The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) first launched their year-round National Catholic Mental Health campaign in 2023 to respond to the national mental health crisis. The bishops’ goal of the ongoing campaign is to raise awareness of mental health issues, “eliminate the stigmas around mental illness and seek creative ways to journey with those who struggle.”
The 2024 campaign kicked off Oct. 10, World Mental Health Day, with a novena for those “impacted by mental health issues and for all those who accompany them.” The novena is available online in English and Spanish and concludes on Oct. 18, the feast day of St. Luke the physician, patron of health care. Parishes are encouraged to highlight mental health during the year, especially during October and the nine days of the novena.
Local awareness Amy Bloch, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Sioux City, pointed out there has been an increased focus on mental wellness in recent years, including the USCCB initiative.
“With the USCCB focusing on (mental health), it is really exciting from the perspective that people really turn towards the church for guidance. To have (the bishops) spending time on it and saying we need to pray for those providing mental health services and we need to take care of our mental health … is another important step,” the director said.
The recent pandemic helped bring mental health care to the forefront as adults and children were struggling with isolation and discussing their mental health.
“One of the positive things that came from COVID-19 was the attention brought on mental health and the need for people to seek help, the destigmatization of mental illness and the importance of taking care of oneself,” Bloch explained.
She described the movement in discussing mental health as “unprecedented,” at that time, followed by the Centers for Disease Control study on youth mental health that was published in 2023 after studying children over a 10-year period.
“It was the largest study that had come out that indicated our kids were in trouble,” Bloch pointed out. “The statistics were pretty staggering. They talked about 60% of female students that had feelings of sadness and hopelessness … They also found that 22% of kids had seriously considered suicide.”
She also noted that rates of mental illness in children is increasing and that suicide is the second leading cause of death among children, starting at 6 years of age. Catholic Charities therapists recently responded to a diocesan school where a youth had died by suicide, spending time in the schools supporting the students.
The growth of youth mental health cases has grown in northwest Iowa to a point where Catholic Charities is searching for a second mental health therapist to work in schools. Catholic Charities recently received a $1 million Economic Development Match Grant towards a $3.2 million 7,200 square-foot addition to the Sioux City building for youth and family mental health care.
Stigma Despite recent conversations about mental health, the stigma surrounding mental health and mental health care still exists in some groups. Bloch said as northwest Iowa is rural, there is often a “mentality that you figure it out, you take care of yourself and you don’t talk about things.” She pointed out that in farming communities, that kind of stigma has led to higher suicide rates.
In certain cultural groups, the therapists have encountered unexpected resistance to mental health care and are learning how to adjust to meet the needs of those groups.
“I know specifically in the Hispanic culture we experience that they are more open to therapy but medication use can be challenging. When the Afghan population came over here with some of the trauma they experienced, we knew that we had systems in place and worked to have it very seamless to come in and get support and work with other agencies. That was not something they wanted any part of. It was a cultural issue,” the director said.
Staff members have been trained in PM Plus, a program used to identify leaders in the
There may be certain stigmas in cultural groups regarding mental health care
various cultural populations in the diocese to help determine how to best help those with mental health issues and remain “respectful of their cultures.” “We want to make sure it’s not making them fit into our box of what mental health therapy is but us going to them and learning from them to see what we can do to meet their needs,” Bloch said.
Changing mindsets Unfortunately, when stigmas remain and help is not obtained, mental health issues don’t go away, and often worsen. Bloch pointed out that some mental health concerns “could be helped with therapy or some medication and not progressively get worse and cause more serious problems for that individual and the family."
People should pay attention to signs of mental illness in their loved ones, such as a change in eating and sleep patterns or notice they are isolating themselves.
“If we notice that in people we care about, we can talk to them about that, which can be hard to do. We don’t always have the words,” the director said.
She pointed out that most people are comfortable sharing concern about people with physical ailments such as cancer or heart attacks, but not always mental health conditions. People need to “not be ashamed to talk about mental health issues - it’s not a big secret.”
“It could be (language such as) someone in my family was struggling with depression and they got help and they are really doing better. I think those are things if we can start doing them can really help others know it’s okay and I’m not going to be judged,” Bloch stressed.
With permission from her father, who is a Vietnam War veteran, the director said when discussing mental health, she often refers to his struggles with PTSD and thoughts of suicide and how he is doing well since he sought help.
“My ability to share that and talk to other people hopefully lets other people know it’s okay,” she said. “I think the more people do that, that’s exactly how you destigmatize for other people … you don’t have to go into details about it.”
The good news is that younger generations are not perpetuating the stigma surrounding talking about mental health and receiving care compared to their older counterparts, Bloch pointed out.
“I think to the next generation of kids – to them it isn’t a big deal. They talk about it so openly … they are pretty comfortable talking about it. I think that is fantastic,” she said.
Finding help There are numerous resources for those seeking mental health care resources in northwest Iowa. Bloch noted that many start the conversation with primary care physicians who can refer patients to mental health resources in their area.
Catholic Charities offers mental health therapy and has offices in Sioux City, Spencer, Carroll, Storm Lake and Fort Dodge. However, telehealth care is also available for those not able to visit one of the centers. The main phone number for Catholic Charities is (712) 252-4547, email [email protected] or the website at cathchar.com.
Bloch pointed out that yourlifeiowa.org has information for those seeking assistance with addictions and mental health care.
“I would also highlight the 988 number if anyone is in any sort of emotional or mental health crisis. They can also text 988 because sometimes people aren’t comfortable calling,” she said.