September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and Manning Regional Healthcare Center’s (MRHC) Senior Life Solutions program wants to openly disucss this issue, as well as what leads to suicidal feelings and how people can seek help to overcome them. The new Program Therapist, Amy Hull, will be working with the rest of the team to break down the negative stereotypes associated with mental health. She says that by attending their program, patients are learning that what they are feeling is an illness that needs and deserves treatment, just like any physical illness. Participants in the program come to understand that they have the intrinsic power to improve their struggles and that there are opportunities awaiting them to explore. They learn that they are still valuable to their families and communities. Senior Life Solutions is an intensive outpatient group therapy program, designed to meet the unique needs of older adults, over the age of 65, who are struggling with symptoms of depression and anxiety, often related to aging. Hull comes to MRHC with 17 years of experience and a master’s of social work from St. Ambrose University. She says growing up through the farm crisis had a direct impact on her career path. “Seeing people affected by the issues of alcoholism, poverty and both parents working outside of the home, I knew that I wanted to help people overcome barriers and personal struggles so that these challenges could become triumphs and successes,” Hull says.
