The word “wellness” gets thrown around a lot. But what does it mean? Especially for someone with a serious mental illness?
Jaime, Systems Navigator on the Behavioral Health Home team, helps clients reach their health and wellness goals and also serves on Guild’s employee wellness committee.
Q: What does wellness mean?
Jaime: What I love about “Wellness” is that it’s an ongoing process and a life-long journey, not a one-time event. Wellness is made up of many dimensions that influence one another and affect a person’s overall health and quality of life. Wellness is also unique to the individual and can be built on our own personal strengths.
Q: Why is wellness important when you have a serious mental illness?
Jaime: Wellness is important when you are living with a serious mental illness because people living with serious mental or substance use disorders are dying decades earlier than the general population, mostly from preventable, chronic medical conditions.
Q: How do Guild’s BHH services help clients improve their health and wellness?
Jaime: BHH Services help clients improve their health and wellness in many ways. That could mean getting set up with a primary care doctor, looking into CD treatment options, or discussing ways to lower their A1C. We assess where they are at and utilize their own strengths to create a Health Action Plan together that we use as a road map to provide ongoing services.
Q: Why are BHH services important?
Jaime: BHH services are important because we can serve clients that may not be eligible for other community-based case management teams. Our team is able to bring a comprehensive set of skills to each client we are serving, and we meet them where they are at and help provide support in whatever areas they are working on right now!
Services to Help You Find Wellness
Good news! You can refer yourself or a loved one to our BHH services. Find more information on referring here. Have questions? Contact our BHH Team at (651) 286-8605.