Connections Quarterly

Welcome to Connections Quarterly! We are pleased to highlight behavioral health in this issue and how one community treasure, Samaritan Counseling Center of the Northwest Suburbs is leading in addressing this disease.

Numbers tell the story! One in five adults in the United States has a behavioral health condition. That is over 40 million Americans; more than the population of New York and Florida combined.

Heroin deaths nationally have surpassed gun homicides according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year, opioid overdoses stole the lives of over 33,000 Americans.  

Annually there are 44,965 recorded suicides in our nation and 9.6 million Americans experience suicidal thoughts. 

One death every 50 minutes involves an alcohol-impaired driver.

Youth mental health is worsening. Rates of youth with severe depression increased from 5.9% in 2012 to 8.2% in 2015. Even with severe depression, 76% of youth are left with no or insufficient treatment.

Over 1.7 million youth with major depressive episodes do not receive treatment. That is enough to fill every major league baseball stadium on the east coast twice.

Fifty-six percent of American adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment.

Our community is not immune to this disease. In response, 10 years ago concerned community leaders launched Samaritan Counseling Center. Birthed by sheer love of the community and the dedication of visionary leaders who are passionate about making a difference for the good of the community, today Samaritan Counseling Center stands as a lighthouse leading the way in behavioral health service.   

Through these pages we share articles written by the staff of Samaritan Counseling. To be sure, there are several other fine behavioral health providers in our community as well; Samaritan is not alone. We salute them all.

Happy 10th anniversary, Samaritan Counseling Center of the Northwest Suburbs!