Article for Saluda Center

Your Mental Health Care Begins With You!

This is the time of year that many people talk about making New Year’s resolutions. Some actually make them, and even a few actually take initiative and complete them! Whether or not you are one of those folks that make these New Year’s resolutions, the concept of taking inventory of where you are in your life, and where you want to be, is important to do every now and then. One of those areas to consider is our mental and emotional health.

In this fast-paced society, the only one who will take care of you is yourself! Hopefully, you have persons in your life that care about your well-being, and even ones you can be honest with and will be honest with you about your experience of daily living. On the other hand, you are the one that knows yourself best. So, take inventory…

Some questions you might ask yourself could include:

1. Do you dread getting up in the morning or do you look forward to your day?
2. Does communication at home provide productive conversation or is it heavily conflictual and take energy out of you?
3. Do your behaviors reflect your life in the present, or do past life experiences heavily influence how you live and interact with others?
4. Are you easily triggered into anger?
5. Are your emotions getting in the way of your daily functioning?
6. Are life stresses overwhelming you?

These questions are a way to start thinking about what you may need for your personal mental health and care. Whenever anyone suffers from any type of mental or emotion distress or illness, there are means of taking care of oneself and reclaiming quality of life. No professional provider can “make it better” unless the one suffering wants to be helped and is willing to utilize their resources in a manner that can provide healing and a healthier mindset for daily decisions and functioning.

At the Saluda Counseling Center, we provide a mixed therapeutic approach based on each individual client’s needs. We have Psychiatrists and a Nurse Practitioner who provide and monitor medication management with those who need this resource. We also have Mental Health Psychotherapists who provide mental health therapy for those who want to heal and grow through mental and emotional life experiences, traumas, and manage mental distress they live with daily. Some clients will utilize both resources, some only one. Quality of life can be very difficult for those who suffer through challenges in their lives. Managing these challenges is possible with intentionality and utilizing these resources in a healthy and collaborative effort for your mental and emotional health.

It takes great courage to come into counseling and change your life, even for the better. One usually feels very vulnerable, at best. We, at Saluda Center, respect that and hold the confidentiality and care of that with sacred hands. If you are one who needs this care, we invite you to find courage to respect and care for yourself, and get the help you need. If you know someone who needs this help, you may be the link that will be the encouragement they need to take the step towards better health. We would be privileged to be the ones to offer that care to you or your loved one. Your mental health care can be the link to a satisfying and blessed 2013 for you!!

Martha Beahm, D.Min., Ed.S.

Martha is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who presently serves the Saluda Counseling Center (SCC) in Rock Hill, SC as their Interim Director in a part-time position, and has been with SCC since the retirement of their previous Director in July of 2012.  She has been a Mental Health Therapist in South Carolina since 2002, and previously has served in roles as Hospital and Hospice Chaplain, Health Educator and Pastor in her professional career. She has her Education Specialist in Counseling from the University of South Carolina, her Master of Divinity from Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, IN, and her Doctorate of Ministry in Pastoral Counseling from the Graduate Theological Foundation in Mishawaka, IN. Besides her current role as Interim Director, she is a mental health counselor for a counseling center in Lexington, SC and a life coach and trainer for leadership development and wellness for Pinnacle Leadership Associates, based out of Chapin, SC.