Public meeting in Verona to talk about anxiety and depression

Jeff Green | Nov 20, 2014

November is good a month as any to talk about anxiety and depression.

While many experience the blues at this time of the year, for a number of people the problems are more severe, and the population suffering from clinical anxiety and depression is higher in rural than urban areas.

Patients who suffer from depression sometimes are not aware that this is their problem. They suffer in silence; their families and loved ones are also affected. The ongoing challenge in rural areas is accessing help when it is really needed for both the patient and those around that patient

Psychiatrist Dr. Joe Burley has been serving clients in Frontenac County for a number of years through his association with family health practices, and next week he will bring his expertise to the public in a unique event.

As part of the roll out of a new co-ordinated approach to providing mental health services in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington, the Health Links initiative is presenting a public meeting to talk about anxiety and depression at Trinity United Church on November 26 starting at 7 pm.

Dr. Burley will host the evening, and will be joined by Dr. Laurel Dempsey of Verona, Dr. Jeanette Dietrich of Sydenham and practitioners from Providence Care Mental Health Services and Frontenac Community Mental Health Services.

People who suffer from anxiety and depression and people who live with them are invited to talk and learn more about their situation.

This is the first of a series of public meetings being planned to talk about specific mental health issues in a number of communities.

Allen Prowse, who has just retired from Providence Care, has been hired to help bring all the providers of mental health services together to bring service to Frontenac County. He said that the initial focus on depression and anxiety is deliberate.

“These issues are very common, and people who suffer from them can be helped, so we decided to start by engaging the public to not only provide information but also to hear directly from people about the problems they are facing. This meeting is as much about hearing from people as anything else.”

Prowse added that over several years an integrated approach to mental health services has been developed in Sharbot Lake, through the co-operative efforts of the local Family Health Team, Northern Frontenac Community Services and service providers from Kingston who have been sending resources into the community.

“It was recognised that people from North and Central Frontenac were not in a position to travel to Kingston for some of these services, and that it was more efficient in any event to deliver them in the community. This is the model we are developing for Sydenham and Verona, and that we plan to enhance in Northbrook as well,” said Prowse.

Prowse is hoping that not only will people suffering from these issues and those who support them be able to find a voice at the meeting next week, but also that service providers will learn more about the local community and its needs.

“People are not interested in the way the Family Health Link works and which agencies are involved; they are interested in getting help and that is our focus,” he said.

For details, see the advertisement on page 2.