Moms and families in need of mental health care services have a new option in La Porte County, thanks to an initiative by Dunebrook’s Healthy Families program.
Dunebrook’s executive director Tammy Button and Healthy Families program director Gabby Ginther serve on a county-wide Partners for Healthier Babies council, a group of community partners dedicated to improving maternal and child health outcomes in La Porte County. Mental health services were consistently identified as a need, with families reporting lack of access to care and long wait times to be seen.
“We started brainstorming, talking about how powerful it would be if we could offer counseling services free of charge and bring those services directly to our families,” Ginther said.
The Healthy Families program provides a framework to support and empower new parents, matching them with a family support specialist who offers personalized education and resources. Adding mental health services to the program just made sense – for families who are struggling, eliminating the barrier of seeking out mental health care can be the difference between accessing services or suffering in silence.
Through the Early Years Initiative, Dunebrook hired a full-time Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) to serve the Healthy Families program. As luck would have it, the therapist Healthy Families selected is a former Healthy Families home visitor, allowing her a unique perspective into the client base from her past experiences. “That’s been a great touch,” said Ginther, “since she really understands the program and can relate to our families.”
Families are already enrolling in counseling services, with individual weekly sessions taking place in a dedicated office space at Dunebrook. Healthy Families home visitors and supervisors work as a team to identify families who may benefit from services, with a special focus on those in the postpartum period with a child under a year old. “We know there are often long wait times to get in and see a mental health provider, especially for postpartum issues, so we really wanted to give priority to those families,” Ginther said.
Families receive up to 12 sessions with the therapist at no charge, after which the therapist can assist with resources and referrals if longer term counseling is needed.
Ginther points out it’s been a process to educate all the Healthy Families home visitors about the counseling program and how they can promote it to their families, but now that word is starting to spread she expects the program to fill to capacity. “Definitely positive feedback from our staff on the program,” she said. “They think it’s fantastic that their families are able to access these services easily because a lot of times that has been a barrier.”
For some families, a negative experience in seeking services in the past makes them hesitant to try again. “The fact that our therapist was a former family support specialist has helped us to bridge that gap,” Ginther said. “It offers a comfort level to our families that they are going to be treated respectfully and in a thoughtful way.”
One client was particularly hesitant to start counseling but shared positive feedback with her home visitor afterwards.
“My counselor was able to validate my feelings of nervousness at our first visit. She made it comfortable for me to talk about my emotions and offer reassurance. I am appreciative of the support and connection!”
Ginther emphasizes the importance of the relationship between families and home visitors in breaking the stigma surrounding mental health care. “It helps so much that our families have such a bond with their home visitors,” Ginther said. “They build these great relationships, and our team really helps encourage our families and motivate them to try new things like counseling. It’s really cool to see the connections that form.”
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