Behavioral Health and Family Studies Institute

Center serves as clearinghouse for local mental health resources, mike wallace

As a Center of Excellence, BHFSI has become a central source for distributing information, monitoring developments within the field, coordinating and supporting research on mental health topics and promoting careers in the field.

The institute’s director is Kathleen O’Connell, associate dean of IPFW’s School of Health Sciences. The chair of the local suicide prevention council, O’Connell has focused on mental health issues, and she teaches mental health nursing.

“IPFW is a nice, neutral place to do something like this,” O’Connell said. “We don’t have a political agenda; we don’t have concerns about turf.”

In fulfilling its mission as a clearinghouse for local resources, BHFSI will oversee the Suicide Prevention Council as well as a new mental health coordinating council. O’Connell hopes this will help better provide services for those who need them by coordinating all resources and making them more “user friendly.”

“We don’t want to take over those services, but we want to become a support unit for those who provide them,” IPFW Chancellor Michael Wartell said.

In creating the institute, O’Connell insisted that the name include “family services” because mental health issues affect more than just the individual. Treating a mental illness can mean treating a whole family or support system of friends.

In supporting that goal, the institute is creating two videos about suicide prevention. One is for adults and the other for teens and adolescents. The videos, one of which is in the production stage, will be a resource for schools and families on recognizing potential signs of suicide and options for assistance.

O’Connell’s ideas for the center are based on the University of South Florida’s mental health institute. The Florida legislature created the institute to address that state’s mental health needs, and in its 25 years of service, has become internationally know for its research and training programs.

http://www.ipfw.edu/hsc/Institute.html

‘60 Minutes’ co-editor Mike Wallace

Photo by Eugene Harding

In cooperation with the Allen County Suicide Prevention Council, local health providers, public health officials, advocacy groups and volunteers, the Behavioral Health and Family Studies Institute sponsored a conference on suicide May 7. The conference was intended to provide the most up-to-date information and draw attention to the topic. This was achieved by an appearance and speech by veteran CBS reporter and 60 Minutes co-editor Mike Wallace, who shared his personal struggle with depression. The success of the conference stemmed from the collaboration between local agencies and resources.