For decades, Silver Hill Hospital and its patients have benefited from the innumerable acts of kindness and creative contributions of volunteers from all parts of Fairfield and Westchester Counties. Volunteers seek us out from wherever they may be when they are thinking about ways to give back to the community—they come from college campuses, popular Internet sites like volunteermatch.org or other nonprofit organizations like the Good Dog Foundation or the United Way.

As a community, the Sandy Hook area has suffered an unspeakable loss of previously unimaginable proportions. However, becoming as informed as possible is one way to cope. Therefore, we have compiled a list of trusted resources to help you deal with this loss. You will find information for children, teens and adults, videos, PDFs and books. We will continue to update this information as additional resources become available.

According to Stopbullying.gov, bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.  More than just physical abuse, it also includes making threats, spreading rumors or excluding someone from a group on purpose.  Bullying seems to be reaching epidemic proportions.

People often use the terms mental health and mental illness interchangeably, but just as with any other medical condition, you are healthy or you are ill.  It is a serious mistake to call it a mental health issue when someone has a mental illness.  They are sick.  It is real, and because people do not understand the difference, it can interfere with proper treatment.

Support groups are an important resource that patients and families can tap to help understand and recover from mental illness. In fact, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), has identified them as one of the Ten Fundamental Components of Recovery.

Adolescent Consultant Barbara Greenberg, Ph.D. discusses how summer is the perfect opportunity to help teens grow into independent adults who make wise decisions. Several parenting tips included.

Silver Hill Hospital will host the Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law Enforcement (CABLE) training for the sixth consecutive year in June. This year, law enforcement officers from Bridgeport, Darien, Greenwich, Norwalk and Stamford will participate.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and as with other designated months, the laudable goal is to educate and raise awareness – and there is good reason.

Many schools will soon be hosting their senior proms, and while we do need to be concerned about all the excess that seems inherent to the event – indulgent spending, drinking, wild behavior – proms can be fun and meaningful events for you both.

The first thing to understand is that alcoholism is a disease, not just a bad habit. According to the Centers for Disease Control, a full 20% of adults actually have a genetic marker for alcoholism—and while genetics do not necessarily dictate outcome, people with the genetic marker do have a higher risk of becoming abusers of alcohol.  However, even if you do not have the genetic marker, you could still become an alcoholic. In other words, if you drink enough for a long enough period of time, you will become addicted.

National Volunteer Week is about recognizing people who find imaginative ways to engage in their communities—and through their example, encourage others to do so. Millions of people in thousands of cities and towns across America have found a way to make the world a better place. Each year, by Presidential Proclamation, one week is set aside to collectively acknowledge their extraordinary contributions.

For well over a decade, we have offered a dog therapy program at Silver Hill for the very same reason: playing with dogs can help our patients feel better. But even more than that, with their unconditional love and complete acceptance, pet therapy dogs can help patients heal. It’s not an overstatement to say that there are real, tangible therapeutic benefits derived from our pet therapy program.

March is Social Workers Month. Knowing that Silver Hill is a psychiatric hospital, you might be surprised that we are doing a post about this. But the fact of the matter is, social workers plan an important role in the delivery of services to our patients. Like many mental health institutions around the country, we could not provide the quality of care we do without them.

St. Patrick’s Day, a wonderful celebration of Irish culture, is this Saturday. A time of family, friends and proud heritage. A day when even those of us not of Irish descent celebrate this warm and vibrant culture.

Part of the Get Through the Winter series When people feel more depressed in the winter they often toss it off as a simple case of “winter blues.”  And that may well be the case. After all, it’s cold, dark, and by default, we spend a lot of time indoors. 

You might be asking why Silver Hill Hospital is writing a gardening post in the middle of winter, but mid-winter weather is precisely why we are writing. Smelling a flower or feeling the dirt between your fingers may be just what you need to dig out of the winter doldrums.  

College kids are coming home! You eagerly anticipate their arrival, clean their room and cook their favorite meals. This is a time to reconnect. Find out what’s going on in their lives. Create some wonderful memories. And then the fighting begins...

All adults, including parents, coaches and teachers, are important role models for kids. It is by example that we teach them to celebrate victory and accept disappointment. They idealize and emulate us. Much of the research shows that the influence of adult role models may even surpass that of siblings, peers, and celebrities in the lives of their children. What would we say if a professional team engaged in destructive behavior each time they lost?

Thanksgiving is often thought of as a time of warmth and happiness, family gathered around the table creating wonderful family memories. But for many of us, it can also be a time of angst and anxiety. There are many reasons you may feel stress. Perhaps you are a student struggling with school and are afraid of criticism from your family. You may be unemployed and don't want to face questions about your job search or finances. Maybe you’ve put on or lost "too much" weight this year and are feeling self conscious. If you have been struggling with depression, mood swings or anxiety, you may be more emotionally vulnerable. This time of year could remind you of someone who has become ill, passed away or moved.