To celebrate UnityPoint Health’s 75 years of bringing mental health resources to the Iowa City community, the Abbe Center for Community Mental Health held a panel Tuesday. Roughly 12 people gathered at the Iowa City Public Library to listen in.
Senior Director of Outpatient Services Theresa Graham-Mineart and Kara Magnison, the manager of the Iowa City Abbe Center location, were the main speakers at the event.
The Linn County Mental Health Center was established in 1949 and later evolved into the Abbe Center for Community Mental Health. In the mid-1970s, key services were introduced that defined the Abbe Center’s initiatives. Over time, the center has expanded to provide services to Johnson, Benton, Buchanan, Delaware, Jones, Iowa, and Cedar counties.
UnityPoint Health and the Abbe Center for Community Mental Health provide outpatient therapy, crisis intervention services, and psychiatric care, among other services.
According to Mental Health America, 46 percent of Americans will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition sometime in their life.
The panel consisted of a traveling art show and a presentation regarding “Mental Health Across the Lifespan.” The art show conveyed that self-expression through creation can aid people with depression, anxiety, and stress. Studies have also shown that art creation is linked to improved memory and reasoning.
One of the major points brought up during the presentation was self-care.
“One of the things that showed some promise is if people actually have a written self-care plan that they updated least annually, they’re more likely to follow through with it,” Graham-Mineart said. “When people are thinking about self-care, a lot of times we think about social care, like connecting to other people, but we also wanna think about intellectual brain health, physical health, spiritual health, community, or social health.”
Event-goer and Iowa City resident Jake Dedore thinks more people need to be more proactive about their mental health and more open about it.
“I think it’s very important that the community, as they mentioned during the presentation, destigmatize mental health and talk about it more, especially with the people they may be surrounded by,” Dedore said.
The presentation consisted of main topics such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses and how the Abbe Center has approached caring for those who have been diagnosed with said illnesses.
Graham-Mineart and Magnison discussed the importance of self-care and local resources other than the Abbe Center, including the 988 crisis line, CommUnity crisis service, and Warmline, which is a free phone service staffed with individuals who have experiences with mental health disorders.
“It’s our responsibility to be accepting and supportive, and when we’re not, that can make mental health conditions riskier,” Graham-Mineart said.
The Abbe Mental Health Center, located at 1039 Arthur St. in Iowa City, offers services and resources, including Integrated Health Homes, specifically to conduct case management for individuals with mental health and medical issues and who receive Medicaid.
This location is the only location to have a NaloxBox that stores Naloxone to reverse the effects of opioid overdose in an emergency.
“Anybody can come and get it, so we have both intermuscular, the injections as well as the nasal form,” Magnison said.
This was the fifth panel the Abbe Center has held in the last four weeks. Abbe Center has crossed Vinton, Independence, Manchester, and Anamosa off their list of towns to visit before making their way to Iowa City.
One more panel presentation is scheduled in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at the Cedar Rapids Public Library from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.