Financial crisis has caused no surge at mental-health agencies

Area mental-health agencies and suicide lines have put staff members on alert for callers in emotional turmoil over the financial crisis, but so far there have been no noticeable upswings.

Counselors at Valley Mental Health, the large not-for-profit organization that contracts with the state for mental health services in Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties, have been advised to expect calls from people who may be emotionally wrought over money.

Richard Hatch, chief clinical officer, said Friday that money troubles can be and often are a huge stress on people's sense of well-being. During this period when even those who are in charge of handling other people's money aren't sure what to do and with the widespread general distress from unprecedented prices for fuel and groceries, all the elements are in place for people to feel overwhelmed.

"We talked earlier this week about the possibility of people feeling like things are out of control and we should prepare for more calls," Hatch said. However, he added, "None of our offices have reported any increases in suicide threats at the hotline or that financial concerns are any greater than in recent weeks."

Specific reasons people give for seeking help with the VMH, which is one of the three largest mental-health centers in the country, as with other suicide hotlines, are kept in strict confidence, operators in Weber, Ogden and Davis counties said Friday afternoon. Hatch and hotline operators said money and the economy are being mentioned, but usually as "and to make matters worse" comments when clients are enumerating larger stressors in their lives.

It's a tough situation being made tougher because no one is sure what to do, and because within state-affiliated crisis counseling services, cutbacks in the current budget approved by Utah lawmakers last week are adding stress for the very people who are paid to alleviate it.

"It is ironic and might be a little funny if it weren't a reality," said an Ogden crisis hotline operator who didn't want to be identified. "It shows that it cuts across just about everyone's path, and no one seems to be immune. And some people who need some counseling right at the time they need it most could well cancel appointments because they don't think they can afford a session."

Psychological assocations have told Associated Press in the past few days that any economic woes preceding this one were worrisome, "but there is real anxiety out there about how people are going to cope," said Jana Martin, a spokeswoman for the California Psychological Association.