Support groups may play bigger role in mental health

Throughout New Jersey, thousands of people with mental illness attend support groups to reap the benefits of a welcoming atmosphere where they can share their experiences and emotions with others battling the same demons.

“Support groups for people with persistent and chronic illness are very important, because people that are in recovery from mental illness can benefit from the support of each other,” said Robert Parker, the CEO of NewBridge Services, a nonprofit organization that provides mental health and addiction services in Morris and Passaic counties..

“They enjoy the support of each other because each of them are in their own recovery, and that kind of support encourages the individuals attending to pursue their own goals in recovery," he added.

Parker sees support groups as a vital part of one’s recovery from mental illness, while Barbara White, a consultant at the New Jersey Self-Help Group Clearinghouse (NJSHGCH), believes they can serve as a community for those who are struggling.

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Although support groups can be helpful to people with mental illness, they are meant to supplement professional services such as therapy and outpatient treatment, not replace them. Under the state’s new fee-for-service plan, that distinction becomes even more important.

While support groups are financially self-sustaining and unlikely to be affected by the state’s 2018 budget plan, according to Parker, many mental health organizations will have to earn their revenue and support themselves through the fee-for-service model.

According to the New Jersey Community Mental Health Coalition (NJCMHC), an organization recently formed to advocate for the mentally ill, the state’s low rate of reimbursement provided to mental health organizations will force them to cut services in order to avoid operating at a deficit.

White said that the NJSHGCH has already experienced some financial turmoil, as the site’s funding was slashed two years ago, forcing her to work part time and cut back on staff.

Professional services, which include psychiatric evaluations, therapy and medication management, are important to the livelihood and welfare of mentally ill people. Further, they are the types of services that support groups are meant to work alongside, rather than on their own.

However, if mental health organizations have insufficient funds, their capacities will be reduced, and thousands will be turned away from the type of professional care they need.

“One thing that always hits home is when you hear of some tragedy, and in the news the media will say it’s because this person didn’t get adequate help,” said White. “I just think, you know, what a shame, that that person couldn’t find help or couldn’t afford help.”

The NJCMHC fears that the reductions in care will lead to an increase in incarcerations and homelessness across the state, as many people with mental illness will be without the resources they desperately need.

Fee-for-service model

In response to the recent fears allayed by many in the mental health community, Gov. Chris Christie signed Assembly Bill A-4146 on May 11, establishing an advisory board to oversee the fee-for-service model for mental health providers.

While Parker views this bill as a positive step, he thinks the schedule that the board will follow clouds its overall intentions.

“We value the oversight goals, but we’re concerned about the delay, in my reading of the legislation, of any report,” Parker said.

With the advisory board not expected to generate a report until September or October, according to Parker, mental health organizations will have felt the effects of reduced funds and lowered their capacities by that point.

Parker says the fee-for-service model is supported by mental health organizations, but that the transition to this structure could be very difficult.

“We would ask him (Gov. Christie) to review on a quarterly basis our revenue and expenses, and assist us for a one-year period to provide needed services to keep us in business.”

Parker’s requests represent an overview of the Community Mental Health Safety Act (Bill S-3121), which, if passed, would also allow providers with financial issues to pull from a state emergency fund to maintain the quality and scale of their service.

Several county freeholder boards, including Sussex, Morris, Bergen, Ocean Cape May and, most recently, Somerset County, also have has passed resolutions urging the state to put fiscal safeguards in place to "assist with the transition to the New Jersey State Fee For Service Model to ensure equitable funding rates for behavioral health providers in order to provide quality services."

With the bill hanging in the balance, however, it remains to be seen how many people will lose access to professional mental health care in the following year.

This means that support groups could become even more important, as people with mental illnesses may have no other place to turn in the wake of the state’s budget plans.

Jackie (who didn't want to give her last name), from Union County, doesn’t have a mental illness but is involved in two support groups for siblings and family members of mentally ill people.

“It helps me keep my own sanity,” Jackie said. “It’s helped me keep my blood pressure under control, maintain my own health so I don’t burn out. Because I know there’s a place that I can go.”

The availability of professional services cannot be viewed with the same assuredness, as the current structure of the state’s fee-for-service plan has put the cash flow of mental health organizations into question.

But that doesn’t mean the NJCMHC will stop fighting anytime soon.