Six area and state mental health professionals and politicians gathered Wednesday to discuss the region’s mental health programs and needs.
The round table, which was moderated and organized by State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster, discussed the laws that the legislature passed in the 2023 and 2024 sessions, the need for more mental health professionals and local resources for mental health, including for first responders.
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, one of the panelists, said her family has been impacted by mental health issues as her mother struggled with depression, her sister committed suicide, her brother died from alcoholism and her daughter is 16 years sober and has bipolar disorder.
“When you have lived with people that have struggled, through no fault of their own, because of the genes they’ve inherited, you understand that there’s more you have to do. We have to all be joined in this battle to be able to get help to those that are struggling,” Crouch said.
During and since the COVID-19 pandemic, Crouch said a lot of people experienced mental health-related issues, whether that be depression, anxiety, fear or isolation. The good thing that came of that, she said, was that state officials began to pass more mental health laws to help those who need it.
In the 2023 legislative session, the legislature passed Senate Enrolled Act 1, which created operational outlines and funding for the 988 crisis hotline, mobile assessment teams and crisis stabilization units.
On the budget side, the legislature approved $100 million for the program’s first two years, Crouch said. The 2025 legislative session is a budget session, Andrade said, and he will work with fellow legislators to secure funding to continue SEA 1.
Crouch said she testified in support of the SEA1 when it was before the house and senate.
“There has been a lot of progress here in Indiana. I think the fact that we are gathered here today is indicative of that,” Crouch said. “It’s not a perfect system, but we’ve made a lot of progress.”
Angie Arreola, the founder and clinical director of Benchmark Counseling, a private practice located in Munster, said 988 calls are answered by trained professionals to assist in emergency mental health situations, provide mental health resources, and connect callers with other support, like food banks or daycare centers.
The Indiana Behavioral Health Commission recently released a report that Indiana is short approximately 6,000 mental health clinicians, Arreola said.
When Crouch asked Arreola if the process to become a mental health clinician should be shortened, Arreola said no. Becoming a licensed mental health counselor requires undergraduate and graduate degrees, 3,000 clinical hours, and two licensing exams, Arreola said.
“It is a lengthy process, but that is what provides high-quality mental health care,” Arreola said.
Panelist Brian Dieckmann, a psychologist and director of access to care for Regional Health Systems, said the process of becoming a mental health clinician presents a Catch-22 scenario: While the state needs more mental health clinicians to provide care, those clinicians have to be well-trained.
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“We want to get the help there where it’s needed. But the help that gets there needs to have the ability to provide that help,” Dieckmann said.
Panelist Erica Rios, the Griffith Police Department social worker, said addressing mental health clinician burnout and higher salaries, compared to the cost of education and credentials, could attract more people to become mental health professionals.
In 2024, the state legislature passed House Enrolled Act 1138 which addresses professional licensing for behavioral health, simplifying the licensing process for social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and addiction counselors.
HEA 1130 allowed for licensing to happen more quickly, Arreola said, to allow students to take their licensing exam in their final semester of graduate school, which allows recent graduates to submit paperwork to get their license.
Previously, the exam was taken after graduation, Arreola said, which meant recent graduates, many of whom are hired at the company where they do clinical hours, would go on “hiatus” from their employment while waiting for their license.
In 2023, Indiana joined The Counseling Compact, which allows states to join after meeting minimal guidelines of care to provide mental health care across state lines, Arreola said. As president of the Indiana Counseling Association, Arreola said the state joining The Counseling Compact benefits military members, as well as their families, and college students because these groups of people can move freely and likely keep their same therapist.
Dyer Fire Department Chief Joseph Martin said he worked with Andrade and Rios to establish the peer support team to help area first responders with their mental health needs.
The team, which has been in place since March 2023, has been deployed 52 times to area departments, Martin said. The team also received 117 one-on-one calls for service, he said, which means that an area first responder called for a team member, also an area first responder, to talk.
First responders are more susceptible to seeing trauma, Martin said, and they deserve to retire physically and mentally healthy.
“The culture is changing, and our culture needed to change in that aspect,” Martin said.
The Mental Health of America issues a report card on how states rank with mental health services for its citizens, Crouch said. While the state has improved from 2023 to 2024, Crouch said more could be done.
“But we aren’t where we all want to be,” Crouch said. “While we have made great strides … we’re not done. We’ve only begun.”