Skye Empowerment Services LLC

02/14/2024

06/05/2023

Summer Outreach program

05/31/2023

Case Managers Monthly training session.

05/01/2023

05/01/2023

This Mental Health Month, challenge yourself to examine your world and how it can affect your overall health. Look around, look within – from your neighborhood to genetics, many factors come into play when it comes to your mental health.

12/01/2022

Mental health issues among Texas children exacerbated by pandemic
Texas lags behind most other states in data points used to determine the overall health and well-being of children, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

ADAM ZUVANICH | POSTED ONAUGUST 9, 2022, 9:29 AM (LAST UPDATED: AUGUST 9, 2022, 12:19 PM)
More than 500,000 Texas children were diagnosed with anxiety or depression in 2020, an increase of 23% from just a few years earlier, according to data released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

This year's Kids Count Data Book, an annual undertaking by the Maryland-based foundation that examines the well-being of kids on state-by-state and national levels, illustrates how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a mental health crisis among children in the U.S. Nationally, there was a 26% increase from 2016 to 2020 in the number of kids, ages 3-17, who were diagnosed with anxiety or depression.

Karina Jimenez Lewis, an associate director of policy for the foundation, said many American kids before the pandemic already were coping with problems such as food insecurity, inadequate housing and a lack of access to healthcare, including mental healthcare. COVID-19 has created additional challenges and stressors, such as increased isolation from peers and dealing with grief, with more than 200,000 kids in the U.S. having lost parents or caretakers to the coronavirus.

"There are really a number of factors that together have conspired against children's ability to thrive," Lewis said. "All of that is underscored by the fact that our decision-makers, our leaders and our legislators could and should do more to make it better for kids."

The start of a new school year this month underscores the need for mental health resources on campuses. Houston ISD spokesperson Dennis Spellman, who works for the largest school district in Texas, said its student population of nearly 200,000 has experienced an uptick in mental health issues since the local onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

Spellman said HISD utilities a variety of strategies for meeting the mental and emotional needs of its students, such as giving each campus a wraparound specialist – a school staffer who helps students and their families outside of the academic realm – along with having comfort dogs and "thinkery" rooms, which are quiet areas where kids can calm down, be alone and reflect.

Fort Bend ISD, which provides students a 24-hour hotline to discuss mental health problems while also employing six mental health counselors and 18 social workers, launched the "Whole Care Health Initiative" in April 2021 to increase awareness about its health resources and try to decrease stigmas regarding mental health.

There are similar programs in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, another large Houston-area school district that employs social workers along with a guidance counselor and psychology specialist on each campus. Beth Gilleland, the executive director of college and career pathways for Klein ISD, said counselors there have heard from more students experiencing anxiety and consider mental health support a “top priority” within the district.

"People have had a tough time, experiencing worries about physical health and safety, isolation from support systems, economic uncertainty and unexpected changes in daily routines," CFISD spokesperson Leslie Francis wrote in an email. "Populations at risk for mental health concerns before the pandemic were at greater risk during the pandemic."

Data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that children of color, along with those who are LGBTQ, have been impacted as much or more by mental health challenges as those in the general population. Twenty-two percent of Texas high school students who identify as gay, le***an or bisexual reported attempting su***de, compared to 6% of heterosexual students.

Twelve percent of Black high school students in Texas reported attempting su***de, along with 10% of Latino students. Statewide across all ethnic groups, 10% of Texas high school students reported attempting su***de, with the national average being 9%. Using a total of 16 indicators in four overarching categories – economic well-being, education, health, and family and community – the Kids Count Data Book ranks each state in terms of how well they take care of their children. Texas was last in the number of children without insurance – roughly 11 percent, compared to the national average of 5 percent – while ranking 45th overall. The Lone Star State came in 33rd in education, 36th in economic well-being, 47th in family and community, and 48th in health.

The rankings were based on data from 2016-20 and, compared to 2008-12, Texas improved its own numbers in 12 of the 16 indicators.

The Texas data released by the foundation was compiled in a partnership with Every Texan, an Austin-based nonprofit that promotes social justice through public policy. According to Coda Rayo-Garza, the research and data director for Every Texan, there was evidence of increased mental health issues in Harris County even before the start of the pandemic.

Rayo-Garza said there were a total of 1,909 emergency room visits in 2016 among children experiencing mental health issues, including those who had attempted su***de. The number of visits increased to 2,725 in 2019.

08/11/2022

Summer activities with clients at our office.

06/14/2022

The mental health impacts of the coronavirus are real, significant, growing and must be addressed to limit any additional harm. We have seen a rise in stress and fear as a result of school closures, lost jobs, stay-at-home orders, empty grocery store shelves, and the downturn in our economy.

Mental Health America of Greater Houston’s Board Chair, Dr. Asim Shah, shares two important ways to lessen coronavirus anxiety:

Distinguish the facts from rumors and don’t panic because that can cause more issues than the disease itself.If we remain calm and limit our exposure to excessive media coverage, we can all handle this better.

Skye Empowerment Services LLC is working hard to lead others out of this trauma and towards recovery. If you are in need of mental health support, contact Skye Empowerment Services.

05/07/2022

Team building meeting continuation

05/07/2022

Team building meeting

05/05/2022

Starting To Think About Mental Health

Starting To Think About Mental Health

Mental health refers to our emotional and social well-being and impacts how we think, feel, and behave. It plays a role in connecting with others, making decisions, handling stress, and many other aspects of daily life. Everyone has mental health, and it deserves your attention just as much as your physical health does.

Why should I care about mental health?

Mental health is important for all of us. Taking care of yourself is critical to prevent your mental health from worsening – factors like nutrition and gut health, stress, sleep, relationships, trauma, and more can contribute to poor mental health. If your mental health is in a good spot, it is a great time to practice coping skills – ways to help you deal with hard feelings – so that you're better able to handle tough times when they happen.

Is poor mental health the same as having a mental health condition?

You can have times of poor mental health without having a diagnosable condition – just like you can be generally physically unhealthy without having a particular illness. A mental health concern is anything that causes a person to believe their mental health may be suffering. You don’t need to be diagnosed with a mental health condition to be dealing with a mental health concern.

Many people struggle with not feeling “sick enough” to seek help early on in their mental health journey. The average delay between symptom onset and treatment is 11 years,[1] meaning a lot of people spend months or years facing mental health challenges before getting a diagnosis. It is never too early to seek treatment – if you want help for your mental health, you deserve to get it.

What is a mental health condition?

A mental health condition, or mental illness, refers to a set of symptoms that have been identified by the mental health community. Mental health conditions are described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), or by people with lived experience.

People with mental health conditions deal with changes in emotions, thinking, and/or behavior. For some, this means extreme and unexpected changes in mood – like feeling much more sad or worried than usual. For others, it means not thinking clearly, pulling away from friends and activities you used to enjoy, or hearing voices that others do not. To be diagnosed, the changes in your thinking and emotions must be seriously hurting your ability to do the things you want to do; and sticking around longer than they should – weeks or months, depending on the condition. No matter what kind of mental health condition someone is facing, it's always possible to recover.

02/20/2022

Study says COVID-19 causes mental health issues, eating disorders

By Julia Musto, Fox News

February 19, 2022 | 12:08pm

The BMJ study included only people who had no mental health diagnoses or treatment for at least two years prior to infection.

Coronavirus is causing mental health issues in patients, according to new studies.

In a large study published Wednesday in the journal The BMJ, researchers from St. Louis analyzed the records of 153,848 people from the Veterans Health Administration system.

The study included only people who had no mental health diagnoses or treatment for at least two years prior to infection, and the cohort study divvied participants into those who survived the first 30 days of SARS-CoV-2 infection and two control groups.

The control groups included a contemporary one with no evidence of infection from the virus and a historical group that predated the pandemic.

Those with COVID-19 were 39% more likely to have depressive disorders and 35% more likely to show an increased risk of incident anxiety disorders over the months after infection.

That group was also 38% more likely to be diagnosed with stress and adjustment disorders and 41% more likely to be diagnosed with sleep disorders.

The average age of those in the study was 61, 90% of whom were men.

Study author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development for the VA St. Louis Health Care System and clinical epidemiologist at Washington University, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday that there were enough women participants to draw the same conclusions.

“We need to get them the treatments they need so this does not degenerate into a much larger crisis,” he told the publication. “Just because of the enormity of COVID in the U.S., the numbers here represent really millions of people.”

Long COVID, or post-COVID conditions, occur four or more weeks after first being infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

01/25/2022

COVID-19 Strain: Healthcare Workers Increasingly Seek Mental Health Help

Written by George Citroner on January 24, 2022 — Fact checked by Jennifer Chesak

Researchers analyzed anonymous data from an Ontario database involving 34,000 physicians.They found that 27 percent more doctors sought help for burnout and substance misuse in the first year of the pandemic than in 2019.Findings indicate that psychiatrists showed the highest rate of annual visits at 3,442 visits per 1,000 physicians, while surgeons had the lowest rate, at only 371 per 1,000.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has seen a steep decrease in mental healthTrusted Source across different groups, while new researchTrusted Source finds doctors are also reaching their limits during the pandemic.

Canadian researchers analyzed anonymous data from an Ontario database involving 34,000 physicians who had 50,000 mental health visits during the first year of the pandemic.

They found that 27 percent more Ontario doctors sought help for burnout and substance misuse in the first year of the pandemic than in 2019.

Some specialties more affected than others

The study published this month in JAMA Network Open also revealed certain specialties had many more mental health visits than others.

Findings indicate that psychiatrists showed the highest rate of annual visits at about 3,442 visits per 1,000 physicians, while surgeons had the lowest rate, at only 371 per 1,000.

“Not all physicians are the same, and some specialties face different pressures and realities. The differences we saw between specialties may be explained by specialty-specific attitudes towards seeking care for mental health,” co-senior study author Dr. Manish Sood, said in a statement.

However, the findings also showed that mental health visits didn’t vary by demographic group or work locations — with no differences by gender, age, or whether they worked in an urban or rural environment.

Pandemic has brought unique challenges to healthcare

Anthony LoGalbo, PhD, associate professor at the Florida Tech School of Psychology, told Healthline that doctors aren’t only struggling with many of the same concerns as the general population — like restricted access to friends and family, concerns about the virus, and information overload.

“Healthcare workers are often dealing with additional stressors related to increased vigilance and sanitary guidelines they must follow to reduce infection risk at work,” he said.

According to LoGalbo, increased stress may cause a variety of symptoms, such as problems sleeping, increased tiredness, rapid heart rate or breathing rate, feeling more easily overwhelmed or anxious, and having trouble concentrating.

“Compassion fatigue and burnout in physicians has been a growing topic of study in recent years,” said Arianna Galligher, a licensed independent social worker supervisor and associate director of the STAR Trauma Recovery Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Galligher pointed out that one of the most common reasons that doctors and other healthcare professionals are drawn to the field is a desire to help others.

However, she pointed out that even when “everyone does everything right” positive outcomes aren’t guaranteed, and healthcare professionals bear the burden of being present with patients and their families on their worst days.

“The stress that accompanies this vicarious exposure to trauma can result in emotional exhaustion, anxiety, depression, feelings of cynicism, increased errors, increased substance use, relationship problems, and suicidal ideation,” Galligher said.

01/13/2022

Behavioral Health

Adolescent Care

Seeking professional help for a teen struggling with mental illness, behavioral health issues, or addiction can be difficult and overwhelming — and Skye Empowerment is here to help.

Our health care professionals, which includes psychiatrists on the medical staff and licensed counselors, will assess your child’s needs and develop an individualized care plan to help them manage their medical and emotional health concerns in a supportive and collaborative environment.

Families are encouraged to participate and after-care plans are provided to give the patient the support, strategy and tools they need for success. Our behavioral health program will provide quality care as part of one of the largest mental/behavioral health and targeted case management care systems in Texas, and is in-network with most major insurers.

A complimentary assessment is the first step in creating a personalized care plan.

Contact us info@skyebehavioralhealth.com to Schedule Yours Today or Call

2818655670, 832 4895731

Treatment Personalized for the Individual

Skye Empowerment Services offers a variety of counseling and support services to teens, or adolescents, struggling with mental or behavioral health issues.

01/08/2022

Our Mental Health Targeted Case Management team aims to support adults with a mental illness who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Our case managers assist qualifying Texas residents who are having difficulty getting their basic needs met. These basic needs most often include shelter, food, and access to entitlements. Case Managers help clientele gain access to a range of Behavioral Health services including medical, financial, housing and other supportive systems. Case managers will assist with linkage to federal, state, and/or local resources and provide consumers with the individualized tools they may require to reduce the need for a higher level of care. There is a strong effort to increase the ability to live as independently and successfully as possible in the community. Services provided include, but are not limited to assessments, individualized planning, monitoring of services, referral/linkage to resources, and advocacy. Mental health Targeted Case Management is often a stepping stone in the Behavioral Health recovery process.

Visit www.skyeempowermentservices.com for more information.
Email info@skybehavioralhealth.com