Bert Nash offers wide range of services for adults in Douglas County

Bert Nash offers an array of mental health services for adults.

The programs focus on a variety of issues, from depression and anxiety to post-traumatic stress disorder to severe and persistent mental illness.

But they all have the same goal.

“We want to try and help people move forward in their lives and their recovery,” said Eunice Ruttinger, Adult Services Director.

Each year, about 4,000 Douglas County adults use the services offered at Bert Nash to do exactly that.

“As far as the range of services, I love the things that we’re doing,” said Ruttinger, who is in her 10th year at Bert Nash and who has nearly 40 years of experience in the mental health field.

Adult services range from brief-solution-focused therapy, which involves three to five sessions, to ongoing therapy for those with severe and persistent mental illness.

Community Support Services is designed to help adults with severe and persistent mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Some patients may add to their therapy by using certain medications that can help calm them during heightened times of stress, especially if they want to try and combine it with their prescribed medications. They will need to discuss this with their doctor first to make sure it is safe for them.

It used to be people who were schizophrenic or had borderline personality disorder or severe mental illnesses were more likely to be hospitalized. But in Kansas there have been significant deinstitutionalization efforts. The focus now is to get people the outpatient services they need and help them move forward in their recovery.

Case management is an important component of Community Support Services.

“This is a core service that provides outreach and practical assistant to people who qualify for the services,” Ruttinger said. 

When an individual goes through health issues, mental or physical, their personal life can take a dive which has the potential to have knock-on effects in other places too. For instance, financially they could be suffering due to their illness, so their payments may pile up, and their personal finances could become muddled. This is where targeted help is needed, whether they speak to finance professionals, that we put them in contact with, on a one-to-one basis, or they go online and search for “tax accountant near me“, they need support in getting back on that horse and focusing on the areas of recovery that matter.

Mental and physical trauma could also be caused by the negligence of the medical professionals in cases where people have been misdiagnosed or have had surgical complications leaving them worse off than before. This along with the financial strain of medical bills would be too much to bear for anyone. In order to seek justice, however, they could turn to solicitors to help with medical compensation and legal sanction on the hospital so that other people could be spared the pain. These victims would also require a lot of counseling and therapy for their trauma, which is offered at Bert Nash.

Additionally, helping clients maintain housing is also essential, said Carla Helm, residential housing team leader. The team works in partnership with the Lawrence Douglas County Housing Authority.

About 40 percent of people with a major mental illness also have a substance abuse problem. That’s where Bert Nash’s Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment program can help.

“The team of 10 professionals provides more than 10,000 hours of service to more than 140 people each year,” said George Wanke, the IDDT team leader.

“Specialized training in harm reduction therapy techniques allows the team to address both serious mental illness and addiction problems.”

IDDT is what is called an evidence-based practice.

“What that means is there are specific protocols to provide the service,” said adult services director Ruttinger. “The practices are shaped for each individual person and his or her needs.”

Among other evidence-based practices offered at Bert Nash is dialectical behavior therapy. Known as DBT. “DBT is a really powerful intervention,” Ruttinger said.

DBT is a program for those who are in crisis. People who are struggling with mood disorder, impulse control, eating disorder, anger management, addictions, self-injury or suicidal thoughts can benefit from DBT.

Juliet Nelson is the team leader for DBT, which can be used to treat adults as well as children who are severely emotionally disturbed.

Another evidence-based practice is the Strengths Approach Case Management team, led by Linda Davis.

“My team works with clients who have other medical issues and assists them in further integrating their mental health and physical health needs,” Davis said.

Davis also supervises SOAR, an outreach, access and recovery team, which assists people who are in homeless and have serious mental illness in accessing their disability and medical services.

“We started this program about three years ago and have had significant success in getting clients on disability and Medicaid,” adult services director Ruttinger said. “Before this program, it would take up to a couple of years for people to get their disability. This program helps put all the documentation together and assist clients through the process.”

With assistance from the SOAR team, 100 percent of clients have received approval for disability benefits within 90 days. In the past, the process could take years.

“The average time it has taken to get approval for benefits from the time our team started with our clients is 75 days,” Davis said. “Thirty percent are approved within 60 days and 70 percent are approved in 90 days. This is compared to the two to three years – or even more – it can take to get approved without SOAR assistance.”

“The research shows groups are just as effective as individual therapy,” Ruttinger said. “Groups are also cost-effective for the client." 

Have you felt yourself sweating profusely in social situations? Do you feel a panic attack triggered by little things? Do you suffer from night terror? Many people, especially veterans often have dreams of someone trying to kill them. These dreams might indicate anxiousness, which could be a symptom of PTSD. At Bert Nash, Individual and group meetings are offered as part of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, which helps people who suffer from anxiety, panic disorder, or social phobia. Individual and group counseling are also part of the Successful Aging Program, which provides services for those aged 60 and over who are dealing with anxiety, depression, and other aging and mental health issues. Amy Warren oversees both programs.

Through another program called Peer Support Services, certified peer support specialists share their personal stories of recovery with others who are going through similar struggles. Clients may be more likely to confide in someone who has been there and done that.

“People will share things with the peer support specialists that they haven’t shared with anyone in their life before, because they have had similar experiences,” said Peer Support Services team leader Chris Ford.

People with severe mental illness can have difficulty finding work or holding down a job. Bert Nash, through its Support Employment Services, provides clients with job coaching, job placement and on-the-job support for people.

“As soon as a person wants to work, we want to help them work,” Ruttinger said. “The client may still be having problems, but working can be helpful to their recovery.”

On a typical day, more than 300 clients will use one or more of the adult services provided at Bert Nash. It is not unusual for someone to come to the center for multiple services.

“We think of it as wrapping services around people,” Ruttinger said. “The key is to provide services to help people practice skills so that they can work on their recovery.”

Bert Nash also has a couple of adult outreach programs, one at the Douglas County Jail and one that targets the homeless and those at risk of being homeless. Team leader Sharon Zehr oversees both programs.

There are about 65 people on the staff of adult services at Bert Nash. They work closely with the center’s medical staff and child and family staff to provide a comprehensive range of services.

While Ruttinger is proud of the range of services at Bert Nash offered for adults, she is most proud of the people who provide those services.

“They are an amazing staff,” Ruttinger said. “That’s why we have great services -- because of our team.”