RE: Mental health care is crucial (Editorial Aug. 26)
You are right, we need to remove the stigma and have access to mental health care, as the tragic events at the Millstream/TransCanada Highway overpass prove.
But it needs to be effective mental health care. It’s possible the person who felt they needed to end their life had received counselling, but like many of us had not found it to be effective.
One therapy has been proven to be effective with up to 80 per cent of clients with severe mental trauma, with permanent and lasting results obtained in only three sessions. But many counsellors aren’t aware of it.
Even non-life-threatening events such as divorce and unemployment can generate PTSD symptoms in people. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), developed in the 1980s, is the number one treatment proven effective for helping heal mental trauma. It’s recommended by the APA and the World Health Organization for treating trauma, after decades of careful scientific studies.
I wish that the person who had felt they had no other choice but to end their life had received effective mental health care and support. Hopefully their death may help other people who are suffering find out that there are effective options.
If any of the first responders who witnessed that event would like to discuss how EMDR might help them, please send them my information. It would be my privilege to do a complimentary session for them to process the trauma from this event.
Thank you for bringing community awareness to this crucially important topic.
Kimberley Hopwood, B.Sc. Psych., M. Couns.
Victoria