Coronavirus fuels demand for Marin mental health services
Marin Independent JournalJul 13, 2020
The number of patients who were taken to
Section 5150 of the
"People are increasingly encountered at a crisis level and require an involuntary detention to get help," Maxwell said.
The number of patients who required psychiatric services in MarinHealth's emergency department for alcohol or substance use disorder increased from 25 in April to 45 in June, an 80% jump.
"We're seeing a lot more overdoses," Maxwell said. "We're seeing a lot more alcohol intoxication and need for access to detox and inpatient rehab."
And the number of patients admitted into
Most patients don't remain in the unit long because it has only 17 beds. Many
The number of
However, Dr.
Maxwell said, "Routine in our daily lives supports us in ways that we don't necessarily appreciate until our routine gets upended and then some of our maladaptive coping skills like drinking and drug use tend to compound."
Maxwell also said there has been an increase in suicide attempts and suicidal ideation among
He said the number of interventions so far this year, 96, appears to be up slightly; there were 167 during all of 2019.
Africa said there has been about a 33% increase in people calling a "warm" phone line with less critical needs and a 17% increase in calls for the county's mobile crisis unit, which assists people with urgent mental health needs.
Despite the sharp rise in patients requiring alcohol or substance use disorder services at
The county's monthly average of suspected opioid overdoses was 16 during April, May and June of 2020, compared with 11 in 2019.
Maxwell said people should be alert to signs that friends or loved ones are in need of help. These signs include changes in sleep or eating patterns, loss of energy, feelings of being overwhelmed, increased anger or irritability, a loss of interest in usual activities and increased use of alcohol or drugs. Those in need of help can call
Maxwell said it is understandable that not just people with a history of mental illness are experiencing intense anxiety given the uncertainty surrounding the current pandemic. More than 34% of respondents to a national survey of 1 million households conducted by the
"We can't replace the loss of somebody's income or the loss of somebody's housing," Maxwell said. "Those are real and not going to be better with medication. But what we can do as mental health providers is teach people some coping skills, provide them with a level of support and let them know they're not alone in this."
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