Mental Health Month – Raising Mental Health Awareness

For most people, the month of May tends to be quite busy. High school and college graduations are usually on the calendars, the scent of barbecues fill the air on Memorial weekend, and pools are opening. It is safe to say that the month of May can be the unofficial kickoff to summer and for good reason.

Let’s also consider something else the month of May represents. Being that I’m part of the Physicians Services division and have had a lot of experience in the recruitment of psychiatrists, I want to take this time to recognize the month of May as also being Mental Health Month and in particular, the third week in May as National Prevention week. It’s also very appropriate to recognize the outstanding partnership that our parent company, C&A Industries, has with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

During my previous role as a Physician Recruiter in New Hampshire, I was tasked with a project to recruit psychiatrists to the New Hampshire State Psychiatric Hospital. It was during this project that I was able to work side by side with many of the current psychiatrists on the Dartmouth faculty. Because of this collaboration opportunity, I have a much deeper respect and insight in to the work and research of psychiatrists and their treatment of mental health disorders. Mental health affects more of the population than we know, and in most states, there is a severe shortage of psychiatrists.

I am proud of the work that me and my team at Aureus do to help with the recruitment of psychiatrists to communities with shortages of mental health providers. I want to thank all psychiatrists for the work they do to treat mental health disorders and the life-saving impact they have on their patients.

Mental health disorders can often be seen or spotted during adolescent and teenage years. I want to leave you with this article from the American Psychiatric Association that points out possible behaviors and warning signs in teens and the onset of a possible mental health disorder. Mental health affects so many people. Let’s continue to raise awareness.

Jeff Wooten is a Regional Account Manager for the Physician Services division of Aureus Medial Group.

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