Recently, more people have started looking into mental health services. 

Jacqueline Ponticiello owns Aspect Psychiatric Services and notes that any type of mental health care in our area can be hard to access, with people facing six month long wait times in some cases. 

She says there's two main reasons: the recent focus on mental health, especially in children impacted by covid driving up the number of clients and the surge of retirements.

"In the general workforce, baby boomers maybe retired ten years ago. The psychiatrists, the doctors they held on a little bit longer. And so I've seen three colleagues just in the last maybe eight months retire. So there's more patients that need appointments and there's less people to see them."

While Ponticiello's business primarily works on assessment of a patient's condition and if medication is needed for a variety of mental health concerns from insomnia to PTSD, there are other things people can do that focuses on their mental health.

"When folks are working with a therapist, it's great to have an outlet for movement and physical expression that complements what they're doing," says Jessica Wylde, a trauma-informed yoga instructor. "Whether it's in their talk therapy or their medication, or the other ways that they're addressing their mental health."

No matter how you chose to address your mental health, there are steps to make sure you're finding a suitable outlet, like asking questions. 

"Make sure if you're going to someone that they they are trauma asking questions and trying to see if it's a right fit for you and that someone's willing to meet you where you're at in your process of exploring and improving your mental health," Wylde added.