QUESTIONS & ANSWERS: LINDA ABRAMS

‘People really need to understand there is help out there’

According to a study in Mental Health America, “Mental health conditions occur in Black and African American people in America at about the same or less frequency than in White Americans. However, the historical Black and African American experience in America has and continues to be characterized by trauma and violence more often than for their White counterparts and impacts emotional and mental health of both youth and adults.”

Therapist Linda Abrams recently opened Thrive Behavioral Health and Trauma Centers. Black Image recently spoke with Abrams about the mental health needs of Las Vegas and her new business.

What prompted you to open a mental health facility with a focus on trauma?

I branded the name “TrauMental” — and the reasoning is that I have been following trauma and the impact of trauma on people’s lives for several years. I know that a lot of mental health problems across the spectrum are triggered by trauma. Either early childhood trauma—which is called Complex PTSD, or better known from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)/Kaiser Permanente joint study as Adverse Childhood Experiences. In short, two-thirds of people in this country receive therapy that was triggered by trauma. This became very intriguing to me so I also did my own study when I was working for a psychiatrist for a couple of years. I started giving every person that came in to see me a trauma assessment. And the numbers from my study actually exceeded the numbers from the CDC and Kaiser Permanente study — and what they had concluded is that two thirds of the population that needed mental health treatment was actually misdiagnosed. That is why my brand is TrauMental: because I think people really need to understand that some of the problems that they’re having with mental health — not all the time, but some of the time — it’s because of trauma in their lives. People should not feel that mental health issues are a bad thing. It’s just a part of health. We just need to understand what’s causing it.

What differentiates your agency from other mental and behavioral health facilities?

We are an integrated health program. And that means we see people as a whole. We actually have a holistic approach. People just don’t have mental health problems, some people come in with substance abuse issues or they might have diabetes or cardiac problems going on in their lives that challenges their mental stability. We do our regular mental health practices with a mental health division addressing people with: bipolar, borderline personality disorders and schizophrenia. We have therapists who are trained to deal with these issues. But we specialize in trauma.

Can anyone dealing with depression or anxiety come to your facility for help?

Yes.

What can people expect if they come to your facility?

We would like people to make an appointment. You can walk in and see if a therapist is available. But we would like people to visit the website and make an appointment. All of our clients have to take a trauma assessment. I am not saying we just specialize in trauma. Any agency that specializes should not only be trauma informed, but trauma specific. People really need to understand there is help out there. The sooner you address the issues, and the sooner you seek help — the better it is for you.

For additional information, visit Thrive Behavioral Health and Trauma Centers at 2810 West Charleston, Suite 61 in Las Vegas. Call (702) 740-0188 or visit the website at: www.TBHandTC.com.