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Mental Health

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Mental Health and Addiction Resources in Pinellas County Florida

Boley Centers Inc.

boleycenters.org
445 31st St. N. St. Petersburg, FL 33713 727 821-4819 With more than 30 housing and service center locations scattered throughout Pinellas County, the Organization comprises a wide variety of treatment, rehabilitation and vocational services; a network of living opportunities in community residences and apartments.
Directions for Mental Health

directionsmh.org
1437 S Belcher Clearwater, Florida 33764 727-524-4464 Directions for Mental Health is a private nonprofit community mental health counseling organization. Their prevention, early intervention and treatment programs serve the mental health needs of children, families, adults and seniors. This is an outstanding organization, they have very good counselors, therapists, and case managers.
Fairwinds Treatment Center

fairwindstreatment.com
1569 Fort Harrison Ave. S  Clearwater, Florida 34616 727-449-0300  800-226-0301  Fairwinds is a private addiction/ substance abuse treatment center. The grounds surrounding the facility provide a park-like setting and recreational areas including a pool. Nice place, well qualified counseling staff, all therapists have good addictions experience.
Goodwill Industries

goodwill.org
10596 Gandy Blvd. St. Petersburg, Florida 33702 (727) 523-1512; (727) 576-0882; (813) 877-3234 8:00-4:30 M-F Services: vocational counseling , individual counseling; outpatient intensive day/night drug treatment. Populations: Adults 18 years of age and older.
Gulf Coast Community Care

angelfire.com
407 S Arcturas Clearwater FL 33765 813-816-1235 (Pasco) 813-298-1634 (Pinellas) Gulf Coast Community Care is a major provider of an array of community-based services to individuals living with HIV/AIDS, serving more than 1,000 clients in Pinellas and Pasco counties. Gulf Coast provides FREE service to the clients. People living with HIV/AIDS, along with their family and partners, may receive mental health counseling/ therapy as part of the HIV Programs.
Hospice

hospicefoundation.org
Specific Services: Providing patients with care primarily in the "home", where patients have loving support of family and friends Circle of Love Children's Program: addresses the needs of the diverse community of children and families, regardless of ability to pay. Specific Population: Those who cope either personally or professionally with terminal illness, death, and the process of grief, primarily those with a prognosis of one year or less. Excellent, dedicated staff. I know some of the therapists and counselors there, and they are very good at what they do.
Operation PAR, Inc.

operationpar.org
6655 66th St N Pinellas Park, Florida 33781 727-545-7564 PAR offers a full continuum of services for individuals with substance abuse, addiction and/or mental health disorders. PAR is awesome! I have had the pleasure of working at many different programs there, as a counselor, therapist, director, and clinical supervisor. The majority of their programs are in Clearwater and Largo but there are PAR programs all over the State. You can really get help here. It's a great place to work too if you want to help people.
Personal Enrichment Through Mental Health Services (PEMHS)

pemhs.org
11254 58th St N Pinellas Park, Florida 33782-2213 727-545-6477 Adult Services Emergency Services – Provides immediate assessment, crisis intervention counseling, referrals, and admission; Crisis Stabilization – Provides brief, intensive counseling services for adults in crisis; Short Term Residential Treatment; Focused Outreach - Mental Health counseling and support for adults returning to the community after incarceration. Children and Family Services: Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Programs; The Children's Center - is an emergency shelter for children; Children’s Continuum of Care–Provides intensive residential treatment, therapy groups, case management, and in-home counseling; Emergency Response Team (ERT) – Provides crisis intervention for children and families at risk for abuse or neglect; Juvenile Detention Center; Screening and Stabilization; Therapeutic Foster Care
Suncoast Center

suncoastcenter.com
4024 Central Avenue St. Petersburg FL 33711 727-327-7656 Adult Services: Outpatient Counseling; Substance Abuse Counseling; Community Support Programs; Senior Support Services Children and Family Services: Outpatient Counseling; School-Based Counseling; In-Home Counseling; Family Support Services
Windmoor Healthcare

windmoorhealthcare.com
11300 U S 19 North Clearwater, Florida 33764 727-541-2646 800-288-HOPE Windmoor Healthcare is a full-service psychiatric facility available 24-hours a day.

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Depression is often a Resentment Toward the Current Self

The definition of resent from Merriam-Webster Online is:  to feel or express annoyance of ill will at. This usually involves an intention toward past equilibrium and away from present and future balance. You see this a lot in relationships. One might say, "Why can't things be the way there have always been"? What they are asking for is impossible but they need to see that they are asking the impossible before they can see that their non-acceptance of the present person is preventing their acceptance of the present moment, and their precipitating the holding on to their resentment.
In depression one has a deep and enduring resentment toward the current self. The intention is to sabotage any chance for current contentment. This intention is typically fueled by an intention towards the past.  This intention towards the past is fueled by an intention towards balance. The individual is spending a great deal of time thinking of the past, either trying to get back to a time of former balance, or trying to change events that threaten present self acceptance. For example the individual is trying to get back to who they were before a major loss of self balance effected by a trauma or series of traumas. Or the individual is trying to find out how they could have prevented past trauma by reviewing it over and over again. In both cases the intention is to go back in time to change things. Present happiness will always be denied, even though it can't help but happen in the moment.

Depression Don'ts

Don't spend too much time in self reflection.

  • Typically when we want to become better people we focus on the things about us that we want to change.
  • We have to go back in the past to reflect on these "unacceptable" qualities.
  • Negative self talk is nearly always present in depression - and self reflection is always going to give too much ammunition to beat ourselves up.
  • It's best to leave this activity to when you see your therapist so that it is - time limited - and your therapist can help you put your past in perspective.
  • Being stuck in the past is never healthy.

Don't beat yourself up.

  • A common motivational technique is to berate and ridicule. Think of football coaches and drill instructors. People don't want to feel bad about themselves so they tend to respond by doing what the coach says: "getting their head out of their ass" and trying harder.
  • Individual prone to depression are extremely hard on themselves, they would do well to stop trying to motivate themselves in this way.
  • In fact for all of us, if we notice our minds during our own "depressed" times, we will likely notice we are beating ourselves up.

Don't tell yourself: "I can't feel this".

  • When we have physical pain we have a tendency to tighten around it. We are telling ourselves "I can't feel this" causing a tightening around it. Often it's not the pain itself that's unbearable but our own tightening around it.
  • Instead, ask yourself: "What is this pain trying to tell me"? Tell yourself this is an opportunity to practice acceptance of myself and of others.
  • Depression is always just an opportunity for awareness, the sooner you get to this place of acceptance the sooner the pain lifts.

Don't self medicate

  • This almost always leads to more problems down the road. Next thing you know you have an addiction too.

Depression DOs

Do---Notice your mental tendency to hold onto your depression.

  • Whether we are pushing away our pain and telling ourselves "I can't feel this" or holding onto our pain for any number of reasons, it has the effect of keeping it there.
  • Notice how you hold on to and re-feel your depression.
  • The word resent means to re-feel, or to feel again. Depression is resentment. There are plenty of reasons to hold onto depression as there are for any resentment. Stifling the growth of self or other, is a big reason for any resentment. Just notice your own reasons for holding onto it.

 Do---Create an intention toward movement.

  • Even if you are just exploring ways towards your eventual movement, do something each day that has to do with physical movement.
  • If it's too hard to be around people right now you can look at ways to move around alone.
  •  You don't have to do anything other than explore ways to move that are fun, and to explore ways to motivate yourself to have fun. Help yourself create an openness to positive change. If you're depressed, your mind is going to be fairly closed off to change, accept that. Create new pathways by continually exploring change through developing intention towards movement.

Do---At least once daily connect to this moment with intension and acceptance. Depression is nearly always an unconscious intention towards the past. We must counter this with a conscious intention toward this moment. We need to find ways to momentarily suspend our ideas, our judgments, and our desire to be somewhere else, and just be here. Start with relatively easy things. You can watch the sky with the intention of really seeing it. You can listen to someone with the intention of just listening. You can pet your dog just with the intention of petting your dog. You can walk just with the intention of just walking. But, no matter what be as conscious and aware as you can be. See everything that you can with intensity. Don't let your awareness to be narrowed and closed, try to see the object in front of you with focus but also see everything in your periphery in as much detail as possible, see all there is to see. Also do this with your other senses. Hearing, hear all that is there, smell what there is to smell, and really taste that which you are tasting.

Do---Go see a therapist. Depression is usually very treatable, and a good therapist will be able to help you find your stuck places and help motivate you toward movement.
Do---Consider taking medications prescribed by a doctor. Know that this is not a cure but it is a way to be able to function while you are working with a therapist.