Mental Health Resources

My Crazy History and Tulsa Mental Health Resources

I have been treated for mental health for most of my life, since I was four years old.It began with
OCD and excessive hand-washing. I was an odd kid.

Anxiety began at an early age as well.There were countless times, I couldn’t show up to birthday parties, having made myself sick with anxiety. I had to be careful about what I watched on TV as not to bring on anxiety attacks. I’m not even talking about anything scary or inappropriate for children. My memory specifically recalls it being almost unbearable to watch Lassie reruns.

As I approached my teens, depression began. I started seeing a therapist when I was 12 following my step-fathers traumatizing and violent death. I have first prescribed an antidepressant at 14, Zoloft.

My mom was a bartender, so we didn’t have health insurance, therefore, I am very experienced with utilizing local resources; especially concerning people with little to no income. You could say I’m a resource at this point. So, I have compiled some very useful information for this post. I’m focusing on local resources right now but I will post some national information soon. ( Exception: Nami and hotlines ) Read on…

Mental Health Association Oklahoma

I don’t have a lot of experience with this one, but I started going to a “Survivors of Suicide” support group following my husband’s suicide. They are wonderful. They have many groups you can join and it’s free. They also can provide you with information on pretty much everything mental health related.

Family & Children’s Services

Family & Children’s Services is the first place I ever received treatment and it’s where I am treated now. I am in a program called PACT. It’s specifically for those suffering from severe mental illness. I was accepted into the program after my husband’s death in 2017. Here’s a link for info on PACT.

Counseling-Recovery Services of OK

I went to Counseling & Recovery for many years. They are also a great resource for information and treatment. They accept insurance and Medicaid but there is no charge if you qualify. They have an in-house pharmacy like Family & Children’s and do not charge you a copay for medication if you can’t afford it although they are slightly pushier about asking for copays than Family & Children’s. It annoyed me because I don’t like confrontation. I regularly sent my husband to pick up my medication because he had no issues with saying “no, I can’t pay you”.

NAMI (International website) NAMI-Oklahoma

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Oklahoma was founded in 1985 by a small group of family members of people with mental illness. 


Today, NAMI OK has eight affiliates throughout the state that facilitate support groups, conduct education programs, and send speakers out into the community to increase understanding and bring awareness of mental illness and to share the message that treatment can be effective. 

Our mission: NAMI Oklahoma, in partnership with its Affiliates improves the quality of life for individuals and families affected by mental illness through support, education and advocacy.

Tulsa Area Crisis Contacts

Copes (Emergency outreach team) 918-744-4800

Tulsa Police Department 911 (emergency) or 918-596-9222 (non-emergency)

Reach Out Helpline-Heartline (Toll- Free) 800-522-9054

Suicide Prevention Line (Toll-Free) 800-273-8255

Emergency Adult Inpatient Action: These crisis care centers provide short-term inpatient assessment and treatment.

Brookhaven Hospital 888-298-HOPE (4673)

Carl Albert Mental Health Services 918-426-7800

Crisis Care Center 918-921-3200

This comes up as COPES but click on Crisis Care Center and it will give you information on their actual hospital where they do assessments etc.

Fort Supply Acute Care Unit 580-766-2311

Red Rock Behavioral Health Services Inc. 405-424-7711 Main Location 405-425-0333 Children’s Crisis Unit 580-323-9765 Clinton Crisis Unit 405-307-4800 Norman Crisis Unit

Talliaferro Community Mental Health Center                                    580-248-5780

Tulsa Center For Behavioral Health (T.C.B.H.)                                 918-293-2140                                      Crisis Line                            918-293-2100

Green Country Behavioral Health Services Inc                           918-682-8407

Hillcrest Medical Center   918-579-1000

Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital 918-481-4000

Parkside Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital 918-588-8888

Oklahoma County Crisis Intervention Center (O.C.C.I.C.) 800-522-9054

Oklahoma Crisis Recovery Unit 405-522-8168

Emergency Child Inpatient Action: These crisis care centers provide short term, inpatient assessment and treatment.

Calm Center 918-394-CALM (2256) ages 10-17

Red Rock 405-425-0333 ages 10-17

Children’s Recovery Center 405-364-9004 ( ages 13-17 )

Last but not least, look into QPR training. I took this class after my husband’s death and it is so important. It teaches you how to prevent suicide and how to talk to someone who is suicidal.

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Intimate Partner Violence & Mental Health

Photo credit: Adobe Spark Post

Statistics and some paragraphs including relevant information from the American Journal Of Preventative Medicine

I began searching the topic of Intimate Partner Violence or IPV, and was surprised to find very few studies of the effects on a person’s mental health.

I figured this was a no brainer. Of course violence inflicted by a partner is incredibly damaging. Your partner should be your safe zone. Trust and respect should reign over control and abuse. Always.

This subject is close to my heart because I have been abused in the past.

I never thought I would be one of those women. Yet there I was. It’s insane how love and fear can keep a woman holding on.

I read an article in the American Journal Of Preventative Medicine, about a study proclaiming that A total of 28.9% of 6790 women and 22.9% of 7122 men had experienced physical, sexual, or psychological IPV during their lifetime.

The article went on to say that for both men and women, physical IPV victimization was associated with increased risk of current poor health; depressive symptoms; substance use; and developing a chronic disease, chronic mental illness, and injury. In general, abuse of power and control was more strongly associated with these health outcomes than was verbal abuse. When physical and psychological IPV scores were both included in logistic regression models, higher psychological IPV scores were more strongly associated with these health outcomes than were physical IPV scores.

The study concluded that both physical and psychological IPV are associated with significant physical and mental health consequences for both male and female victims.

Luckily there are social service programs that help victims, not only with relocating them to safety, but also with therapy and social groups. Another study I read about in the Journal Of Women’s Health and Gender Based Medicine, addresses the positive effects of social service for abused women.

In Tulsa we have Domestic Violence Intervention Services referred to as DVIS. They provide an amazing service and have an empathetic staff whom many have lived through abuse themselves.

There is help out there if you need it. It’s the hardest part for sure and extremely scary. However, it’s empowering to take control back over your life and make good decisions for yourself. I’m including some links of national resources below. If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, pass these links on. Be safe ladies, you deserve happiness.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline Big plus, they have an option that helps you hide that you visited their website in case your web activity is being monitored.

U.S. Department of Human Services: Office On Women’s Health they are an amazing resource for finding assistance in your state.

Family and Youth Services Bureau

Domesticshelters.org this website helps you browse for help safely. The option is at the top of the page.

HUD Exchange

The A.C.E. Quiz

My case manager and I were wrapping up a long session of the dreaded “treatment plan” update, when he exclaimed, “Oh, I almost forgot! There is a new quiz we have to do now as required by the company.”

He was referring to the A.C.E quiz.

A.C.E is an acronym for “adverse childhood experiences”. The quiz was simple, but the questions were very personal and deep even for us and we are close.

It’s said that the higher your score, the more at risk you are for developing certain adversities later in life.

  • risky health behaviors
  • chronic health conditions
  • low life potential
  • early death

cdc.gov

It’s important to note that the presence of A.C.Es does not automatically mean you will have any of the aforementioned adversities. It simply means there is a higher risk.

I took the quiz and answered the incredibly personal questions truthfully, ending with a score of 7. I didn’t know what it meant so I looked it up online. A score of 7 is very high. I read with a score higher than 4, things start to get serious.

 acestoohigh.com ( you can take the quiz through this link as well)

I began researching deeper into A.C.Es after a discussion with my mother-in-law over lunch. She informed me she recently began advocating for schools to hire mental health professionals as well as give the A.C.E quiz to all students. What a fabulous idea. I love it.

My mother-in-law is a force, and I believe she can accomplish this goal. This particular platform means a lot to both of us especially after losing my husband, her son, to suicide. The idea is that the trauma is dealt with instead of sweeping it all under the rug. Not dealing with the issues, is what leads to the problems later.

My husband didn’t have many A.C.Es at all. In fact, he had a great childhood. He was just sick. With the inclusion of this quiz in schools as well as the presence of mental health professionals, perhaps even the kids who are ” sick” can get help sooner.

The only question I have about the study is why we didn’t have it sooner. I was under the assumption it was common knowledge that abuse and neglect as children affect people later in life. The main point I always heard was that children from abusive homes are more likely to abuse their own kids.

I also thought it was common knowledge children of divorced parents are adversely affected. Bring on the “daddy issues”. If these were statistics widely acknowledged, why in 2019 do we just now have this quiz?

The study actually began in 1995 with the first recorded results becoming available in 1998. I took psychology in college and never had it mentioned. Isn’t that kind of odd?

I am so proud of my mother-in-law for putting herself into this advocacy for our kids. It’s a big deal. She pointed out that since Keith’s death in 2017, me starting my blog about mental health is my way of giving back. I truly hope someone gains insight or simply no longer feels so alone after reading some of my posts. That is my goal.

Do your own research and educate yourselves further regarding this study, as well as take the quiz. I provided a link above.

The world has come a long way in understanding mental health and the effects of trauma. We still have a long way to go, but we have to start somewhere.