The holidays can be a stressful time for many, and it can exacerbate mental health struggles to the point of crisis.

To help knock down some of the barriers to crisis mental health care access, CICS Mental Health and Disability Region has committed to fund two free crisis therapy appointments for central Iowans through the end of the year.

“We know that cost can be a barrier to individuals in our region who want or need to reach out for brain health help,” said Russell Wood, CEO of CICS. “Many people don’t feel like they can acknowledge their brain health struggles until they need help urgently or simply don’t know how to move forward. We want to change that.”

CICS is waiving income and resource guidelines for those utilizing their two crisis therapy appointments. For those with insurance, CICS can assist with copays or deductibles. Locally, CICS is contracted with providers at UnityPoint Health — Berryhill Center, Community & Family Resources, Van Diest Medical Center, YSS, and Youth Shelter Care of North Central Iowa, Inc.

Those in need of a crisis appointment can contact the provider directly, or reach out to the CICS office in their county and a CICS coordinator will connect that person with a provider. The Fort Dodge CICS coordinator can be reached at 515-573-1485.

The idea to offer funding for crisis therapy appointments came after the shooting at the Ames Cornerstone Church in June that left three dead.

“We wanted to provide as easy access as possible for individuals to get into a therapist,” Wood said. “As part of the conversation, we identified there were a lot of things that people were going through with various things going on in the world and we just felt that we wanted to provide access to outpatient therapy, whether it was therapy or prescription provider, for people who may have been experiencing trauma in their life or secondary trauma.”

Russell said that research has shown that many people have trauma from the COVID-19 pandemic, and not just from fear of getting ill, but from being isolated, the change in routines and the impact it has had on the economy. He said they’ve found that there are people in the CICS region who typically wouldn’t qualify for CICS assistance with seeking mental health care based on income, but because they may have less purchasing power due to inflation, they still can’t afford to go to a therapist on their own.

At the Berryhill Center, Executive Director Jennifer Pullen said they’re seeing an increase in calls from people wanting to get in to see a therapist or have a mental health evaluation. She said she thinks CICS’s initiative to fund two free crisis therapy appointments for residents is a great thing.

“If you have insurance, usually insurance will cover the cost of coming in to be seen, even if it’s in crisis,” she said. “But we have times where people come in and they don’t have any type of insurance and they aren’t able to pay out of pocket for that. So having a resource like CICS being willing to cover that for somebody, it’s a fantastic resource for people.”

Pullen said financial worries can exacerbate a mental health crisis and deter someone from getting the help that they need.

Pullen said that with the holidays here, Berryhill often sees patients who want to come in for therapy more regularly for a variety of reasons — the stress of being around relatives they may have strained relationships with, grieving the loss of a loved one, or even just increased anxiety from having large family gatherings.

“We often see people increase their time here in counseling or with a psychiatrist, just for that additional support to get through this time of the year,” she said.

CISC serves 15 counties in central and northern Iowa — Boone, Cerro Gordo, Greene, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Jasper, Madison, Marshall, Poweshiek, Story, Warren, Webster and Wright counties. To find a specific county coordinator’s information, visit https://www.cicsmhds.org/accessing-services/locations/.