The National Institutes of Health estimates that an estimated 26 percent of Americans age 18 and older (approximately 1 in 4 adults) suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder each year. Mental health disorders account for several of the top causes of disabilities in our economy.
Julie Feider, adult mental health clinician at ThedaCare Behavioral Health, sees the impact of mental health disorders every day. “So many of the people we see come in feeling hopeless, struggling in a sea of emotions that they don’t understand,” said Julie. “We love to see people begin to feel better by using the skills we teach them. It’s like we’re giving them a life ring, something they can cling to while they’re going through this transition. Knowing that we have helped them out in a time of great need is very satisfying, and it’s what motivates us to do the best job we can.”
Julie has been with ThedaCare for six years. “Everything we do has a ripple effect,” she continued. “When someone starts to feel better, more in control of their life, their relationships with their friends and family improve, they are more motivated and more effective at work, and they are empowered to make decisions that improve the quality of their life. All of these efforts make for a stronger, healthier community, and this is truly the ultimate goal in having better mental health.”
“ThedaCare has a heart for people. When you have the best interest of the patient at the center of everything you do, it reflects in the quality of care the patient is receiving. We put the patients’ interests first. ThedaCare is also concerned for the well being of their clinicians, keeping up to date with the latest reports on how to keep clinicians fresh and keep them from burning out. It’s just a great place to be.”
She really enjoys working with the ThedaCare team, because there is a wealth of support for mental health services in one location. Not only does she have access to many of her skilled colleagues, she also has the support of psychiatry and psychology, AODA services, Day Treatment and Neuropsychology. “We use some of the most researched-based therapeutic approaches, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness and EMDR to treat our patients” said Julie. “I recently helped a patient struggling with suicidal thoughts by teaching him Diaphragmatic Breathing Skills, CBT and using EMDR. He learned to change the way he was thinking about himself and began to realize that his depression was not his friend. Using these tools is helping him keep the depressive thoughts at bay and has helped him move forward in his life. We gave him hope and when you give someone hope, there’s nothing better than that.”
ThedaCare is hiring mental health clinicians. Join our team.
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