Children’s Mental Health Awareness Toolkit

Our children’s mental health is just as important as their physical health. Did you know that 50% of all lifetime mental health conditions begin before the age 14? While many can be treated, nearly half of adolescents with mental health issues do not receive mental health care services. It is important to our children’s overall health and well-being that they get the mental health support they need.

Integral Care and NAMI Central Texas created a toolkit for the community to support children’s mental health year-round. We hope these tools help you have conversation with your children around mental health and build strong, healthy minds. Let’s give our children’s mental health the attention it deserves every day. Recovery from a mental health issue is possible.

Explore the Toolkit

A Message From Our CEO:

May is Mental Health Month, a time to recognize the importance of taking care of our mental health. This Mental Health Month, we are excited to announce that Integral Care and NAMI Central Texas have partnered up again to create a Mental Health Month Toolkit. With growing concerns over the state of mental health among children and youth, the focus of this year’s toolkit is supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and youth.

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In April 2023, Integral Care received $125,000 from SAMHSA to continue its Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) Program for another year. Through this funding, Integral Care is able to 1) continue increasing communal understanding and recognition of the signs and symptoms of mental health challenges and how families, caregivers, and service providers can safely and appropriately respond with armed service personnel and veterans in Travis County and under-resourced surrounding areas; 2) Increase knowledge of available community resources for veterans and their families – crisis services, counseling, substance use, basic needs, primary care, housing, support groups; 3) Develop collaborative partnerships with relevant community agencies and programs to aid with responding to mental health issues and improve coordination of services to armed service personnel, veterans, and their families. 

Meetings are open to the public.
Click here to watch the 4/27 Board of Trustees meeting live webinar.
Then, click the “Continue on this browser” button. The meeting starts at 5pm.

A Message From Our CEO:

April is National Counseling Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about the positive impact counseling can have on our mental health and well-being, and fight back against the stigma that still exists around seeking mental health care. It is also a time to recognize and honor the meaningful, and often life-changing, contributions counselors make each day. 
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Meetings are open to the public.
Click here to watch the 3/30 Board of Trustees meeting live webinar.
Then, click the “Continue on this browser” button. The meeting starts at 5pm.

A Message From Our CEO:

In celebration of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, I want to recognize the important work our team is doing in the community each day to ensure that adults and children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) have the tools they need to build healthy relationships, live in the community and thrive.
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Making a Difference: Peer Support in IDD Services

Individuals with an intellectual and / or developmental disabilities (ID/DD) suffer disproportionately with mental health conditions. Reasons often include stress related to frustrating social challenges and trauma such as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, neglect and bullying. These inherent challenges create a unique susceptibility for the development of mental health conditions. Peer Support Services provide an opportunity for people with ID/IDD to develop social skills, learn how to advocate for their needs and give and receive mutual support from others with lived experience.

On Thursday, March 30 at noon, Integral Care invites you to join us for a virtual Community Forum, “Making a Difference: Peer Support in IDD Services.” Experts from across Texas will discuss the following topics.

• What Peer Support is and what Peer Support Specialists do
• How Peer Support Services for IDD came to be
• The current status of Peer Support in Texas, what’s on the horizon and how you can get involved

integralcare.org/2023-idd-forum

The recording of the February Board of Trustees Meeting is now available to watch on our YouTube Channel.
https://youtu.be/29SEKpg8LB0

A Message From Our CEO:

Each February, we celebrate Black History Month – a time to honor the legacy and achievements of Black Americans. At Integral Care, February also marks the annual Central Texas African American Family Support Conference – the first conference in Texas to focus on the healthcare needs of African Americans. Integral Care has sponsored this event for 23 years. This year’s conference, which took place last week, featured critical conversations around how adverse childhood experiences can impact adulthood, post incarceration syndrome, Black women, caregiving and parenting, and much, much more. People with lived experience shared inspiring stories. Professionals offered critical tools and resources. Meaningful relationships were built. I am grateful to the incredible conference Planning Committee for putting together another memorable and meaningful event that united and energized attendees and look forward to continuing the conversations that were started.
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