Financial crisis has caused no surge at mental-health agencies
Counselors at Valley Mental Health, the large not-for-profit organization that contracts with the state for mental health services in Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties, have been advised to expect calls from people who may be emotionally wrought over money.
Richard Hatch, chief clinical officer, said Friday that money troubles can be and often are a huge stress on people's sense of well-being. During this period when even those who are in charge of handling other people's money aren't sure what to do and with the widespread general distress from unprecedented prices for fuel and groceries, all the elements are in place for people to feel overwhelmed.
"We talked earlier this week about the possibility of people feeling like things are out of control and we should prepare for more calls," Hatch said. However, he added, "None of our offices have reported any increases in suicide threats at the hotline or that financial concerns are any greater than in recent weeks."
It's a tough situation being made tougher because no one is sure what to do, and because within state-affiliated crisis counseling services, cutbacks in the current budget approved by Utah lawmakers last week are adding stress for the very people who are paid to alleviate it.
"It is ironic and might be a little funny if it weren't a reality," said an Ogden crisis hotline operator who didn't want to be identified. "It shows that it cuts across just about everyone's path, and no one seems to be immune. And some people who need some counseling right at the time they need it most could well cancel appointments because they don't think they can afford a session."
Psychological assocations have told Associated Press in the past few days that any economic woes preceding this one were worrisome, "but there is real anxiety out there about how people are going to cope," said Jana Martin, a spokeswoman for the California Psychological Association.
The Boston Globe is reporting that psychologists have developed a new diagnosis — "sudden loss sydrome" that is a kind of bookend to "affluenza," a label that surfaced in the late 1980s to describe emotional disorders associated with sudden acquisition of wealth.
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