{"id":208493,"date":"2026-10-16T20:34:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T01:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.centralhealth.net\/?p=208493"},"modified":"2026-10-16T20:34:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T01:34:52","slug":"mental-health-care-before-it-becomes-a-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/mental-health-care-before-it-becomes-a-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Ch\u0103m s\u00f3c s\u1ee9c kh\u1ecfe t\u00e2m th\u1ea7n tr\u01b0\u1edbc khi tr\u1edf th\u00e0nh m\u1ed9t cu\u1ed9c kh\u1ee7ng ho\u1ea3ng"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Central Health&#8217;s behavioral health director on why getting help early changes the outcome<\/h2>\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-md-6\">\n    <div class=\"su-youtube su-u-responsive-media-yes\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/S_SAP7oL-qM?\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture\" title=\"&lt;br \/&gt;S\u1ee9c kh\u1ecfe t&acirc;m th\u1ea7n l&agrave; s\u1ee9c kh\u1ecfe\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In September, Central Health\u2019s fiscal year 2027 tax rate and $650 million dollar budget was approved by the Travis County Commissioners Court, dedicating $127.5 million for mental health crisis and recovery care.  <\/p>\n<p>Central Health\u2019s commitment to mental health care comes at a critical time when Travis County has no dedicated psychiatric emergency department. More than $54 million in new funding will support $33.1 million toward construction of an inpatient psychiatric emergency wing, the construction of a $16 million-dollar mental health crisis center, and $4.5 million for a host of crisis and recovery treatments.  <\/p>\n<p>And yet, even before that massive milestone, Central Health has been laying the groundwork for expanded mental health care access for Travis County residents. We sat down with Dr. Ashley Trust, Central Health\u2019s director of behavioral health, to learn more about how the Central Health system is taking care of patients.  <\/p>\n<p><b>Let\u2019s start with an easy question: Can you explain to me what mental health care is?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Qu\u1ef9 Ti\u1ebfn s\u0129 Ashley<\/b>: Mental health care is really about brain health and wellness. Our brain controls so much of what our body does\u2014our movement, breathing, heart rate, memory, and how we process the world around us. That same brain plays a huge role in our emotions, our behaviors, and how we respond to stress, how we sleep, and how we function day-to-day. Mental health care helps when something in those areas isn\u2019t working the way we want it or need it to. That could mean treating depression, anxiety, and trauma. It can also mean helping someone through a particular difficult time in their life.  <\/p>\n<p><b>That makes perfect sense. Mental health care can have an effect on everything we do. So, how important is it for us to make sure we\u2019re taking care of it?<\/b> <\/p>\n<p><b>Qu\u1ef9 Ti\u1ebfn s\u0129 Ashley<\/b>: It\u2019s important to care for our mental health because it affects everything else: our physical health, relationships, work, parenting, sleep, and ability to function day-to-day. We sometimes talk about mental and physical health as though they\u2019re separate, but they\u2019re deeply connected. We would never tell someone to ignore their diabetes or heart disease and just hope for it to get better. Mental health deserves that same attention. Getting help early can also help keep manageable things from becoming a crisis.  <\/p>\n<p><b>And yet, we sometimes forget to manage those very things. Does that mean mental health sometimes gets overlooked?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Qu\u1ef9 Ti\u1ebfn s\u0129 Ashley<\/b>: There\u2019s stigma around saying \u2018I\u2019m struggling\u2019 or \u2018I need help.\u2019 People may minimize symptoms for a long time because they think they should be able to handle it themselves, and sometimes our health care system contributes to that because we\u2019ve historically treated behavioral health separately from physical health. Asking about someone\u2019s mental health should feel just as routine as asking about their blood pressure. <\/p>\n<p><b>OK, so say we\u2019re at the point where we need some intervention. What role does a psychiatrist play for a patient who needs care?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Qu\u1ef9 Ti\u1ebfn s\u0129 Ashley<\/b>: We play different but very complementary roles. A counselor or therapist often helps someone understand what they are experiencing, developing coping skills, processing difficult experiences, and learning about change patterns that may be making life harder. A psychiatrist is a physician, so we look at both the medical and psychiatric pieces: diagnosis, medications, physical conditions that may be contributing like sleep, stress, and other factors. We are trying to understand what is happening in this person\u2019s life, and what they need to get better. The best care is often collaborative: psychiatry, therapy, primary care, medical specialty, family, and community resources all working together.  <\/p>\n<p><b>If we\u2019re talking about direct impact, what are ways a psychiatrist can impart change for a patient going through a difficult period in their life?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Qu\u1ef9 Ti\u1ebfn s\u0129 Ashley<\/b>: Sometimes, the first thing we provide is simply a place where someone can say, \u2018This is what\u2019s happening to me,\u2019 and feel heard about their circumstances without judgement. We can help put language around what they are experiencing and help them understand that there are treatment options. Therapy can give someone tools to cope differently, think differently, communicate differently, or work through trauma or grief. Medication, when appropriate, can reduce symptoms enough that someone can sleep, function, work, parent, or engage in therapy again. We can also help identify practical barriers such as housing, food, safety, medical problems, family stress, and connect people with resources. Often it isn\u2019t one dramatic intervention; it\u2019s a series of small changes that eventually makes a very big difference.  <\/p>\n<p><b>Small steps are so important. Is there an average timeline of care when it comes to managing mental health? How long does it take to navigate a  health crisis?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Qu\u1ef9 Ti\u1ebfn s\u0129 Ashley<\/b>: We make accurate diagnosis and try to understand the whole picture, rather than treating one symptom. We look at medical conditions, or medications that could be affecting someone\u2019s mental health. We also determine when management isn\u2019t needed or medication management isn\u2019t the right answer. Assessing safety when someone is expressing suicidal thoughts or another mental health crisis is another important part of our work. We also connect patients to therapy, substance use treatment, higher levels of care, community services, or other specialties. We work to coordinate with primary care and other medical providers, and we continue to. We adjust the plans over time, because people\u2019s needs change, and we understand that.  <\/p>\n<p><b>At the end of the journey, how should we look at progress? When should we begin to measure success?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Qu\u1ef9 Ti\u1ebfn s\u0129 Ashley<\/b>: Mental health is rarely a quick fix. Some people may feel significantly better after a relatively short period of treatment. For others, it may take months or even years. We may need to try different approaches, medications, or types of therapy before finding what works best for that individual. Recovery isn\u2019t always a straight line. People can improve, have setbacks, and improve again. It\u2019s important for patients to know that a setback doesn\u2019t mean a treatment failed. My goal is to stay alongside them and keep adjusting the care as their life and needs change. <\/p>\n<p><i>If you or someone you know needs help, call our community mental health crisis hotline at 512-472-4357.<\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Central Health&#8217;s behavioral health director on why getting help early changes the outcome In September, Central Health\u2019s fiscal year 2027 tax rate and $650 million dollar budget was approved by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":208495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[878,975,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-blog","category-healthcare-services","category-news","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208493"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":208503,"href":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208493\/revisions\/208503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/54.164.224.163\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}