Daemion Counseling Center - 2017 Annual Report

(610) 647-1431 [email protected] www.DaemionCounseling.org 2 Message from the President Welcome 2018 and welcome Mental Wellness. What better time than the beginning of a new year to pledge to physical fitness, but to you also pledge to your mental wellness. With so many news stories about the opioid crisis, PTSD, public shootings, suicides, and not to mention the overall political bantering from both sides of the aisle, how does one maintain their mental wellbeing? How does one get help without being stigmatized? In my second year as chair of Daemion Counseling Center’s Board of Director’s, I’d like to reflect back to Daemion’s efforts in achieving mental wellbeing and stigma reduction in the last year. Daemion Counseling Center is addressing these issues through educational panels and presentations, community outreach of support groups and by bringing visibility to Chester County communities around mental wellbeing and reducing the stigma associated with needing help for the mental challenges we face. At the 5th Annual Taste of Berwyn™ community event one could see messages spread throughout the grounds of Hilltop House promoting positive wellbeing such as, “Mental health is nothing to be ashamed of but stigma and bias shame us all”, and “Talk to yourself as if you were talking to someone you love”. All are positive messages around mental health. The event was well received by the community and was a testimonial to people helping people. By sharing our message and providing a fun filled event for all, we witnessed the best in people. Whether it be the volunteers who set up, the vendors who shared their food and wares, the fabulous entertainment, the sponsors who enabled Daemion to make the event happen or the tireless Taste of Berwyn™ event planning committee, we were able to reach people about sharing Daemion’s mission to offer professional mental health counseling focused on helping community residents navigate life's many transitions, by providing expert yet affordable care. Another milestone for Daemion in 2017 was a discussion around opioid use entitled “The opioid crisis and our community, what you need to know and do” in late September, which included a diverse panel of experts in opioid use, addiction, research, intervention, treatment and recovery. One of Daemion’s counselors, Linda Schiavone, LPC, sat on the panel and spoke about how our experienced staff works with clients and their families to address common feelings of shame, isolation, and betrayal and to support them in their recovery journey. An outcome of this panel and audience was the need for a support group for individuals dealing with a loved one’s addiction. This group is being offered in 2018. Our community supporters continue to grow and embrace supporting mental wellbeing. Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza in Exton generously donates 20% of diner’s proceeds the first Thursday of every month by just mentioning Daemion when ordering. Louella’s of Malvern hosted a night of shopping event benefiting Daemion. These are just a few examples of how our community is helping Daemion maintain the level of service and still continue its mission of providing low cost mental healthcare and counseling to those in need. Daemion is fortunate to have such committed community support. So as I wrap up this letter I’d like to challenge each of you to embrace Mental Wellness, Share Daemion’s mission to offer Hope One Hour at a Time, and work to eliminate the Stigma around the need for Mental Health help. Sincerely, Melissa E. Hawes Board President What is Stigma? Stigma is when someone, or even you yourself, views a person in a negative way just because they have a mental health condition. Some people describe stigma as a feeling of shame or judgement from someone else. Stigma can even come from an internal place, confusing feeling bad with being bad. (NAMI)