Substance use and mental health disorders touch every part of our lives.
By Robin Govanlu, LAC, LPC, Behavioral Health Clinical Director, Oak Orchard Health
Join the Voices for Recovery: Celebrating Connections.
Behavioral health treatment has historically been separated from general healthcare, which has reinforced stigma around mental health and substance use disorders and has created significant barriers for accessing care. Oak Orchard’s philosophy on integrated healthcare, which includes having behavioral health providers embedded in every primary care setting, speaks to our understanding that it is essential to treat mental health and substance use disorders like any other medical condition.
As the opioid epidemic continues to rage on, with almost 72,000 overdose deaths in the United States last year and the numbers continuing to rise in 2020, Oak Orchard has joined the fight by partnering with other substance providers in the area to help meet the ever-increasing need for behavioral health and medication-assisted treatment services. If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance or mental health issue, treatment is available. Talk to your doctor, reach out to your local crisis service, or call the substance or mental health treatment provider in your area—prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover.
Please join us in celebrating the strength of those living in recovery, those making advances in substance and mental health treatment, and the organizations in our community that support those endeavors. For more information about Recovery Month, please visit Faces and Voices of Recovery.
