Close to Home: The Fairfield County Mental Health Blog

Access to mental health care is a national problem that hits families and individuals in local communities close to home. This blog will showcase expert information, opinions, and personal stories from prominent providers, family members, and people with lived experience of mental illness in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Close to Home: The Fairfield County Mental Health Blog focuses on best practices and access to mental health treatment, care, and recovery for families and individuals in southwestern Connecticut.

Wishing I had started celebrating Pride long before I did… (5/27/2024) - As Pride Month approaches, I reflect back on the first Pride event my family ever attended. It was the most joyous, uplifting, and positive event, and we’ve looked forward to every opportunity to support and be a part of the LGBTQIA+ community ever since. Prior to that year, we hadn’t exposed our children to any [...]

Back to School Support for New Canaan College Students with Mental Health Conditions (7/11/2023) - **updated 8/20/24** As the summer draws to a close and the new school year approaches, college students with mental health conditions and their families should be taking steps to ensure the necessary supports are in place. Anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges can significantly impact a student’s academic and personal life. Laurel House and its [...]

Help, My Child Is Cocooning and Stuck! How to Help Teens and Young Adults Who Have Been Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic Behaviorally and Emotionally (2/13/2023) - Adolescents and young adults are experiencing the highest rate of anxiety and depression ever reported in the US. According to a report from the COVID States Project, “…nearly half (49%) of respondents reported symptoms of depression, with 26% reporting moderate symptoms or worse, the level at which follow-up care would typically be recommended in a clinical [...]

Silver Hill Hospital: My Family’s 35-Year History with a National Leader in Quality Mental Health Care (2/7/2023) - Before I started working at Laurel House, became a social worker, and got involved in rtor.org, my first encounter with the mental health system was as a family member. That was in 1987. I was thirty and had just returned from five years in the Peace Corps. My younger brother Michael met me at JFK [...]

www.rtor.org, including the Directory of Family-Endorsed Providers  and locally-based Resource Specialists, is a free service of Laurel House, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization in Stamford, CT.

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