Speaker 1:	The Missouri State Journal, a weekly program keeping you in touch with Missouri State University. 
Nicki Donnelson:	Between 2013 and 2015, the League of Women Voters conducted a study of the accessibility and affordability of mental healthcare services for adults in Greene County. From there, they established the Ozarks Mental Health Network to support such services. I'm Nicki Donnelson and today I have doctors Paul Deal and Lisa Hall from the Psychology Department at Missouri State University as my guests to talk about their research and this network. One finding from the study was that more than 17% of inmates in the Greene County Jail suffer from mental illness. Deal, head of the Psychology Department at Missouri State, has for many years focused his research efforts on the evaluation of local problem solving courts like the Mental Health Court. He explains. 
Dr. Paul Deal:	Individuals that had higher levels of social support when they started at Mental Health Court tended to have better outcomes and by-outcomes, things like staying out of jail longer, having a higher quality of life. Individuals who reported a better relationship with their probation officer also tended to have better outcomes. We were looking not just at where they were when they started the court, but at six and 12 month follow ups and looking at changes in those different variables. 
Nicki Donnelson:	Hall is a gerontologist. In her research, she has seen that older individuals rarely identify that they have mental health issues and note that their doctors rarely address these issues with them. If it is noted that they are experience mental illness, medication is usually prescribed rather than counseling services. Hall is passionate about making sure services are available to all and that the stigma continues to fade. 
Dr. Lisa Hall:	The network is made up of all kinds of people, just concerned citizens, community leaders, professors, League of Women Voter members, and we discuss a variety of issues. Sometimes it's policies or legislation to put mental healthcare services on par with physical healthcare services. Sometimes we talk about how to reduce stigma in the community. Sometimes we talk about weather and how to house people using a recovery model. 
Dr. Paul Deal:	Another issue I know that is important, not just for the network but for state and nationally, are the interactions between law enforcement and between people with serious mental illness and the disproportionate amount of people who are incarcerated that have behavioral disorders. Another issue that I think is important is to explore how to decrease the negative interactions or negative consequences of law enforcement and people with mental illness. There were a number of initiatives over the last several years. I think the county or the city or it was a joint effort were able to obtain a grant and some funding that provided CIT, critical intervention training, for law enforcement. It basically teaches law enforcement how to recognize symptoms of mental illness and appropriate strategies for dealing with those individuals. 
Nicki Donnelson:	Though this study was local, Deal and Hall note that the issues brought forth in the report are not unique to the area. 
Dr. Paul Deal:	I know that there's legislation at the national level being considered right now that addresses some of these issues related to the challenges that the public mental health system is faced with regarding inadequate services. That's across the board. A combination of substance abuse and mental health problems coupled with low resources really make it a challenge to work with individuals that are experiencing all of those difficulties. There's not any easy one size fits all solution for addressing those different problems. 
Nicki Donnelson:	Deal and Hall offer two low cost options to get help. 
Dr. Lisa Hall:	The Center City Counseling Clinic, it's a low cost counseling that is open to all people, individuals, children, and couples. It's right on the square in the Park Central Office Building and it's on the bus route as well. A 50 minute session is $20 or even less depending on someone's income. It is a program of the Counseling Leadership and Special Education Department here at MSU. It was established in the '90s, but today it is just a beautiful example of the Public Affairs mission. 
Dr. Paul Deal:	MSU Cares Clinic has been open a little more than a year. It's basically designed to serve individuals with no resources, no insurance or insurance coverage, or adequate income to pay for. It's my hope that ultimately the Psychology Department and other mental health providers can become more active and more involved in the clinic. 
Nicki Donnelson:	That was doctors Paul Deal and Lisa Hall from the Psychology Department at Missouri State University. I'm Nicki Donnelson for the Missouri State Journal. 
Speaker 1:	For more information, contact the office of University Communications at 417-836-6397.