TAMPA, Fla. — People looking for immediate, in-person mental health care services can consider several options announced as part of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Tampa Bay Thrives in a news release said free short-term telehealth bridge counseling is available to people through the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay and the University of South Florida’s Department of Psychiatry.
People also can consider appointments at one of 10 local Walgreens locations where an AdventHealth Express Care staff member will assess needs and provide a referral to a telehealth counselor for additional support, Tampa Bay Thrives said in a news release. This service can be used through insurance.
“The process of finding help and waiting for your first appointment can be an overwhelming process,” Tampa Bay Thrives CEO Carrie Zeisse said in a statement. “We are grateful for the vision and commitment of our community leaders who have come together to add additional access points for mental health support.”
The option to speak with an AdventHealth physician about a person's mental health care through a phone or video visit from their home is still available, AdventHealth said in a news release.
“Mental health is a crisis and because it’s so imperative to meet the people where they are to provide both physical and mental health care, we’ve embedded immediate telehealth mental health services within our own teams and with the communities we serve,” said John Johannessen, senior executive officer of Non-Acute Care, AdventHealth West Florida Division.
Tampa Bay Thrives provided some facts about mental health from Mental Health America in the news release.
• Florida ranks 49th in the country in terms of access to mental health services
• Roughly 64% of Floridian adults with mental illness, over 1.8 million people in total, are going untreated, an estimated 54% of whom are covered by insurance.
• Data between 2019 and the end of 2021 in Hillsborough County shows the following:
- 664% increase in people seeking screens for anxiety, and 472% increase for depression (followed by bipolar screens)
- 661% increase in severity measured by those who screened positive for a bipolar screen or moderate-to-severe in screens for depression and anxiety
-Teenagers and young adults (up to 34) account for 83% of the screens, indicating an increasing mental health crisis in our younger population.
To learn more about the new mental health access points and Tampa Bay Thrives, click here.
Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis is urged to reach out for help. You can contact the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay at 211 or call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached 24/7 at 800-799-7233. Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
