New Bern psychiatric practitioner explains her mental health treatment
Patrick Cronin said his addiction wasn’t only about the substances, but the lifestyle.
The crowd he surrounded himself with and the crimes he committed caused his addiction to spiral even more.
Patrick Cronin is the director of community outreach at Ark Behavioral Health.
Having mental health issues can lead to diseases such as drug addiction, which can also be a cause of that person’s lifestyle, especially during the pandemic.
“It’s different every day with COVID so it’s made it very tricky with addiction,” said Cronin. “We say a lot of people just out of boredom and living a lifestyle they were never used to, start to go to substances.”
Cronin has been in recovery for 16 years and knows how hard it is to get help, but it takes effort to receive proper treatment.
“I didn’t go to treatment once and got sober,” he said. “I went to treatment numerous times. Asking for help sooner than later is really going to get someone into recovery as quick as possible.”
Cronin said there is still a lot of people who are homeless and suffering because there is not a lot of treatment that can be provided with COVID-19 cases.
A new service for mental health needs to open in New Bern
The lack of knowledge in society about mental health and the stigma surrounding mental illness, is possibly the reason for the increase in behavioral health issues, said Kizzy Petersen of Carolina Behavioral Health and Wellness.
Petersen is a family nurse practitioner and psychiatric mental health practitioner in New Bern and is opening a behavioral health and wellness center, hopefully in October. Her business will provide psychotherapy and psychiatric care.
Her goal is to bring more awareness to mental illness and normalize asking for help.
Psychotherapy is an evaluation by licensed therapists to decide what treatment is best. Based on the diagnosis, the therapists will provide a plan in addition to medication management, which is where Petersen’s expertise come into action.
Not only is medication and psychotherapy treatment, but having a balanced diet and physical activity encourages wellness and recovery, Petersen said. She covers mild to severe psychiatric cases of intellectually disabled or deficit individuals.
“I believe we have to have our basic needs met in order to achieve optimal health,” she said.
Self-care is a potential solution to behavioral issues
A significant solution to behavioral issues could be self care because the mind can be one’s worst enemy, according to Petersen.
“Self-care is much more than going to get your hair done or nails,” she said. “It’s okay to invest in yourself to get the treatment you need to live your best, most healthy life.”
Petersen believes her treatment will be different from normal traditions of mental health care.
“I’ll give them my ideas and recommendations and they tell me what they’re willing to do and we come up with a plan together,” she said. “I’m hoping to bring some originality to mental health but also still bring in that traditional piece of we do know that science tells us that medication and therapy is an effective treatment for mental illness.”
