Concurrent Disorders and Mental Health

The article discusses the online resources available for individuals with mental health and substance abuse disorders. It recommends Facingus and Heretohelp for their self-screening tests, personal stories, and informative factsheets. The article also provides a rationale for recommending these resources to individuals with mental health disorders.

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH
CONCURRENT DISORDERS AND MENTAL HEALTH
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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The web address where I can access the resource/tool.
The web-address where the tools/ resources could be accessed include the following
web addresses:
http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/
https://www.facingus.org/
Detailed description of the resource.
https://www.facingus.org/: The website emphasises on guaranteeing a healthy mental
health to its users. The website is designed in the form of a clubhouse and intends to extend
support in the form of inspiration to the users and guarantee them a healthy life (facingus.org,
2018). It should be noted in this regard that individuals with mood disorders and mental
health problems such as stress and anxiety often find it difficult to cope with the society
(Chu, Keller & Rasmussen, 2013). In order to provide assistance, the website makes
provision for the clients in the form of interactive tools and informative blogs which can be
used in order to alleviate the standard of living (facingus.org, 2018).
http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/: HeretoHelp is a mental health wellness initiative that
was taken up by the BC partners and is exclusively designed for the patients who require
assistance with substance abuse issues (Heretohelp.bc.ca., 2018). HeretoHelp is one of the
leading non-profit organization in Canada that intends to help patients with substance abuse
disorder and has been rendering its services since the year 2003 (Heretohelp.bc.ca., 2018). It
should be noted in this regard, that at present the organization has seven sibling organizations
and is funded by the BC Mental Health and Substance Use services, which is an agency of
the Provincial Health Services Authority.The Ministry of Children and Family Development
also extends its support to the organization (Heretohelp.bc.ca., 2018).
An explanation as to why you would recommend this specific resource to someone with
the disorder(s) addressed in the case study. That is, why would a person living with the

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disorder(s) benefit from going to the website and looking at the resource? Be sure to
connect your answer back to both the case study as well as what you have learned in the
course about the disorder(s). For example, what specific part of the disorder(s) does this
resource/tool address?
The case study A was chosen by me. Prior to providing a rationale about the
recommendation of the helplines to the concerned client, the major factors of the case study
must be highlighted. The client, Mr. Marcello is a victim of substance-abuse and also suffers
from anxiety and depression. As reported by the case study, it should further be noted that on
account of political disturbances, Mr. Marcello had to flee from his native land in Gautemala
and take refuge in Canada. He has not been in contact with his family members since a long
time and has also been reported to suffer from PTSD. In addition to this, Mr. Marcello finds it
extremely difficult to cope with the Canadian culture and also experiences low-esteem for his
vulnerabilities. Further, Mr. Marcello also feels he is weak and also does not fulfil the set
tradition of his culture that requires him to get married and have kids at his age. He feels
emotionally low and is not able to confide in any one else for gaining support. As an
individual,
It can be comprehend the barriers that Mr. Marcello encounters while thinking about
seeking professional support. However, his mental health condition is serious and must be
addressed immediately, in order to avoid further complexities. Hence, it would be
recommend to him to use the mental health support websites online so that he starts feeling
better and recovers with time. The rationale for the recommendation of the online resources is
to let Mr. Marcello seek help without feeling vulnerable or weak. The fear of the client to be
called weak by the society serves as a major barrier that does not permit his to seek
professional support. However, accessing online resources would not expose his mental

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health condition to the society and would remain restricted to himself exclusively. Therefore,
the recommendations would serve beneficial to the client.
The three specific tools that would be recommended to the client from the website
‘facingus’ would include the following:
Wellness Tracker:
The wellness tracker is an exclusive feature of the ‘facingus’ website (facingus.org,
2018) It helps in investigating the existing health trend that affects the mind and the body.
The wellness tracker would help in monitoring the overall mood, state of well-being,
symptoms of mood disorder, lifestyle preferences and physical health which are the key
components and regulators of the mental health (facingus.org, 2018). The DBSA wellness
tracker can thus be defined as an online tool that equips the client with the capability to
stringently monitor and evaluate the mood level spanning throughout the day. Also, the
tracker helps in recognising the potential health issues that might compromise with the
quality of the living standard of the client. The diverse sections of the wellness plan helps in
establishing a better partnership with the clinician in order to address complete wellbeing.
The tool is available in the form of an application and is free. It can be downloaded from the
internet and would track the mood of the client throughout the day (facingus.org, 2018). It
can hence be stated, in this regard, that the DBSA wellness tracker would help Mr. Marcello
to evaluate his mood type, dietary intake, water intake and level of physical exercise
throughout the day. It would thus, make the client aware about his physical health condition
at every instant and accordingly motivate him to seek wellness support.
Creativity Center:
The website contains an interesting and an entertaining section which is known as the
Dave’s spark creativity center (facingus.org, 2018). This section allows the clients to

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channelize their negative thoughts and insecurities into creativity, so as to harbour a ‘feel
good’ essence. The section contains podcasts on art and painting, creative writing, stand-up
comedy and music. Research studies show that engaging in creative ideas help in stabilising
the disturbed mind and attaining serenity (Blomdahl et al., 2013). Psychologists often
recommend ‘hobby therapy’ to people experience anxiety and depression as a relief remedy
(Khoury et al., 2013). In the same way, it can be said that the podcasts and the online
workshops available on the website would help the client in managing his depression and
provide relief to his mind (Blomdahl et al., 2013). The case study mentions that the client
feels increasingly helpless and hopeless on being distanced from his family members and
native land. The client could specifically pick videos in his native language and connect with
the emotions. It is expected to make his feel better (Chu, Keller & Rasmussen, 2013).
Media Room:
The website offers another interesting resource in the form of ‘Media-Rooms’ which
can be accessed by the client (facingus.org, 2018). The resources comprises of success stories
of individuals who battles difficult and complicated mental health problems such as
depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. In addition to this, it should further be noted that
resources in the form of meditation assistance and motivational audio casts are available that
facilitates recovery. Research studies prove that administration of mindfulness-based
therapies such as meditation and yoga helps in providing composure to the disturbed state of
mind (Connors et al., 2013); (Khoury et al., 2013). In the same way, the videos on meditation
and yoga can impart helpful self-management strategies to the client and help him heal.
On the other hand, the three tools that would be recommended to Mr. Marcello from
the website ‘heretohelp’ would include the following:
Self-screening test:

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The website offers self-screening test tools that help the client in taking care of their
mental health and well-being. The tests, effectively look for symptoms of certain mental
health illness (Heretohelp.bc.ca., 2018). Also, it helps in accessing the pattern of substance
use and variations in everyday mood. The client would be recommended to undertake the
depression, anxiety disorders, risky drinking and the well-being screening test. These tests
would help in analysing the symptoms and depending upon the score obtained by the client,
wellness therapies can be assisted to the client. The rationale for recommending the above
mentioned screening tests to the client include, the assessment of the risk areas identified in
alignment with the case study.
Personal stories:
The website offers an insight into the personal success stories of the people who have
experienced substance abuse issues and associated mental health problems in the past
(Heretohelp.bc.ca., 2018). It should be noted in this regard, that the personal stories do not
offer any medical expert advice but rather offers reflective stories about people who had
managed their mental health illness on grounds of self-determination and will power.
Therefore, Mr. Marcello can browse through the success stories of individuals like him who
had been experiencing depression and substance abuse issues and accordingly gather
knowledge about self-management strategies to combat the existing health issues (Galanter,
Kleber & Brady, 2014).
Learn about alcohol (Info sheet):
It has been mentioned in the case study, the client indulges in heavy alcohol
consumption. This clearly reflects that the client needs to manage his temptation and at the
same time also be aware about the negative implication of alcohol on the physical and mental
health (Shapiro & Carlson, 2017). Informative factsheets on mental illness and alcoholism,

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alcohol treatment and safer drinking: Beer, wine and other spirits are available. I would
recommend Mr. Marcello to browse through the mentioned pdf documents
(Heretohelp.bc.ca., 2018). This would not only educate him and make him aware about the
negative impact of alcohol on health but would also help in making him aware about the
treatment options that are available. Also, it would help in providing an over-view about the
disastrous impact of alcohol on the mental as well as the physical health of the people and
motivate him to involve himself in a wellness plan.

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References:
Blomdahl, C., Gunnarsson, A. B., Guregård, S., & Björklund, A. (2013). A realist review of
art therapy for clients with depression. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 40(3), 322-330.
Chu, T., Keller, A. S., & Rasmussen, A. (2013). Effects of post-migration factors on PTSD
outcomes among immigrant survivors of political violence. Journal of immigrant and
minority health, 15(5), 890-897.
Connors, G. J., DiClemente, C. C., Velasquez, M. M., & Donovan, D. M. (2013). Substance
abuse treatment and the stages of change: Selecting and planning interventions.
Guilford Press.
facingus.org (2018). FACINGUS. [online] www.facingus.org. Available at:
https://www.facingus.org/media [Accessed 3 Dec. 2018].
Galanter, M., Kleber, H. D., & Brady, K. (Eds.). (2014). The American Psychiatric
Publishing textbook of substance abuse treatment. American Psychiatric Pub.
Heretohelp.bc.ca. (2018). Here to Help | Here to Help. Retrieved from
http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/
Khoury, B., Lecomte, T., Fortin, G., Masse, M., Therien, P., Bouchard, V., ... & Hofmann, S.
G. (2013). Mindfulness-based therapy: a comprehensive meta-analysis. Clinical
psychology review, 33(6), 763-771.
Shapiro, S. L., & Carlson, L. E. (2017). The art and science of mindfulness: Integrating
mindfulness into psychology and the helping professions. American Psychological
Association.pp.78-81