May is Mental Health Awareness Month and could not have come too soon. After a full year of living with the global pandemic, our community is tired, anxious, and looking for relief and hope. The need for mental health services has never been more apparent and accepted. Everywhere on our social media pages, the need for mental health has been promoted, hash-tagged and shared. Yet in the noise of hectic daily responsibilities, full of zoom meetings and to do lists to check off, are people really connecting with therapists to learn the tools they need to live healthy and fulfilling lives?
The reality for mental health services in Jacksonville as well as across Florida and the US is there is not enough mental health therapists to meet the community’s needs. When a stressed-out parent finally gets time to call to make that initial appointment for counseling their child desperately needs, hearing there is a waiting list can cause all those plates they’ve been spinning to crash to the ground. When people are looking for help, they need support now.
Reasons why there is a shortage of mental health services is a topic for another day, but CGC wanted to find a way to help. If the pandemic taught us anything, its the value of staying connected and the power of the virtual world. We are launching this CGC Blog in hopes that the posts provided here can help our community while looking to start services, considering if services are needed, or maybe looking to help a friend or loved one. Our professional staff have a wealth of knowledge to share and are excited to serve Jacksonville families in a new way. Enjoy our blog!