29:55] Speaker A: With the collective in this space? Right? Because whatever the mom is happening with the mom is happening with the kiddos, Trust me. [00:30:01] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:30:02] Speaker A: So that's why I, I asked that question. Do you guys see, you know, and then you have something, talk about it, bring it to the board, whatever, I don't know you'll be able to do, but just take that as. [00:30:20] Speaker B: Is very. [00:30:20] Speaker C: Important because she, you know, she has expressed to me, having conversations that her, her mother suffered from illness. So me, the witness of the struggles. [00:30:32] Speaker B: That her mother went through for her. [00:30:34] Speaker C: Is very important to make sure that the children are safe as well. When it comes to. On the mother's mental health issue, absolutely. [00:30:43] Speaker A: When we were going through our process, it wasn't that we were left behind, but we were like, you know, we should have, you know, been looked after as well, because mom is mom, and whatever she does is the right thing. You know, no matter what she's doing, it's the right thing. So you're not judging her because you can't, because she's your mom. So if she's not having a good day and she's yelling and screaming and throwing something or you Know, trying to hit you. Kids are affected by it. So that. Those are my concerns, you know, big concerns, actually, because I can see that happening again. Our culture, our community is growing, especially Latinos. You know, I see that when I go to the schools. I see. I see where there's. [00:31:28] Speaker B: I can see still where there's some. [00:31:29] Speaker A: Violence, and I see where the mother. You know, I had an interview with a mom. I was. We were doing a report card, but she had to tell the teacher that she had a restricted, you know, like. What's it called? Like, order of protection. Order of protection. And the father couldn't pick up the kid. And I'm like, oh, my God, is this still happening? You know, is this still happening? So it's a big conversation because it affects the children that are growing to be the adults that are going to be of service, and they're going to be gonna help us elders. What are some examples of trauma that a child might go through? [00:32:07] Speaker B: Yeah, so as you said, you know, speaking to the children, how they're doing. [00:32:11] Speaker A: Right. [00:32:12] Speaker B: Because these children are gonna grow into the adults that are in our society and our community today. So, you know, addressing this early is so important because their brain is. Are still. You know, our grades are always still multiple. [00:32:27] Speaker A: But it's such a crucial age to. [00:32:29] Speaker B: Be able to help them when we're seeing this, you know, before it leads to more troubles in their life and just learning how to cope with life, perhaps in a maladaptive way, because they're not learning that, you know, positive, robotic from their. From their parents. And trauma is so significant in someone's life, how it impacts their memory, their ability to regulate their emotions. So, you know, and recognizing it sometimes is hard because we know, you know, the child that is the bully or the child that's acting out in class or stealing. But, you know, sometimes it's. When it gets to that point, perhaps it is too far gone. And if we, you know, see some signs, you know, early on of little things, that we could intervene, you know, at that point before it starts affecting school and sleep and friendships. [00:33:37] Speaker C: You know, when I used to practice a lot on my concerns was never the child that was angry or the child that was violent. My concern was always the child that was quiet and timid and would isolate and right away I would focus and would want to create a relationship with that child because I knew that they were going to persuade it. What can you share when people make an observation and think that the client, intimate child is struggling? [00:34:08] Speaker B: I think when it's outside of Their normal, you know, behavior. So if they are just a loner child who likes to keep to themselves, or are they this outgoing child who all of a sudden is, you know, socially withdrawn, to be able to ask them like, hey, how are you doing? If know. And just creating a rapport with them is important as a foundation so you can get to ask more questions about what might be going on at home. I think also depends on your role. Gay reporters and the safety of the children comes first. But if we do see something like that, then it is important for us to, to establish a relationship with that child and really figure out what's going on, how to best support them. [00:35:07] Speaker A: Covid during COVID when everyone was home, they had literally had to stay home together. No one could go out. How do you think that affected our community? [00:35:22] Speaker B: I'll start with children. So with the children being back home when they were going to school, that might have been the only place where they were getting meals to eat, where they were seeing, you know, other. [00:35:44] Speaker A: People. [00:35:44] Speaker B: In their life that were positive, that even if they didn't know something going on at home, just to say, like, you know, how are you doing? How's your day? And just to be able to have that separation from home, that break. So, you know, a lot of times school was that safe space for the children. And I'll speak now to the Latino community as well. If there are parents that had to work, that weren't able, that they had to stop working because then the kids were home, you know, during the day or they were working and had to, you know, it's really hard because you have to be able to provide for your family or that were uneducated and they couldn't help, you know, had to figure out technology. How are they going to get these, what you call here, this thing, the screen. I don't know how to navigate the technology to get. This is how you're going to do school now and being able to help you with your math and your science. I don't even know how to speak English. How can it help you with your, with your schoolwork? So I think it had a tremendous impact that, you know, unfortunately it is having some long lasting results because those kids that were in kindergarten, first grade, and it was the most, you know, the foundation of that year and they didn't have that regular, you know, school year of learning and just being behind because the next year they go on to school, they didn't modify the curriculum. You just dole fared in and the expectations, you know, stay the Same. It's something that has had a huge power. [00:37:24] Speaker A: You know, it's a lot of things. When change happens, a lot of changes happen, you know, and that's a. Mental illness literally creeps up, you know, and those are. [00:37:36] Speaker B: And that's it. The change, the norm, the out of the routine and schedule that. That we have something that disrupts, you know, our usual routine of things. [00:37:47] Speaker A: Yes. And I think that's what happened to Covid, because you. And it was scary, too. [00:37:52] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:37:52] Speaker A: I mean, people were mad. You couldn't see their faces. You couldn't get close to them. You got to be a part of them, away from them. It was just a lot, you know, socially and everything. So I think that would. Maybe this is a disclaimer, I don't know. But I'm feeling me as an energetic person that Covid started a lot of things that now we're. This is why we having these conversations, because mental illness is definitely on the rise during the changes that we've been going through for the last seven years. So. Yeah. So I'm just happy that you're here and we're having these conversations because it would be so much easier for me to say, hey, listen, go see that. Go. Go. Here, go to M. No, M. No, really, because I'm preventative, you know, wellness. When you come to see. When you come to see a practitioner or provider at the Wellness center, when you get something, you get Reiki. We pretty much a preventative method. We're not the solution, to be honest. You know, you really need people like Mental Health America, Duchess county, people with Delilah's organization, that you really need to. [00:39:04] Speaker B: Seek that help to do both, because. [00:39:07] Speaker C: It brings more balance, you know, the mental health support that you need, whether it is through family service or Mental Health America. And then coming here to the healing center and practicing some healing or Reiki, it's going to speed up that healing process a lot more than just, you know, doing one or the other. I mean, of course, it's up to the individual's choice, but I believe it could speed up the process. [00:39:37] Speaker A: Absolutely. For me. I'm just saying I have lived with energy for 12 years now, practicing Reiki, meditation, yoga and breath work and sound. And I just know how to recalibrate myself. And I don't let the mental illness get in my head because it's like you said earlier, we all have it. We just need to learn to tame it and tame it and not let it happen because we don't want happy because we're here to have A calm, collective and peaceful life. We're not here to be chaotic. [00:40:11] Speaker B: When it does be happening, that's okay, too, because we will. You know, mental health, mental illness, it's like if you have diabetes, right, you have to be able to maintain it. Like you said, being able to take your medicine or have your rituals or have your steps to wellness, and you might have a relapse in symptoms, and that's okay, too. Just recognizing and getting the help that you need. You know, you don't have to be yourself on. Just get the help that you need and be able to, you know, get back into recovery. [00:40:45] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:40:47] Speaker B: Do you. [00:40:47] Speaker A: Let me just ask. This is random, but do you speak? Do you go to places like schools and stuff and maybe talk? [00:40:54] Speaker C: For most the services that are provided for the family service, yeah, we do. [00:40:59] Speaker B: Have a lot of outreach, and actually someone reached out to me recently for us to go to a school to be able to talk about mental health. But there is still, I would say, some more work that could be done as far as the Latin community and outreaching them. [00:41:21] Speaker C: So do you find that's the flaw in the system, not providing enough support to Latino community or just to the community in general? [00:41:34] Speaker B: I will say, overall, a flaw in. I would say both. I would say both because I feel like mental health has come a long way and being open about it and talking about it. But for the Latino community, I think there's still a lot of work that has to be done, and I think perhaps it is just not enough in the role of. With authority and power to be able to do that. So I think it's a little bit of. A little bit of both. [00:42:12] Speaker A: But at the Hudson Valley Holistic Healing center, we have modalities that can help you calm your nervous system and calm, you know, your anxiety. But if you really need someone to help you because you're feeling super anxious and sore, very, very depressed, you need to seek out Mental health of America and, you know, check out family services, because the word says it. Family services, you know, so, mothers, if you're feeling not happy and you wake up every morning and you're feeling a little depressed and more and more depressed every day, grab your kiddos and go to family services. Go find someone that can help you feel better. Trust me, you can. If you're not feeling right, seek the people you need to seek in order for you to feel better, please. Because you matter. You matter. Your children matter, your community matters, your family matters. And that's all I have to say. You have all inside of you. God is always with you. [00:43:16] Speaker C: Did Lila, in closing, would you like to end something perhaps Zeri didn't cover? [00:43:21] Speaker B: I wanted to add to what you were saying about the mom seeking help or encouraging them to seek help. I think another, you know, big piece is worrying about social services involvement. [00:43:35] Speaker A: Right. [00:43:35] Speaker B: So if they go to seek help, well, then my children can take it away because they see that I'm unfit mother. And I think, you know, I. I would love to say that we have come a long way with that as well, as far as, you know, social welfare and being able to help the parents and not say, okay, well, I'm just going to call, you know, child protective services. But how can I help this family? How can I help them with what they're going through and supporting them? So, you know, just being mindful of that, that's possibly another barrier, which is knowing that seeking help is going to have a way to a path to healing and being to maintain your family system. [00:44:24] Speaker A: And people don't be afraid to seek help and don't be, you know, don't be prideful of it. Just seek it because there are people here that are willing to help, you know, and that's what. That's what it's all about. Thank you. [00:44:38] Speaker C: Well, thank you, Iris, for your time. Delilah Martinez, thank you so much for your new friend. So Delilah is a associate and I. [00:44:48] Speaker B: Have to read her title. It is quite long. [00:44:50] Speaker A: Yes. [00:44:55] Speaker C: The associate center director at the Poughkeepsie Behavioral Health center, part of Family Services. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. To our sponsor. [00:45:06] Speaker A: Yes. MJ of D County and Rob Ready. Thank you so much. As you know, there is no help. [00:45:12] Speaker B: Without mental health, as he says. [00:45:14] Speaker A: And I am so grateful for you. [00:45:16] Speaker B: Thank you so much. [00:45:16] Speaker A: And here we're here at the Hudson Valley Holistic Healing Center. If you guys just want to stop by and have a conversation about maybe what you need to. Where you need to start, you're more than welcome to. To welcome you. My name is Iris Douglas. This is my co host, Ingar o'. Sullivan. We are, I and I, and we're here keeping an eye to see Sa.