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Happy February! I can’t believe how quickly January has passed. For those of you who made the resolution to “get healthy” (I know I did!), here is some information that might help you keep your resolution.

Friday, February 3rd is “Go Red Day.” I hope all of you are planning to wear red on Friday to support and promote this nationwide initiative to educate all the women in your life about the risks of heart disease.

Heart disease is the number one killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year.

Most of us don’t start worrying about our heart health until our 40s, 50s, or even 60s…and usually only after we’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

But there is another link to heart disease that we need to be aware of, and that is depression. While depression can strike anyone, research (complements of www.nimh.nih.gov) shows that “people with heart disease are more likely to suffer from depression than otherwise healthy people, and conversely, that people with depression are at greater risk for developing heart disease.”

Wow.

Depression complicates treatment for heart disease by making it harder to take medications and participate in healthy living activities (such as heart-healthy cooking, getting exercise and proper amounts of sleep). And this is true for both men and women.

Treatment for depression can help both diseases, so please talk to your doctor if you think you might suffer from depression. Your physical health may depend on it. For further information on depression and heart disease, please visit www.nimh.nih.gov.

And don’t forget to visit www.goredforwomen.org to get heart healthy at any age. It’s never too early to start taking care of your health!

Please send me your suggestions or comments to hsteel@carrierclinic.com. However, this is not the place to leave detailed, personal health information, and any posts that are inappropriate or unrelated to our site will not be posted. Please call our Access Center at 800-933-3579 if you wish to speak with someone about a possible admission.

Thanks for reading!

Welcome to Carrier’s new blog! Yes, it looks a lot like the old one, but we’ll be adding content, pictures and sometimes even a video or two on a weekly basis this year.
Part educational, part fun, we’ll feature clinical guest bloggers who will talk about healthy living, coping skills, stress, depression, adolescent issues, grief, and many other topics.
Is there something you would like us to write about? Please let me know by emailing me at hsteel@carrierclinic.com. I’ll keep your information confidential.
As a reminder, Carrier Clinic offers free support groups on a weekly basis, including our Codependency Program, Bright Futures for Kids, Mood Disorder Support Group, Parents Support Group and Al-Anon Family Group. All group times and descriptions can be found on our website at http://www.carrierclinic.org/programs-free.php.
This year, we’ll also be starting a monthly e-newsletter, filled with information and upcoming free programs and health screenings. If you’d like to receive the e-newsletter, please join our mailing list by clicking here.
And, for those of you who want to get involved with the 2nd Annual Walk of Hope, we’ve just announced the date: September 15, 2012, on Carrier’s campus at 252 Route 601, Belle Mead, NJ 08502. Please click on our Walk of Hope button on our home page for more information.

Please send me your suggestions or comments to hsteel@carrierclinic.com. However, this is not the place to leave detailed, personal health information, and any posts that are inappropriate or unrelated to our site will not be posted. Please call our Access Center at 800-933-3579 if you wish to speak with someone about a possible admission.
Thanks for reading – I look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions ~

Best,
Heather

For our East Coast community, the last few weeks have been very stressful. First there was an earthquake, something we are definitely not accustomed to. Then, many of us suffered from the devastating effects of Hurricane Irene (and now Lee). And while “mother nature” has been very busy these last few days, the beginning of September always means something else as well:

It’s time for kids to go back-to-school.

Now, I realize that having your kids go back to school is not the same as your house flooding. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who were affected by the recent storms. But the truth is, while going back to school is usually an exciting time for most parents and their children, some adolescents may start feeling overwhelmed and anxious when faced with the prospect of returning to the classroom.

Although a little nervousness in a new situation is common, severe anxiety can often interfere with school, family, and other responsibilities. Unfortunately, the number of adolescents with Anxiety disorders and Depression is rising as well.

If your child is having trouble falling or staying asleep, is complaining of stomachaches, headaches, fatigue, or shows signs of irritability or poor concentration, it may be time to call your pediatrician or healthcare provider.

With the help of a professional, adolescent anxiety and depression can be treated successfully through talking, relaxation techniques, medications, or a combination of therapies.

For more information on Adolescent Anxiety and Depression, please visit the following link, provided by the National Institute of Mental Health.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/child-and-adolescent-mental-health/index.shtml

thank you for reading!

Heather Steel
Carrier Clinic

For the safety of our patients and their families, Visiting Hours will be cancelled over the weekend, effective 3pm on Saturday, August 27th through approximately 4pm on Monday, August 29th(or as weather conditions allow).

The Weekend Codependency Program WILL be held on Saturday, August 27th, allowing visitors to attend the program and visit their loved one at Blake Recovery Center from 1-3pm.

On Sunday, August 28th, both the Weekend Codependency Program and Bright Futures for Kids have been cancelled.

Visiting Hours will resume as road and safety conditions allow. Updates will be available Monday afternoon by calling 800-933-3579.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your patience as we work to resume normal activities as soon as possible.

After months of what turned out to be a REALLY long winter, I’m so happy that Spring has finally arrived! Although we are still getting quite a few rainy days, it is so nice to feel the warm sun on my face.

Many people are finally coming out of their winter shell, and starting to pick up the activities they enjoy –for me, those include gardening, walking my dog and socializing with neighbors and friends. However, if you or someone you love hasn’t been able to shake the “winter blues” yet, perhaps some help is needed.

In fact, this year alone, approximately 19 million people will suffer from some type of depression.

And while it is quite normal for people to feel “down” from time to time, (especially after the long, cold and snowy winter we have had!) it is not common to feel persistently sad, anxious, fatigued or emotionally “empty.” Depression can affect anyone at any age, and at any point in their life.

Many people who have Depression know something is wrong, but don’t know what to do about it. The good news is; Depression is not forever, and over 90% of the people who get treated for Depression will improve their quality of life after treatment.

If you’d like more information on Depression, you can visit this link: http://nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml

To help you feel better this year, we’ll be holding free community programs all year long on depression, stress, anxiety and a variety of other mental health and wellness topics. Our next presentation is on “Improving Your Memory” at the Franklin Township Public Library in Somerset NJ on Monday, April 25th from 7-8:30 pm. If you are in the area, we’d love to have you stop by! And, if you do attend the event, please leave us your feedback here.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this post, please leave a comment below or email me at: hsteel@carrierclinic.com.

However, this is not the place to leave detailed, personal health information, and any posts that are inappropriate or unrelated to our site will not be posted. Please call our Access Center at 800-933-3579 if you wish to speak with someone about a possible admission.

Thank you for reading. Now, off to plant those Azaleas …….

Best, Heather Steel

hsteel@carrierclinic.com

908-281-1513

I love the start of a new year.  My desk gets cleaned, my “to-do” list is two pages long, written with a newly-sharpened pencil, and filled with all of the items that I would like to accomplish this year. But, I tend to be a bit on the optimistic side when it comes down to actually being able to get everything done, so like most people, I become frustrated.

In fact, every year, millions of people make New Year’s Resolutions -  and many are broken by February. Too often, goals are set that are unattainable for many reasons.

So, this year, instead of taking an all-or-nothing, once-a-year approach to making big changes in my life, I’m going to resolve to complete smaller, positive actions that I can work on slowly, one day at a time.

 We all know that keeping your goals SMART, which is: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Bound, greatly increases the chance of achievement. Keeping short-term goals small and incremental not only gives more opportunities for success, but serves as ongoing motivation for larger, longer-term goals.

While it may seem a bit intimidating to try to top what we were able to accomplish here during Carrier’s 100^th anniversary last year, I’m going to work on some of the smaller things that I can do to make 2011 an even better year.

But I’d like to ask for your help and feedback. What would you like to see on our blog, or on our website? Would you like us to feature short, informational pieces on different addiction or mental health topics? Would you like to hear from our clinical staff, acting as “guest bloggers”? My goal for this year is to make this website and blog as user-friendly, interesting and informative as I can.

Please send me your suggestions or comments to hsteel@carrierclinic.com. However, this is not the place to leave detailed, personal health information, and any posts that are inappropriate or unrelated to our site will not be posted. Please call our Access Center at 800-933-3579 if you wish to speak with someone about a possible admission.

Again, Thank You for an amazing year, and I’m looking forward to an even better year in 2011!

Best,

Heather Steel

hsteel@carrierclinic.com

908-281-1513

As we gear up for this Thanksgiving holiday, it is all the more appropriate to say “Thank You” to our employees, patients, community partners and friends – because of their support, we’ve had a wonderful year.

An organization does not reach the 100 year-mark by accident. Running any business is challenging, especially when you happen to be a psychiatric and addictions hospital. We’ve spent the last 100 years growing, changing and surviving within a community culture that hasn’t always embraced our mission. Stigma is alive and well, but we are still here, fighting the good fight, because we have so many people that depend on us, and we truly believe in what we do.

It has been a whirlwind of a year here at Carrier. Over the past year, we have held 4 professional conferences, rebranded our logo, upgraded our website, put together a beautiful anniversary book keepsake, hosted a Somerset Patriots Game, produced new billboards, radio and cable commercials, and supported our professional and community partners with multiple newspaper, magazine and online advertising. In addition, we created the “Who I Was, Who I Am” film to show all of you-our community, family and friends, what we strive to accomplish with our patients, every single day.

But we could not have finished off this year properly without our most recent success: the 100th Anniversary Gala, held on October 30th at the Somerset Hills Hotel. Our only true fundraising event of the year, the Gala had over 175 people in attendance, including members of our Board of Trustees, Executive Team and Medical Staff, as well as employees from various departments, and many of our vendors. Our inaugural Gala presented Former Governor and Mrs. Mary Jo Codey with the Kindred Spirit Award for their unwavering commitment to those who are afflicted with mental illness. The Codey’s were gracious guests, stopping at many of the tables that evening to greet the others in the room. It truly was a magical evening!

Thanks to the generosity of our colleagues, partners and friends, we raised an unprecedented $111,000, which will benefit the people we serve.

Please take a moment to check out our website for our new film, “Who I Was, Who I Am” and I’ve added a few of the pictures from the Gala. Over the next week or so, I’ll be adding even more pictures to our photo gallery. We are already gearing up for next year’s Gala, so we hope you can join us in the Fall of 2011 – we’ll announce the date as soon as it becomes available.

We are always interested to hear your comments ~ about our new site, services, etc. However, this is not the place to leave detailed, personal health information, and any posts that are inappropriate or unrelated to our site will not be posted. Please call our Access Center at 800-933-3579 if you wish to speak with someone about a possible admission.

Again, Thank You for an amazing year, and the opportunity to celebrate under the stars!

Best,
Heather Steel
hsteel@carrierclinic.com
908-281-1513

Carrier Clinic Commercial from Carrier Clinic on Vimeo.

Welcome back! Sorry I’ve been away for a while ~ Summer is keeping us busy! On July 15^th, we offered a mini-conference on ECT at Carrier, presented by our own Dr. Mehta and Melissa Curcy. We also had a presentation by Carol Kivler, who told us about her own experience with ECT treatment.  The seminar was a success – lots of questions, and a lot of information was shared. Particularly touching was Carol’s personal accounts of ECT. You can check out her book and website at www.courageousrecovery.com for more information on her story. Thank you to Dr. Mehta, Melissa and Carol for an outstanding event! (Below is a photo of Carol and Melissa).

Yesterday we had the fantastic opportunity to do a taping for New Jersey 12’s Pet Stop show about Carrier Clinic’s Pet Therapy program. Angela Di Dolce, Clinical Supervisor at our East Mountain School, brought her therapy dog Bardo to the taping. Bardo was, as usual, well-behaved and lovable, and Angela did a great job explaining our Pet Therapy program to Dr. Brian T. Voynick, the Vet who hosts the show. We encourage everyone to tune in THIS Saturday and Sunday, July 24^th and 25^th, at either 12:30 or 4pm to catch our segment. I’ve posted a few pictures of our visit to News 12 New Jersey. Bardo’s sister, Java, also came along for the ride.

Next Friday, July 30^th, Carrier Clinic is sponsoring the Somerset Patriots Game – with Fireworks! The Patriots are playing the Bridgeport Bluefish, so it should be a great game. The Patriots are an affordable night-out for families, and we encourage everyone to come out on the 30^th to support the team, and help Carrier celebrate 100 years in the community. Tickets for the Patriots are available at www.somersetpatriots.com. We’ll post pictures after the game, so check back in the beginning of August for my next post.

We continue to receive positive feedback about our website, and we are still working on making it even better! So, as always, we would love to hear your comments ~ about our new site, services, etc. However, this is not the place to leave detailed, personal health information, and any posts that are inappropriate or unrelated to our site will not be posted. Please call our Access Center at 800-933-3579 if you wish to speak with someone about a possible admission. Thank you!

Best,

Heather Steel

hsteel@carrierclinic.com

908-281-1513