Local partnership unveils new mental health resource

CredibleMindPRO is available to all residents of Garfield County

PRESS RELEASE
June 9, 2020

GARFIELD COUNTY, CO – A partnership between the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, Garfield County and other local agencies is launching a new online mental health resource that provides useful, vetted information and resources, and connects citizens with local mental health professionals. CredibleMindPRO features support for citizens, first responders and law enforcement through a variety of resources, tools, assessments and evidence-based information.

Borne from the increased need for mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic, the free resource is available to the entire community. The program linked from garfield-county.com/emergency-management/mental-health-resources, is customized to the community, continuously updated, and connects people seeking help with partnering local mental health agencies, including Valley View Hospital, Mountain Family Health, River Bridge Regional Center, Grand River Hospital, the Aspen Hope Center, Mind Springs Health and Trailhead Christian Counseling. The website allows users to create a confidential profile and to fill out anxiety and depression assessments. They can then practice behavioral therapy exercises, and even over time see how they are progressing.

“This is not a replacement for professional help, but rather a tool to augment that help with behavioral therapy,” said Mental Health Branch Director Dr. Adam Ford, Ph.D., of the COVID-19 Garfield County Incident Management. “Feelings of uncertainty, vulnerability, anxiety, isolation and loneliness are taking their toll on citizens across our communities.”

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, many are experiencing increased anxiety, depression and other mental health issues that may or may not have existed prior to the crisis. The majority of people seek information online about mental health, which is something Americans are often reluctant to talk face-to-face about.

“With COVID-19, you have people that are anxious and may already be suffering from mental health issues, as well as others that are experiencing these feelings for the first time. Of them, about 95 percent go online to seek information,” Ford said. “Many websites aren’t vetted with professionally trained mental health professionals, and don’t provide the information and services that are needed. CredibleMindPRO connects people with licensed psychologists and medical doctors, and all the information on the site has been vetted. This sets it apart from other options.”

CredibleMindPRO offers books, podcasts, videos, apps and online programs that cover 240 topics, such as risk and protective factors, anxiety, depression, mindfulness, sleep, work-life balance and burnout, all which affect mental health.

“As we learned after 9/11, the impact on mental health isn’t fully realized until months after a tragic event, so we’re glad to see innovative communities like Garfield County aggressively put support tools and services in place to get ahead of the impending spike in issues,” said Deryk Van Brunt, co-founder, and chief executive officer of CredibleMind. “Through our platform, they’ll not only be able to broadly offer evidence-based resources, but also drive evolving strategies informed by a continuous feedback loop that identifies specific needs within their community.”