密歇根新闻广播 悲惨事件对他的影响

 

When it comes to supporting and treating young people who struggle with mental illness, the safety net in Michigan has a lot of holes. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people ages 15 to 34, but finding appropriate medical care is often a difficult process. It can take months to get an appointment with a psychiatrist¹ or therapist, even when a young person is in crisis.

If you or a loved one are having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24 hours a day: 1-800-273-8255.

Freelance journalist Julie Halpert experienced this struggle firsthand. Her son Garrett grappled with depression on and off, but lived what she describes as a full life.

During a particularly difficult period in his early 20s, Garrett was seeing a therapist and searching for mental health care options that didn't involve hospitalization. He had previously² been to the emergency room, but did not find that the experience had helped him.

He was really looking for ways to heal that were not in a hospital setting, that were not in an institutional setting, that were not stigmatizing,Halpert said.

But Garrett and his family ultimately could not find the kind of care that he needed. Garrett died by suicide in 2017 at the age of 23.

Dr. Victor Hong is an emergency room psychiatrist at the University of Michigan. He noted³ that Halpert's story is not unique, and that there are numerous gapsin Michigan's mental health care infrastructure⁴.

Hong said that it can take months of waiting for a person in crisis to get an appointment with a psychiatrist. Those who end up seeking help in the emergency room may face financial or insurance barriers once they're there.

Halpert also pointed⁵ out that there are a range of in-between situationsthat the current mental health care system fails to address.

[There are some] people who are really struggling severely⁶, but that are not actively⁷ suicidal,Halpert said. They need to see their therapist more than once a week, but they don't need to necessarily go to the emergency room.”

It's a gap that Halpert is now seeking to fill with Garrett's Space, a nonprofit funded in part by donations previously made to the Garrett Halpert Memorial Fund at the University of Michigan Depression Center.

Halpert said she envisions Garrett's Space as a residential⁸ treatment center in Washtenaw County where young adults between the ages of 18 to 28 with mental health issues can go for a few weeks to learn strategies for coping and resilience.

In addition to providing traditional therapy, Halpert wants Garrett's Space to offer holistic⁹ approachesto healing like meditation¹⁰, yoga, music, and peer-to-peer support.

Hong said a residential program like Garrett's Space could be a particularly important resource for young people who are being discharged from a psychiatric hospital. According to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, the risk of a suicide attempt or death is highest within 30 days of being discharged.

Halpert plans to make Garrett's Space available for all people regardless of [their] ability to pay.She hopes that it can serve as a model to inspire the creation of other residential treatment centers nationwide.

Garrett's Space is still in the early stages of planning. In the meantime, the nonprofit is focusing on interim¹¹ programming.For example, they are going door-to-door in Washtenaw County to distribute lists of resources for people struggling with mental health issues.

1 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

9 holistic   

adj.从整体着眼的，全面的

参考例句：

• There is a fundamental ambiguity in the use of word "whole" in recent holistic literature.在近代的整体主义著作中，“整体”这个词的用法极其含混。
• In so far as historicism is technological,its approach is not piecemeal,but "holistic".仅就历史决定论是一种技术而论，它的方法不是渐进的，而是“整体主义的”。

10 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

11 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。