Overcoming Mental Health Stigma with In-Home Care

​Historically, mental health services were limited to medical institutions, including 19th-century asylums and the early psychiatric hospitals of the 20th century. Mental health conditions were associated with various stigmas and were rarely discussed in public, resulting in a fundamental lack of understanding about the nature of the disease, or support for an effective mental health system. Fortunately, changing opinions have greatly destigmatized mental health – resulting in new treatment modalities, a range of different medications, and recently, digital behavioral health services and home calls that further increase access.

The National Institutes of Health has published multiple articles and studies about the destigmatization of mental health conditions, and expanding treatment options. As the topic has gained more public momentum, medical professionals have had more opportunities to break down traditional barriers to care, including the development and expansion of in-home mental health services.

Mental health home care is a broad field of service and support that encompasses education, nursing services, and much more. In-home care provides the inherent advantage of taking place in a location where the patient, in most cases, will be most comfortable. Similarly, many individuals living with conditions such as depression or anxiety also live with mobility issues, financial difficulties, and a general fear of judgment regarding mental health treatment. House calls, as well as telemedicine sessions, help minimize these obstacles and provide patients with the care they need.

In-home mental health services include depression screenings. Depression is a mental health condition that has impacted nearly 30 percent of America's adult population at some point in their lives, according to Gallup News. Symptoms of depression, which include disturbed sleep patterns and persistent feelings of sadness and anxiety, can make it difficult to complete daily tasks, maintain a job, or perform at school.

A depression screening, or depression test, is a series of questions that can help medical professionals determine if a person's low mood is the result of something more than normal grief or sadness. A depression screening may be the first step toward a diagnosis and the development of a treatment plan that enables a individual to resume functioning at work, school, and in their everyday lives. By incorporating depression screenings into mobile health programs, healthcare providers can reach a patient population that might otherwise have been reluctant to seek out services. Mobile and in-home services are particularly helpful in rural regions, where mental health stigmas may be more common.

Depression screenings represent just one example of how in-home services can help overcome the isolation experienced by many Americans living with mental health conditions and further destigmatize treatment and care. Mobile units can provide an array of services in areas as diverse as medication management and individual and family therapy. Mobile mental health professionals can also provide crisis intervention services and suicide prevention and support.

While society has made meaningful progress in destigmatizing mental health, much work remains to ensure equitable access to care. In-home and mobile mental health services play a crucial role in bridging gaps—especially for individuals facing physical, economic, or cultural barriers to traditional treatment. As these models continue to expand, they hold the potential to not only reach underserved communities but also to transform how mental health care is delivered, making it more compassionate, personalized, and accessible for all.

Stanley Vashovsky

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