Albany Tech hosts mental health forum

ALBANY — Albany Technical College held a Mental Health Awareness Forum on Wednesday featuring mental health experts from Dougherty County and the region.

According to the latest data, 43.8 million adults experience mental illness in a given year. Mood disorders, including major depression, dysthymic disorder and bipolar disorder, are the third most common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for both youths and adults ages 18 to 44.

The forum provided an opportunity to learn more about mental illness and to gain a better understanding of consequences, impact and treatment options in the community. The College’s Special Needs program partnered with Aspire Behavioral Health & DD Services, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Albany, the Albany Technical College Crisis Intervention Team, Phoebe Behavioral Health, and Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency to discuss mental health issues and concerns.

“Basically what we are doing today is sharing information on mental heath issues and prompt a discussion on information and resources to help those in need,” ATC Special Needs and Disability Services Coordinator Regina Watts said. “Just like most of the country, the three main issues we deal with are depression, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia.

“We are also working with people to overcome the stigma often associated with mental illness.”

Albany Technical College’s Special Needs Department enrolls some of its special needs students in its LEAP (Leveraging Education for Advancement Program) program.

According to the college, LEAP is an inclusive post-secondary education program designed to provide students ages 18 and older with intellectual and developmental disabilities an inclusive post-secondary college education experience. LEAP focuses on developing academic, personal and self-advocacy skills that lead to employment. Each participant works closely with an academic transition teacher and a trained mentor to assist students in meeting their academic and social needs. LEAP students receive a personalized post-secondary education.

Aspire Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Services is a public, nonprofit organization providing mental health, addictive disease, and developmental disability services to citizens in Dougherty, Baker, Calhoun, Early, Lee, Miller, Terrell and Worth counties.

Aspire Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability is a unit of Albany Area Community Service Board, which is one of 28 Community Service Boards in the state of Georgia.