Sheree Leo from Center for Mental Health Visits Chinook Senior Center
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Mary Pyette
Sheree Leo spoke at this months Cancer Support Group meeting. Leo has spent 17 years in the mental health field and talked about mental health issues, their importance and how it affects such a large part of our surroundings.
In this month's meeting of the Cancer Support Group in Chinook, Sheree Leo came to speak about 'An Update on Mental Health'. This group meets every third Tuesday of the month to showcase the assets and support available in town for persons with cancer and those caring for people with cancer. At next month's meeting, children will be visiting to sing Christmas songs!
This was Sheree's first time speaking at one of the support group meetings but not her first time to Chinook. She comes to Chinook weekly for appointments each Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Sweet Medical Center. Otherwise, she works in Havre at the Center for Mental Health.
Sheree has 17 years of experience in the mental health industry, spending six years in the Rocky Boy/Box Elder area and then working in Havre. Twelve of those years have been spent working with children and families exclusively. Sheree currently deals mostly with patients who she says have 'harder diagnoses' such as Schizophrenia. She says that she "has a real love for people and God" and that is what drives her. Sheree's mission is to care for people and to listen to and serve people.
For this visit, Sheree spoke candidly about some of her experiences working in the mental health industry and the importance of mental health. She said that mental health is for everyone - a larger amount of people than most would think experience some sort of mental health issue in their lifetime. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), one in five American adults experience a mental health issue. HHS also notes that one in 25 Americans live with a serious mental illness. Therefore, it is not uncommon for people to need some sort of help with their mental health and shouldn't be ashamed by such need.
Sheree's view is that the deterioration of mental health comes from not having someone to acknowledge and appreciate you. She emphasized the need to reach out for help whether it is to a friend, relative, loved one, or therapist. Sheree also stated that it is important that people don't stop therapy if they haven't found the right perpson or therapist. Be persistent and an advocate for your own mental health.
She stressed "Acceptance, Acknowledgement, and Appreciation". She remarked that one of the best things you can do for a person's mental health is to not label them by their mental illness, but rather to know people for themselves as a whole. By not getting stuck within a box defined by their diagnosis, patients are freer to move beyond it and find healing and acceptance.
For more information on mental health and help on finding treatment, you can visit MentalHealth.gov.
