Libraries Are Lifelines for Texans’ Mental Health

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

By Courtney Wise

Plus, a visit to a meeting of Gambler’s Anonymous and a thoughtful check-in for grownups (especially millennials) from Blue’s Clues original host, Steve Burns. 

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Texas libraries: a vital mental health support

Bergeron, the library’s director, had set up “Coffee with a Counselor” in 2018 to enable those who needed mental health support to meet in a private room with a professional counselor. Losing access to the library made residents of Smithville, a 4,000-person town just outside of Austin, feel like a vital artery had been severed, she told the Texas Tribune.

“We did see a lot of anxiety when people felt cut off from reading materials,” Bergeron said. One of her key responses was to set up book clubs for different groups including military veterans, people of color, teenagers, Spanish speakers and members of the LGBTQ+ community. “I had one of them tell me this is the one place they feel safe and comfortable in, and isn’t that the definition of what the library is meant to be? A place to feel safe,” Bergeron said.

Libraries across Texas are adding mental health resources. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission in Austin runs a mental health resources page, the San Antonio Public Library hosts presentations on common mood disorders and a library in Pottsboro set up a Zoom telehealth room. As funders and government agencies seek new ways to connect residents to mental health care, they’re leveraging the accessibility and trust libraries have built up in their communities.

Two years ago, a group of Texas funders awarded $1.5 million to eight Central Texas libraries as part of a three-year mental health pilot program that will end in December. “We chose libraries because they are open to the public and trusted by people of all demographics. We wanted to take advantage of that, put libraries in the driver’s seat, and work with them to create a health initiative,” said Abena Asante, senior program officer at St. David’s Foundation. 

Shortly after Brittany Flores began working at the Smithville library as a peer support specialist, staff directed her to a homeless teenager who was sleeping at one of the tables. “I just asked if she was all right and if she wanted to get something to eat,” Flores said. “That was the start of our relationship.” She has since helped the 18-year-old secure employment and gather the materials she needed to get into housing. “I just felt like I didn’t have any other way out. I was literally at the bottom of my life,” the young woman said in an email to the Tribune. “And then she showed up like, tada, you still have a chance.”

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A residential treatment facility in Wisconsin puts AI to use in guiding mental health treatment

Icky or not? Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly common tool used by mental health professionals to guide their treatment of patients. A story in the Green Bay Press Gazette looked at a pilot program at a residential treatment facility in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, owned by Rogers Behavioral Health. It uses AI to assess patients’ symptoms and predict their risk of suicide and response to treatment by asking them a series of questions. Clinicians can then use this information to help shape their treatment. 

The article notes the growing concerns about the use of generative AI in creating deepfake images such as fake Taylor Swift nudes and doctored images of political candidates, but doesn’t otherwise look at the downsides of the technology’s use in health and mental health care. The “huge potential and huge risks” of AI in health were highlighted in a recent report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

At Rogers, AI is seen as a tool to assist clinicians, “not a tool that will replace clinicians or treatment,” says Chief Strategy Officer Brian Kay. It “may be helpful in identifying patterns that a human may not easily see,” he told the Gazette. 

The AI developed by Rogers was trained by digesting data from nearly 30,000 patients, augmented by data from another 2,500 patients last year after the pilot began. Kay said the constant machine learning helps clinicians assess their hypotheses about whether treatments are working or not. The next step in the rollout of technology will be biometric as inpatients start wearing Bluetooth-enabled bracelets that sync to tablets carried by staff. The data will document patient safety checks and track how much sleep they get each night. “AI gets a bad name and it’s very overhyped. But can it be a really good tool to help in certain situations?” Kay asked. “Absolutely.”

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Police push back as medical groups, legislators reject “excited delirium” as medical diagnosis justifying deaths in custody

In January, California became the first state to prohibit the term from many official proceedings. Lawmakers in Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, and New York may follow suit.

“It’s the law following the science, which is what we want to see,” attorney Joanna Naples-Mitchell told KFF Health News. She’s an attorney who was part of an influential 2022 report by Physicians for Human Rights. 

The 40-year-old theory posits, as a medical explanation, that people in a state of severe agitation are prone to sudden death. It has long been used to defend officers involved in the deaths of people in custody, including, in recent years, George Floyd in Minneapolis; Daniel Prude in Rochester, New York; and Angelo Quinto in Antioch, California. The American Medical Association repudiated the diagnosis in 2021 and last October, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) withdrew its approval of a 2009 policy paper that had frequently been cited as medical support for the theory. 

Michele Heisler, medical director of Physicians for Human Rights, called ACEP’s disavowal of the concept “a major win for police accountability, justice, and public safety.” She added that there is now “no remaining medical association support for ‘excited delirium.’” Still, police departments as large as the NYPD continue to teach officers that excited delirium is real, and that people in a state of excited delirium have great physical strength. The National Association of Police Organizations says bills seeking to revoke the diagnosis violate free speech and run afoul of the First Amendment. 

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In other news…

“I’m Ben, and I’m a compulsive gambler.” As sports betting becomes ever more common, more people are turning to Gambler’s Anonymous to try and resolve their gambling addiction. The Guardian visited a GA meeting and brought us this story about people reaching out to for community and support. 

Stigma is still holding older men back from seeking mental health treatment: In a guest column for the Seattle Times, psychiatric nurse practitioner Noah Weatherton writes of the urgency to get men, especially older men, connected to mental health treatment. Weatherton lost his own father to suicide and says it’s critical to help men shift their mindsets. “Going to the doctor or therapist can be reframed as a sign of strength, and as solving a problem instead of ignoring it.”

Millennials: Steve from Blue’s Clues wants to know how you’re doing. It’s hardly surprising that Steve Burns, the original host of Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues, still wants to helpi us with our emotional health. He hopped on TikTok late last week and allowed his now grownup fans to share their feelings about the docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kid’s TV. It tells the story of the toxic work environment that permeated sets led by Nickelodeon producer, screenwriter, and showrunner Dan Schneider. The post remains up and is still receiving comments, mainly from people grateful for a space to express how they feel. Burns ends it the same way he ends most online posts – with a word of encouragement: “OK. Alright, well, it’s good to hear from you. You look great, by the way.” 

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If you or someone you know is in crisis or experiencing suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and connect in English or Spanish. If you’re a veteran press 1. If you’re deaf or hard of hearing dial 711, then 988. Services are free and available 24/7.

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